Panel Speaker at the Tucson Festival of Books

I've been invited to be a panelist at the 2014 Tucson Festival of Books, which will be held March 15 and 16. The Festival will be held on the campus of the University of Arizona.

I'm honored because this is the largest book festival in the Southwest. At the moment, I'll be on four panels, but the agenda won't be finalized until the first of the year. If you are in the vicinity—or not—you should plan on attending. 120,000 people attended last year. It's a fun event and a great opportunity to meet and hear your favorite authors. You can see who has already committed by visiting the Tucson Festival of Books website.

I hope to see you there.

Should a Writer Use Friends as Characters?

No!

Well, that's the simple answer. I have a rationale behind my answer:

1. If the friend doesn't like the character—bye, bye friend
2. Once started, there's no end
3. I write the story for readers, not to amuse people I know
4. My characters have a mind of their own ... and it's never the same as someone I know

I have used friend names for characters, but those characters were very different people. So different that there would be no confusion. I do this occasionally as a tiny nod of acknowledgment. Besides, some of my friends have cool names.

Be nice to this woman

That said, I have been tempted to follow Mary Higgins Clark's example.

“When someone is mean to me," she said, "I just make them a victim in my next book.”

Now that's a great idea. 

I've encountered a few people I’d like Steve Dancy to castigate. (That’s castigate, not castrate.) I’ve restrained myself so far because of rule #2. I think that if I ever succumbed to temptation, I'd definitely be stepping onto the proverbial slippery slope.

There is no life east of Pacific Coast Highway

A few posts ago, I described meeting an old high school friend at his mountain retreat in the Sierras.

Mountain Sanctuary

When we were freshmen and sophomores, we rode bikes to the beach towing our surfboards behind us using jerry-rigged trailers we had cobbled together out of two-by-fours, carpet pieces, and old wagon wheels. It was a great time of life. The good news is that we knew it. We had lots of fun and many friends. We really did believe that no life existed east of Pacific Coast Highway (PCH).

Best of the batch of yours truly

On rare occasions, my friend would bring a twin-reflex camera to the beach and try to capture moments of surfing prowess. He had a darkroom in his garage and I can remember spending hours trying to finesse a recognizable image. No such luck. Without a telephoto, we only got  grainy pictures of neophyte surfers riding tiny waves. In other words, nothing we could pass around the school cafeteria to secure a date or a couple moments of fame.

On my visit last month, my friend gave me an envelope of black and white negatives. His idea was that in the big city, I might find a lab that could still process two-inch, fifty year old negatives. With a few phone calls, I succeeded. However, modern technology still can’t out-perform an enlarger in a garage. In fact, back in those days, we may have had the edge in technology for this ancient medium. Despite not finding Surfer Magazine-worthy material, we did have fun seeing these photographs once again. They brought back pleasant memories of long-ago summers. Unfortunately, they also reminded us how much time had gone by. Darn. Nostalgia just isn't what it used to be.

My Pinterest board on surfing

Me and an impolite friend

Author Photos ... Art or artifice

All I need is 70,000 words and a great head shot

Supposedly, a good author photo can help you connect with the reader. I’m not sure what difference it makes what you look like … or looked like, since many authors don’t change their photo for decades. Typically authors try to look intellectual, serious, hip, casual, friendly, dangerous, happy, or just pretty/handsome. It all depends on what image they want to tie to their books. If an author can’t convey enough personality in a studied pose, many just add a pet to the picture. Everybody likes a man with a dog.

Here is something to remember; the product is the book, not the individual who wrote it. Most writers are introverted and make lousy dinner guests. At least this is true for this author. My characters banter with ease, not me.

I once mentioned to Clive Cussler that the best kind of celebrity was being an author. Most famous authors can enjoy privacy in public, but only need to drop their name whenever they want to trade on their fame. He smiled and told me that was why his author shots were from a distance standing next to an antique car.

Don’t overly worry your author photo. My suggestion is to try for something natural. Write a great book and few will care what you look like. Just ask Jane Austen.