At the Writers’ Confernece

Posted by Bob Greenberger on December 7, 2008

The Writer’s Conference was a good experience overall.

Over 30 authors and agents were in attendance plus 108 paying people, coming to hear us babble about writing. Interestingly, of the people there, I only knew two people attending and only two of the authors by name in advance. Everyone else was a newfound friend.

After the registration and coffee portion of the morning, we had the keynote address from Da Chen who entertained the packed room with the story of his life and how he got to turn it into a book and found fame in America.

Being local, I was asked to play chauffeur and made hourly runs to the train station to collect folk which certainly made for a nice ice breaker. One happened to be a non-fiction agent so while I had her captive, sounded her out on some thoughts I had and we’ll be talking.

I managed to catch most of the chat about Series Fiction which had six panelists, all mystery novelists. While other original fiction has its share of recurring characters, mystery fiction seems to specialize in mostly series but the conversation was lively.

The authors were treated to a lovely home cooked lunch of either minestrone soup or chili and I got to chat up Marc Tyler Nobleman, whose recently published Boys Of Steel is the first illustrated children’s bio of Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster. The lovely book is illustrated by Ross MacDonald and is a welcome addition to children’s literature. I also got to finally meet and get to know fellow Fairfielder N.A. Nelson.

I caught some of the agents’ panel and then participated in the Young Adults panel with N.A. (Nina) and three other lovely people: Tony Abbott, Leslie Connor, and Stacy DeKeyser. Tony amazes me with his Scholastic output and understated personality. We had some terrific questions posed by Nicole Scherer, Fairfield’s Teen Librarian which led to a lively and quick discussion so the hour flew by.

Fortunately, each panel was digitally recorded and are being turned into podcasts so I can catch what I missed.

Borders was on hand to sell books but only had two weeks notice and somehow managed not to stock a single book of mine which was a shame. I didn’t hold it against them and even ran down the block to their store so I could meet fellow author Don Harrison, who just published Connecticut Baseball, which I look forward to reading. Don’s daughter Alexis serves with me on the RTM and tipped me off to the event.

It was a great day overall and a success for the library.

First Draft Achieved

Posted by Bob Greenberger on December 3, 2008

At several minutes before 4 p.m. today, I managed to finish the first draft of Iron Man: Femme Fatales . The book is due to my editor, the esteemed Steve Saffel, on December 15, which gives me plenty of time to let it sit for a day or two and then read with fresh eyes.

I was contracted for 85,000 words but the first draft, complete with some of the back matter, clocks in at 79,281 which puts me in the ballpark. When done, this is going to be my longest work of fiction to date

Overall, I’m satisfied with how it went and think there’s plenty of good stuff in here. I already know some character bits to tweak, some aspects of Iron Man’s power that could be showcased better so know there’s work to do And then there will be more rewriting once I get Steve’s notes during the holidays.

DelRey has yet to give me anything more definitive than summer 2009 for a pub date and there seems to be no urgency yet for a cover although I’ve recommended images and artists.

As usual, I am taking immense pride in meeting the deadline. I am also impressed I have managed this considering life’s distractions this fall. In fact, no sooner do I post this than I have to switch hats and attend a Board of Selectman meeting, thinking political not super-powered thoughts.

This Saturday

Posted by Bob Greenberger on December 1, 2008

This one’s for those in the Connecticut area and something I should have flogged earlier than today. I’m very excited to be a part of this after hearing how well last year’s event turned out.

2nd Annual Writers’ Conference – Program

When: Saturday, December 6
Where: Fairfield Public Library, 1080 Old Post Rd, Fairfield
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5 p.m. (lunch @ 12:30)
Admission Fee: $50 (includes admission to all speeches and panels, lunch)
Make check payable to Friends of Fairfield Public Library.

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