I’ve developed this obsession with getting autographed books. It might be better defined as I love meeting published authors, but when I meet them I have to buy their book and have them sign it. So yeah, slight obsession.
Nicole and I went to meet Mitch Albom at a local Barnes and Noble last Tuesday. I found the event on Goodreads and I was more than a little excited about it. If you’re unfamiliar, Mitch Albom is from Detroit and write for the Detroit Free Press. He’s the author of bestsellers such as Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People you Meet in Heaven, and the most recent The First Phone Call From Heaven. This last one is the reason for his current book tour. It will debut at #1 on the NYT Bestseller list this week (or so he says).
We got to the event and purchased our copies at which point we were assigned to Group C. Mitch gave a few opening comments when he arrived and I was really impressed by him. He’s home for Thanksgiving so is doing some signings in the area which I thought was very sweet. His nephews were somewhere in the store, though I didn’t meet them. He spoke about the book and how his mother influenced him. She suffered a stroke that left her unable to talk and Mitch wanted to write about the power of hearing a person’s voice which brought about the idea of those who have passed away calling back to Earth. Let’s say I’m more than excited to read this.
My excited face when I met Mitch Albom. Please notice the security detail hiding his face.
We milled around for an hour and a half (I only bought two more books!) before we were called and we got in line. At that point we only waited about a half hour before we got to meet Mitch Albom! We were both nervous balls of energy, but he had such a calming personality that we weren’t intimidated at all.
I took the time to ask him the question I’ve decided I’ll ask all authors. “I want to be where you are. What can I do to get there?” Mitch took the time to give me a really good answer. After saying I wanted to be where he is, he offered to get up and let me take a seat but I argued my signature was not as sought after. He asked me where I was in life and I told him I worked full-time and have now finished two manuscripts. I loved his answer; He told me to read.
Nicole’s excited face. Please note security detail again.
He said to read things I didn’t like, things I didn’t write about people I didn’t like. When we write, we need to create characters and those characters might be people we don’t like. When you read something outside of your comfort zone, you learn a new voice and that’s a voice you can use in a character that is distinctly different from yourself. I spoke in my post last Tuesday about how my first draft characters are always a lot like me. This advice seemed really timely. When I spoke to my husband upon arriving at home, he agreed that he sees too much of me in my female characters. I’ve done alright with the male characters, but reading books about women different from myself will help me be able to write distinct feminine voices.
I really appreciated the time Mitch took to answer my question when 200 other people wanted a minute of his time. A huge thanks to the people at Barnes and Noble who made the event run smoothly. I hope that one day I can take that seat from Mitch and be able to proudly sit there, knowing I’ve accomplished my dream.
Until next time, write on.
Taking On a World of Words 