Daniel Levin book signing

Last night I attended a book signing at the Eton  Barnes & Noble in Woodmere.  I had never heard of the book, but it looked like a really interesting thriller.  I had to go to the store anyway, so I timed my trip to catch  the discussion and signing by first-time author Daniel Levin for his book The Last Ember.

Not being familiar with the author or the book imagine my surprise when I arrived and found well over 100 (closer to 200?) people there!  I love to see authors get so much support.  I’m not sure if he grew up here, but a lot of his family is here.  His uncle introduced him and Daniel gave a loving, heartfelt tribute to his grandfather, who happened to be sitting directly in front of me.  Before he spoke the woman  with his grandfather (maybe his grandmother?)  turned around to me to tell me he had been on NPR that day and that lots of people could write a book, but not everyone could talk about it so well.  And “He’s just so cute.”  How sweet is that?

I loved hearing him talk about his book and the underlying themes in this thriller, but I don’t want to get into too much detail until I read the book.  Then I might more understand what he talked about tonight.  I’ll say that it is a thriller that takes place in a 24 hour period in Rome and Publisher’s Weekly compared it to The DaVinci Code.  Here’s a link to his website about the book http://daniellevin.com/.  It is now #7 bestseller for Amazon.com thrillers. 

I hope to have Daniel stop by and guest post or do an interview soon, but first I’d like to read the book!  For those in the Cleveland area, Daniel will have a book signing tonight, August 21st, at the Crocker Park Borders in Westlake at 6:30 pm.

Anthony Doerr Book Signing

Anthony Doerr was at Joseph-Beth last night and Jason & I went to hear him speak.  He looks like his dust jacket photo and seemed like a genuinely nice guy.  The crowd was full of family and friends.  He grew up in the Cleveland area (Novelty), so the evening had a reunion atmosphere with Anthony being the long lost relative.  There were also a few local authors on hand to support him.  It was an enjoyable reading.

He read from three sections of his book, Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World, and then answered questions.  I am still reading this latest book and was really hoping to see the twins that he wrote about so lovingly, but they weren’t there.  The couple in front of me had come all the way from Pittsburgh to meet him.  He was self-deprecating enough to be really charming and I encourage you all to check him out.  He’s written something for everyone.  He has a book of short stories, a novel, and a memoir.

 

Les Roberts Book Signing

This is Jean and Les.

Last night I met my friend, Jean, at Joseph-Beth in Legacy Village to hear and meet author Les Roberts.  It was a standing room only crowd. Les has lived in Cleveland since 1990 and has written a series of mysteries featuring detective, Milan Jacovich and the city of Cleveland.  I must admit that I have never read any of his books, so I bought the first one in the series last night.  I’ve enjoyed the first two chapters, but more on that in a later post.

A few interesting tidbits…All the characters in his book are based on someone he knows or has seen.  He warned those of us who where there that we might end up in one of his future books!  The name of the detective is really a dentist in the Cleveland area.  This is his first Milan book in six years, but the last one is being made into a movie with Les as an executive producer.  He plans to have over 90% of the movie shot in Cleveland which brought a huge round of applause from the crowd.  When asked who he would like to play Milan he answered, Robert Mitchum, which could be a problem since he is deceased and unavailable.

He will be signing books in downown Cleveland at the Galleria on Friday from 11:30-1:30 and an Saturday from 1-2 at Borders.  His website, www.lesroberts.com has lots of fun facts and news.

Carla Neggers book signing

Last night I attended a book signing at Joseph-Beth in the Cleveland area.  Carla Neggers was there signing her new hardcover, The Angel.  I have never read any of her books, but they sound just up my alley.

Carla was charming and warm and talked to us for an hour about her books and the writing process.  She was very encouraging to those of us who are trying to write our own books. She has written over 50 books and her love for writing was evident and contagious.  I came home ready to start writing! 

The Angel, her new novel, is set in Ireland and involves a mysterious Irish legend.  I am looking forward to reading it.  You’ll read about it here when I do. 

Mary Doria Russell in Cleveland

Mary Doria Russell book signing

Last night Jason & I went to a book signing at Joseph Beth Bookstore at Legacy Village.  If you are in the Cleveland area and ever get a chance to go you should try their cafe which has great food (although not always the best service).  If you want to keep track of their events visit the website and sign up for their monthly email.   http://www.josephbeth.com/Default.aspx?StoreId=3&TabIndex=0&Tabid=1&p=y

Okay, so we went last night to hear Mary Doria Russell speak on her fourth book, Dreamers of the Day.  I have been a fan of Russell’s since The Sparrow (on my top 100 list) and was excited to hear her speak.  She came dressed casually in jeans, a gray shirt, and dog tags around her neck.  Her nephew is currently serving in Iraq and the parallels between the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference and the modern day Middle East was a connection she talked about at length.  The Peace Conference is the basis of this book and I will write more on the novel after I’ve read it.

A few interesting tidbits…Mary is funny.  She was a very entertaining speaker.  The Sparrow has been optioned by Brad Pitt’s film company   She does not write about what she knows, her curiosity drives her to research.  Her third book, A Thread of Grace took her seven years to write and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 2005.  She has a PhD in Anthropology.  She lives in Cleveland.  If you are interested in learning more you can visit her website.  http://marydoriarussell.info/

If you get a chance I recommend you check out The Sparrow, her first novel.  It is science fiction, but if you keep an open mind I think you’ll like it.