"Ask Away"By Cathy Alter
I was just about to enjoy my first glass of wine when a woman strode up to me with great purpose, holding up my book like the torch on the Statue of Liberty.
"Is this really you?" she asked, staring hard. I was in Alexandria, Virginia and this was my first book club event since the launch of Up for Renewal.
Figuring she was questioning the authenticity of my author photo (which is, ahem, a few years out of date) I assured her that, yes, it really was me.
"I know the photo is you," she responded with impatience. "You look much more tired in person, though."
There were 12 other women in the room and suddenly, all eyes were on me.
"What I want to know is," she continued, "is this really you in the book?"
"It's a memoir, " I reminded her. "It's really me."
"Oh," she sniffed. "I don't like that character at all."
I suppose when you write a memoir that includes a blow-by-blow (quite literally) of having sex in my cubicle, you have to be prepared to answer a certain amount of personal, probing, and just plain obnoxious questions.
And believe it or not, that's why I love doing book clubs. Whether the questions fly freely (fun!) or someone moderates and reads off of a prepared list (impressive!), I think meeting my readers in an intimate setting—having the opportunity to see up close and personal how my book is perceived and received—is one of the best perks of the writing process. Plus, if I didn't have these gatherings to look forward to, I'd never get out of my pajamas.
4 comments:
What a great story, Cathy. I bet this story will be in your next memoir. Thanks for sharing it with us.
What an experience! I enjoyed this a lot.
I can only imagine what personal questions Cathy is asked! I guess people feel like they can ask authors pretty much anything--especially authors who write memoirs.
That's a pretty funny story. I guess she didn't realized saying "I didn't like that character" was tantamount to saying "I didn't like you." lol I look forward to those days...I think.
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