Book Club Discussion

Today, I had the honor of meeting with a Book Club in DeWitt to discuss my book,  In Its Time.   It was a very delightful experience. I think there were eight book club members present, about half of whom had at one time been my former parishioners.  They all really loved the book!

After that experience, I know much more about how to give a "book talk" to a small group.  Since this was my first small group experience, I really appreciated the fact that they got to ask questions of me,  the author.  And I also got to ask questions of them, the readers.

They wanted to know about my writing process, as well as about my publishing process.  Those are both topics about which I now know quite a bit!

I learned from that group in particular what a unique and special experience it was for the readers, since the main character in the book, Del Williams, lived in DeWitt.   One reader told me that there is a small house with a long driveway, back in the trees, exactly like the one I described in the book, not very far from the location I named. [The one I described was 100% imaginary.]  Of course, these readers would also have familiarity with other sites mentioned, from Everson Museum, to Green Lakes State Park, to other locations and events characteristic of Syracuse and central New York.

Several club members were especially impressed with the accuracy of the historical details provided in the background information about the characters.  Come to think about it, I did do quite a bit of research and weaving of the details to bring this story to life.

We discussed the questions I had provided at the end of the book, primarily because I had seen numerous other books with that kind of guide at the end.  I could not, at the time of writing, have remotely imagined actually sitting with a group of people who have actually read the book, and discussing those questions.

It was really a thrilling experience.

I cannot wait until tomorrow, when I expect another major life experience to unfold!