Mysterious California
I love libraries. I adore them, always and continuously.
My abiding affection had a boost last night, with an event in the Sunnyvale (CA) library, where some of the staff remembered me as part of an event—oh, how many years ago could it have been? Thirteen? Fourteen?—with Sisters in Crime authors. This time it was just me…and about 125 people. On a gorgeous Tuesday night when everyone should have been home in their gardens watching the sunset with a drink in their hands.
Instead, they came out to listen to me ramble on about, well, books. And writing, and various online matters, and travel. And we had so much fun. It’s amazing how much energy a crowd of enthusiastic people generates, how their willingness to have a great time funnels right through me and makes me more fun in return. (The library is doing a podcast of the talk, which I’ll post when I get it.)
The reason I’m mentioning it, other than to say thank you to everyone who turned out, was that the library had recently run the “Book discussion in a box” program run by California Center for the Book. The centerpiece of the discussion-box is a film about Mysterious California, a brilliant set of interviews with Nina Revoyr, Kirk Russell, Nadia Gordon, and me, talking about place—specifically, how we use California—in our writing.
It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned the program, so I thought I’d bring it to your attention, if you are interested in 1) crime fiction, 2) writing, 3) California, or 4) Laurie King (and if you’re not, why are you here?) but particularly if you ever run or even enjoy book discussions, whether or not you are a California library.
The Book Discussion in a Box about Mysterious California is here, where you can also just get the dvd of the film.
And here’s a photo of us all at the UCLA screening:
Laurie, I had so much fun at the Sunnyvale library last night! Loved hearing your stories and answers to our questions. Thank you so much for coming. And please, bring Holmes and Russell back to Sussex before too long!