Share the post "A Night of Science Fiction & Fantasy"
At the end of April, four authors were transported to the Saint Louis County Library Headquarters to talk about their recent science fiction/fantasy novels. It was a fun-filled night complete with random questions and lots of laughter. Let’s travel back in time and allow me to share a few of the highlights of the evening.
Meet The Authors
- Antony John (AJ): Local author of the acclaimed, Five Flavors of Dumb and his newest venture into the sci-fi/fantasy realm, Elemental.
- Lenore Appelhans (LA): Debut author of Level 2 (recently renamed The Memory of After) and popular blogger behind Presenting Lenore.
- Tamara Ireland Stone (TIS): Debut author of the time-traveling romance, Time Between Us.
- Lauren Oliver (LO): International bestseller of Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy.
The evening began with the most important question of the event: What is your favorite color?
- AJ: Yellow
- LO: Grey
- LA: Green (for today!)
- TIS: Slate Blue
The questions then turned the focus to writing with: Name three things needed to focus on your writing.
- LO: She has trained herself to not need anything, though she does need coffee to live!
- AJ: Coffee, time, laptop.
- LA: Showers, naps, coffee when awake.
- TIS: Music & coffee. (She can write anywhere.)
For your novel or most recent release, where did your inspiration or “aha” moment come to you?
- AJ (Elemental): Hurricanes.
- LO (Requiem): On a treadmill during the swine flu outbreak.
- LA: (Level 2): In a shower in Pompei. (Hence, the reason she needs showers!)
- TIS (Time Between Us): A conversation with her husband about super powers. (Obviously, she would choose time travel!)
What do you find to be the hardest part about writing?
- LO: Writing (or the discipline to write)!
- AJ: ALL writing is good practice, whether it is good or not. He recommends feedback and constructive criticism.
- TIS: Ditto to writing! And, now limited time due to deadlines and no longer writing for just herself.
- LA: Finishing the story! She has never finished a story until she received a contract, discovering that she works well on deadlines!
Conversations delved more into writing and reading, but the evening ended on the most random, yet intriguing question of them all: What is the worst job you have ever had?
- LO: A cocktail waitress at a seedy nightclub!
- AJ: A chauffeur in Switzerland, 7 days/week and 12 hours/day. He compared himself to a bear pacing at a zoo!
- LA: Walking a neighbor, who so happened to be a younger, very mean girl, to the bust stop for $3/week. She was in the 3rd grade and it still haunts her!
- TIS: Taco Bell. She may have mentioned sour cream shooting wars!
These four authors were the perfect combination. They shared invaluable information to both their fans and readers, but also to those aspiring authors in the audience. They also played off each other, creating genuine laughter amongst themselves and the attendees throughout the entire event. Even as the crowd dispersed to have their books signed and eventually head home, smiles were glowing and giggles were erupting. There may have even been some goat prancing for those who stuck around long enough for a demonstration!
This night broke time and space barriers when it came to entertainment value. Hands down, it was one of the best hosted by the Saint Louis County Library so far this year!
Follow the entertainment of these authors on a regular basis:
- AJ: Blog, Facebook, Website
- LA: Blog, Twitter, Website
- TIS: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Website
- LO: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Website
Check out previous Walrus coverage of these authors:
