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Have you ever met one of your favourite authors?

Jules

Jules

New Member
Have you ever met one of your favorite authors? If so, what did you think? Did they live up to your expectations?

If not, who would you like to meet, living or dead?

Are any of you of the opinion that you would NOT want to meet your favorite author? There is maybe only one author nowadays I'd like to meet and that is for two reasons: 1 - Most of my favorite authors are dead and until someone invents a workable form of timetravel, it ain't gonna happen and 2 - I have in my head ideas of what these people are like and if they turn out to be jerks of the tenth magnitude, I just wouldn't want it to ruin my enjoyment of their books.

Just some thoughts..
What are yours? :D
 
I don't think I'd want to meet my favorite authors for the same reasons you listed...I'm afraid they might turn out to be jerks and would ruin the books. Normally, I don't think much about the author, as I become too involved in the stories, anyway.
 
Jules said:
who would you like to meet, living or dead?
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I'd love to share a bubbling libation with E.A.Poe....preferably living.

And if possible sit in on a meeting between him and someone like King or Rice to hear their discussions.

RaVeN
 
Litany said:
Not sure I really want to meet any of them, but if I did I would prefer they were living.
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HA HA I beat you to that one.

NEENER NEENER NEENER :p


RaVeN
 
I met Ray Bradbury. He was cool, nice guy, slightly hard of hearing.

I also met Edward Albee. He was nice, too, which is a surprise, as his press does not describe him as welcoming.
 
I met Fannie Flagg, when she did a book signing at the book store I worked at. She was a little high maintenance behind the scenes, but very gracious to her fans.
 
Ashlea said:
I met Ray Bradbury. He was cool, nice guy
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I believe he has a reputation for being just that. I don't know if he does it any more (due to his age) but he used to be pretty well known for exchanging correspondence with his fans.


RaVeN
 
Haven't met anyone, but would like to meet any and all. Sure, I'd probably meet some I wished I hadn't, but I think getting to know most of them would be a treat.
 
Mile-O-Phile said:
I've met Clive Barker.
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And? :confused:

What was he like? Did you have the chance to talk with him? If so, how was that? Do you feel meeting him has changed the way you read him? etc.
 
falconer said:
What was he like?
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Americanised and homosexual with a gargantuan black man (his husband) snuggling close.

Did you have the chance to talk with him? If so, how was that?
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There was a play in Glasgow's Citizen's Theatre based upon two of the stories from The Books of Blood and, on hearing of this, Clive flew in from L.A. to see the show. Prior to the show he did an impromptu-ish interview and Q&A session. I asked a question although I forget what it was now.

Do you feel meeting him has changed the way you read him?
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No. I rarely see the parallel between an author's personality and an author's words.
 
Ashlea said:
I met Fannie Flagg, when she did a book signing at the book store I worked at. She was a little high maintenance behind the scenes, but very gracious to her fans.
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I was going to say she's the one author that I'd really like to meet. I'm definitely a huge fan of her novels, and she seemed pretty cool on "The Match Game."


Ray Bradbury would've been neat to meet, as well. Farenheit 451 changed the way I viewed books and reading. I enjoyed some of his other novels, as well, but F451 left a permanent mark.
 
I am my favorite author

This post will probably get deleted anyway, but thought I'd answer the question. . . ;)
 
I've met loads of authors whose work I admire, including Chinua Achebe, Mona Simpson, Paul Auster, Donald Westlake . . .

The important thing to realize is that writing is an asynchronous art, not something thrown together before your eyes, and that even the most talented authors may not be public people who "perform" as their readers wish them to. I remember listening to Ian McEwan talk about this in an interview. He said that it was unrealistic to expect authors to be public personalities when their craft is essentially solitary. They spend all of their productive time alone and then are asked to "represent" that work to the public, not an easy thing to do.

Of course there are stellar exceptions, like David Sedaris, who ARE public personalities first and then do that on paper.

If you were an author, how would you deal with this quandary?

Novella
 
The only "famous" writer I've met in person was Bob Greene, former columnist for the Chicago Tribune, when I was twelve. He signed a book of his that I'd been reading at the time and he was absolutely lovely.
 
Publicity Dessert

"If you were an author, how would you deal with this quandary?"

My answer: If your goal is just to write, then publicity is the frosting.
If your goal is to write and be published, then publicity is the cake.
If your goal is to write, be published and be a best seller, then publicity is the batter.
 
I think if you want to be published, you have to buy into the publicity gig. Publishers definitely want to see a commitment to that up front. The questions are, how much of yourself do you put out there, and how does that relate to your books and your readers' expectations?

The problem is not committing to doing some publicity, but living up to the expectations of your readers. Fact is, most fiction authors just don't have that much to say. Joyce Carol Oates, one of the most prolific authors around, just says, well I sit down and work every day, that's about it. Not exactly a stand-up comedian like Sedaris.


And looks count for a lot. Witness the transformations of JK Rowling and Helen Fielding. It's not just because they have more money, but because they have to present a polished, attractive front. And poor Olivia Goldsmith died trying.
 
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