Neil Low's Author Reading Tour

4-16-2011

Third Place Books

But down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid…. He has a range of awareness that startles you, but it belongs to him by right, because it belongs to the world he lives in. – Raymond Chandler “The Simple Art of Murder”


The Short version: Seattle Police Captain reads from his newest novel set in Pre-WWII Seattle and gets a little lost in the night.

Police Captain, author, and story teller Neil Low arrived to Third Place Books with his new crime novel, “Unreasonable Persuasion.”

The story is based on true events that happened in late 1930’s Seattle. Before WWII, two Canadians; sympathetic to the Chinese war against Imperial Japan, once tried to blow up a ship in Seattle. The boat was full of scrap metal from the trolley tracks torn in headed to the land of the rising sun, just before WWII. Take that Home Land Security.

Anyway this tale provides the backdrop for “Unreasonable Persuasion,” is the third book in Captain Low’ crime series featuring Private Detective, Allen Stewart. Captain Low’s knowledge of Seattle history and Seattle police corruption during the prohibition era is second only to his expertise as a peace officer and an author.

It has been said that policeman and doctors are great story tellers but make lousy writers. Usually this is said by writers who are not doctors or cops but there is some merit to this claim. What often captivates people over a few beers can bog down in print when a person tries their hand at being an author so it speaks well of Captain Low’s writing success.

It is sage advice to never get in the way of a good story, and Neil Low is the kind of author that can keep a dinner party entertained for an entire evening with his intriguing tales.

THE READING.

The author is an engaging man. As people arrive the Captain greets them with a warm smile while handing out promotional cards as easy as a church user hands out the choir’s song list.

As pleasant as Captain Low comes across his presentation style is analogous to a CSI investigator specializing in the pattern of blood splatters: the guy is all over the place.
After the introduction, Captain Low was going to start with Q& A. This is before he said anything. (Huh?) Then he changed his mind. Then he was going to read something from his first book. Then he stopped and began with his background which gave both he and the audience a starting spot but it didn’t stop there.

He moved from stories to segue to another segue until he returned to his first point which got swallowed up by a vignette. A cloud of dysordre fell upon the room and Third Place Books was swallowed whole.

Soon he started reading from his newest book. Half a page into the chapter the Captain stopped mid sentence and jumped further ahead into a separate section of novel. The author restarts his reading, with no set up or explanation to the audience. He just starts reading another section.

By now the night is now in spin cycle and there is forty five minutes left. This is going to be a long night destined to only turn into something really tragic or really funny.

UNTIL…

Once he focuses, the Captain reads well in public. Really well in fact the words from the books section he finally settles on is great. Years of standing in front of a roll call can make a man comfortable in front of crowds. Captain Low is reading the description of the crime scene that is not especially long, but is best describe as Eeeach!

The words and voice of this writer are vivid and scary as hell yet he showed enough class to avoided appealing to the sick and twisted populace who think “Saw IV” was a comedy. It is the kind of scene that can only be written by someone who as actually bore witness to events that would haunt many people.

The rest of the evening is a few questions and more and audience questions and more stories and segues that distract and confuse.

With so much material to draw upon and a warm outgoing personality, if Captain Low ever gets his presentations organized, this will be a can’t miss show.

Cara Black vs Jacqueline Winspear a contradiction in Author Reading

Short version: Two authors come to Seattle with much in common, but one had the better author reading.


In novel writing there are few things the author has control over but one of them is the author reading. It is the one opportunity where an author can connect with the reading public in a way that is both personal and professional.

What makes a good author reading is the question. So many things can happen. So many things are unforeseen. Some are boring, but if done properly it can leave a lasting impression. This brings us to the show down between two ladies of literature.Cara Blackand Jacqueline Winspear

On the surface the two authors have a tremendous amount in common. They are mature, polite, educated and worldly women. It is not hard to imagine them being neighbors and visiting while trimming roses or drinking tea.

Both women write an established mystery series with character’s set overseas in the 20th century. Ms.Winspear’s character Maisie Dobbs is set in England after the end of World War I while Ms. Black’s private detective Aimee Leduc lives in 1990’s Paris.

Why compare these two female authors? Because both recently appeared in Seattle and demonstrated how, despite the similarities, there are differences in each author reading.

Start with atmosphere, which is important. The French organization, I’Alliance Francaise and University Books sponsored Ms. Black to read and discuss her newest novel “Murder in Passy”. Her reading took place in one of the rooms at Seattle’s Good Sheppard Home. This is a unique setting inside a beautiful one hundred year old building now used for various events. It is also worth mentioning that the Good Sheppard Home is centered in a quiet neighborhood with few distractions. No car horns or sirens or heavy traffic as the room window opens up to the large grounds surrounded by an old stone fence and heavy foliage.

Tonight the biggest distraction was I’Alliance Francaise selling French wine by the glass. (an excellent idea)

The spacious classrooms large enough that the soft spoken Ms. Black was concerned about being heard as no microphone was available. Her anxiety was unwarranted as the crowd remained attentive and cell phones silenced without being asked.

They came to hear her speak of Parisian culture and her how her years of research lead her to the inner workings of a French private detective agency. It was a simple straight forward uneventful presentation. Nothing spectacular would happen tonight and the audience was comprised of mainly people from I’Alliance Francaise some fans and other writers.

Still Ms. Black had a large challenge ahead of her. She was presenting her novel to a group whose interest lay not in her books but that of French culture. This was her eleventh book. The question is how does an author present a new novel, (and not a standalone novel but one from an established series, no less) to a crowd unfamiliar with her work.

More later.


The reading for Jacqueline Winspear presenting her novel "A Lesson in Secrets" was the exact opposite of Ms. Black. Her novels have a strong following in this region and the impressive crowd size placed a strain on the Lake Forest Park branch of Third Place Books.

She read on the main stage is known as the Third Place “Commons” where it is located in the center of a large food court and multitudes of long tables are used by the public for personal meetings. The chairs are set and the curtains are drawn, but only the biggies read here.

It is impossible to close off the noise of the conversations in the Commons. On a busy night such as this, the conditions were reminiscent of the days when European Opera singers sang for the wealthy in their boxes while the proletariat were milling around the floors selling chickens, gambling and throwing the occasional tomato at a bad actor.

Even so, Ms. Winspear has a formidable presence, on stage. She has a gorgeous English accent that marries to a rich gentle voice. From the very moment she takes the stage she is prepared and more focused than Cara Black or several authors for that matter. If you hear her speak there is little doubt she is an expert in her subject.

Ms. Winspear also avoids one of the great blunders that author’s make on tour. She is here to sell books. Early on she tells the audience that she will divulge little information about her new novel and politely encouraged the crowd to buy the books. This is an admirable trait, but one that can be taken too far.

Ms. Winspear’s talk was more of a history lecture than an author reading. Her intention was to leave the crowd with hints about her newest novel which was strange for a woman who desires to sell books. Tonight she spoke on the subjects of secrets, unappreciated contributions by British women during WWI and of all things “Winnie the Poo.”

Neither woman was a particularly entertaining reader but this is not a damnable sin. Not every author has the talent to sound like they perform at the Globe Theater and to their credit neither woman read more than a couple of pages.

So what was the difference?

Here lies the lesson. Ms. Winspear assumed her audience knew her work where Ms. Black did not.

By her own admission, Ms. Winspear had been to Seattle on many occasions which might explain why she addressed the audience about her main protagonist, Maisie Dobbs, with such familiarity.

Ms. Winspear’s intended, on this evening to create interest in her new novel but her “clues” were so abstract and so cryptic that she failed to leave any understanding about what Maisie Dobbs will do to warrant investing twenty five dollars to find out.

By the time the Q&A session came about she left no room for the audience to ask questions about the new novel and the All the questions were regarding past novels and the standard, “What are you reading now?”and “Will we see Maisie Dobbs in a movie?”

In defense of Ms. Winspear, it is appreciated when authors try to bring something new to their base core of readers. A tired old speech given repeatedly to fans is a big turn off but tonight people learned a great deal about Winnie the Poo and nothing of “A Lesson in Secrets"

The majority of Cara Black’s talk was about her characters development, history and plot lines. She brought the crowd of unfamiliar fans into the world of private investigator Aimee Leduc. Granted this took time, (she spoke longer than Ms. Winspear) and thank God for French wine, but by taking these steps in an intimate setting, Ms. Black was able to draw the crowd into both her newest novel and the entire series. Proof of her success this evening was demonstrated as Ms. Black was peppered with questions about her entire catalogue of novels and the amount of books bought by the more modest crowd.

Both women are deserving of their success but putting aside writing talent, prose and plot, it seems that to gain new fans in these hard economic times, it pays for a mystery novelist to be less mysterious.

Susan Vreeland Book Tour Review

Elliot Bay Book Company 2-09-11


The short version: An author reading not to be missed.

Author Susan Vreeland came to Seattle to promote her fifth book, “Clara and Mr. Tiffany.”

Based on historical facts, “Clara and Mr. Tiffany is the story of the woman who designed and created the legendary Tiffany Lamps, which until recently have been credited to the company owner, Lewis Comfort Tiffany.

Ms. Vreeland’s story of Clara is a profile into the life of a ground breaking individual whose thoughts and lifestyle were years ahead of her time. Until the last few years, little to nothing has been known about Clara Driscoll, nor the group of designing women she supervised, known as the “Tiffany Girls.”

Before her reading begins Ms. Vreeland, is quick to acknowledge the recent academic work of Professor Martin Eidelberg, who is credited with the discovery that Clara Driscoll and not Lewis Tiffany had been responsible for design and construction of the famed lamps. This research combined with Ms. Vreeland’s own detective work, provide the accurate depictions of the Gilded Age when this story takes place.

The Reading

The basement of Elliot Bay is arranged with the stage set for a slide presentation on a large projected screen which does not bode well for an eventful evening. Often times the slide presentation is a mask to cover the inability of the author to present the book on its own merit. Here it proved to be an integral part of the evening’s success.

A former school teacher, Ms. Vreeland understands what it takes to hold a class’s attention. She is that rare combination of grace and intellect that illuminates the room the moment she arrives. She looks smashing in her outfit that contradicts the dank boiler room decor of Elliot Bay Books. She emits the aura of a lady holding court at a charity function.

She is the perfect hostess. She arrives early, and soon the audience is no longer in Elliot Bay Books but in Ms. Vreeland’s room. She owns the place. Before her introduction, she glides through the crowd, introducing herself to people, thanking them for attending on a winter evening and then (AND THIS IS A CLAUDIO FIRST) proceeds to pass out her business card to the audience so that she may be contacted with further questions or comments afterwords.

She is the perfect guest. This is Ms. Vreeland’s fourth time to Elliot Bay and before beginning her reading she encourages the ample crowd to make all their future purchases at this store.
She is a publishing house dream. Author readings are about selling books. She presents a fascinating synopsis, giving the audience enough details to leave them wanting; then saying with an unequivocal frankness, “If you want to know more then please buy the book.” She elicited this polite response to a few members in the audience asking in depth questions, showing a deft grace of salesmanship that would have sent the most petulant used car salesman into therapy.

In regards to the last comment; it is so rare that an author actually helps sell the product for the book store and themselves that other writers should take note.

At first glance, the books subject seems dry begging the question how could anyone take the creation of glass lampshades and spin it into an intriguing tale?

Then Ms. Vreeland begins to tell the story, rather her story, of Clara Driscoll. The audience is taken back in time to the Gilded Age where America began its economic ascent and began its ability to produce, not just admire, serious art.

She reads her novel without hesitation, demonstrating that she has practiced for these moments. Ms. Vreeland changes the inflection in her voice for each character, accentuates the important descriptions that place the reader in her world. Like a rehearsed actor, she changes reading speed and uses just the right amount of hand gestures on stage to draw the audience into her tale.

The presentation is informative without being condescending or pedantic, but as the evening goes on the reading turns into less about the book and more the lamps construction and design. As the screen is filled with images, the author’s knowledge fills the cavernous room to the point where even the cars from the book stores underground are drowned out.
Simply put, this portion of the program is a hypnotic presentation, convincing enough to believe that the creation of the Tiffany Lamp is on par to the construction of the Great Pyramid. This is all due to Ms. Vreeland’s skill as a storyteller. Only when she admits that she simply spent seven months of research on Tiffany does she break her spell.

Only seven months?

It would be easier to believe Ms. Vreeland has written her Masters dissertation on this subject.

Ms. Vreeland knows the history of Clara, the inner workings of the Tiffany production, how the glass was designed, who selects the glass, how it was cut, molded and placed before being sent off to be soldered into place. All of this done on a simple, even stale subject matter, but proof that the passionate author can change a perception, seal a reputation and sell books.

It may be a long time before Seattle has an author whose reading can match Susan Vreeland.

Author writing style

This is a special added blog post

At nearly all Author Readings, writers are asked the obligatory question, “How do you approach writing your novels?” or “What is your method to writing a novel?” It is the most common question asked of an author right after “What do you read?”

Best selling author Susan Vreeland’s response is worth sharing.

She claims to write the first chapter. Then she writes the second chapter and decides what is needed in the first chapter based on what was put in chapter two.

Now follow this. After reading the first two chapters Ms. Vreeland writes her next chapter and THEN goes back for a review edit of the previous written work adding and subtracting what is needed.

She does this for every single chapter until the book is finished and here is the wild part… wait for it… wait for it…

At the end of the book she considers this a FIRST DRAFT. She put her latest book “Clara and Mr. Tiffany” through that same process for 13 drafts until it was complete, writing and editing all day until in her words “Oh ten, eleven o’clock at night.”

That is what it takes to get on the New York Times Best Seller List and have your books turned into movies.

Cherie Priest Book Tour Review

Universtiy Book store 1-27-11



The short version: Steam punk/Southern Gothic author once famed for her blue hair gives a blue reading.

Author Cherie Priest came to the University book store to read from her newest novel “Bloodshot”.

Ms. Priest is the kind of writer many authors aspire to become, having avoided being pigeon holed into one particular genre and I might add her Blog is one worth reading.


The author first came to my attention when her Steam Punk novel, “Bone Shaker,” appeared in book stores a few years back. (If you need me to explain the Steam Punk genre, how about just buying her book)

Ms. Priest has now moved into the Urban Fantasy arena with her newest effort “Bloodshot.” It is about a modern day Vampire/thief/mercenary hired to a job that puts her in personal jeopardy. Along with a series of unusual characters, both living and walking dead, the book is reminiscent of a traditional hardboiled detective novel.

Sure maybe the whole world is sick to death of Vampires, but along with Swedish girls wearing Dragon Tattoos, books about Dracula’s relatives are keeping books stores open, so stop complaining. Oh there is a twist.

Here the main character, Raylene Pendle, is a paranoid, blood sucker with a big dose of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In her research, Ms. Priest found some of the older tales of vampires had the living dead with traits of OCD which the author incorporated into the novel. Does it work? Well, this blog is supposed to be about the author’s presentation but I did arrive early to University Books, and took the opportunity to read the first part of “Bloodshot” coming away with a positive impression.

The writing is in first person and well paced. Ms. Priest sets up the ordinary
world and heads straight into the main characters call to adventure so fast that it would make Joseph Campbell proud. I paid her the highest compliment by saying that the opening of “Bloodshot” is reminiscent of the pacing found in a Raymond Chandler story. Ms. Priest replied she really didn’t like Chandler (OUCH) and was more a fan of Dashiell Hammett seeing her main character as more of a modern day Continental Op.

Author sighting: Urban fantasy author Kat Richardson, sitting in the front row tonight. When you’re done reading “Bloodshot” check out Richardson’s Greywalker series.

One more thing I really liked was found in the beginning of “Bloodshot’s” acknowledgements. The author sends a shout out to Duane, the Sci-Fi buyer at University Book Store, and the boys up at Third Place Books. Thanks for giving the Indies the credit they deserve Ms. Priest.

The Reading.

Duane, the MC, starts the introduction on time (Love it) The author talks a short time about the book, research, style and jumps right in to the reading. She seems like a nice genuine person and is endearing to the staff at U-books. Her post Q & A session demonstrated she can connect with an audience which is important if you want to sell books.

One of the pleasures listening to established authors is when they can answer questions about previous novels which might inspire the audience to purchase an
author’s earlier book. The Urban fantasy crowd is by far the most passionate, dedicated and curious of fans. It’s not enough that they want to know about the plot and the book but these fans really want to understand the Author’s world and what will happen to various characters in future novels. It makes it interesting and trust me; those questions don’t come up when Nicholas Sparks is on stage.

Not every author is a good reader. Ms. Priest admits this about herself. I find that quality in an author forgivable, understanding and even charming. It lowers
expectations and connects with people. Actually she sells herself short as, Ms. Priest has a fine stage presence.

She starts the reading by leaning far across the podium and into the crowd, like a high school track star at the starting line. There are other authors, whose body language show fear, trying to gage audience acceptance but when authors write about aggressive characters, the source of that aggression often comes out in the reading. Ms. Priest reads with an unapologetic aplomb as if to say, like it or not; these are my words and I stand behind them.

The sprinters analogy is appropriate because I thought someone in the audience must have fired a staring pistol as she began. Word after word came out at a steady fast pace that never let up. As the reading goes longer and longer (over thirty straight minutes and over 8000 words,). I try to keep up with her Vampire heroin, and the kick ass characters, but the reading is too long. At this pace, I become light headed and start to lose interest.

The other issue I have is with Ms. Priest’s choice of reading R rated language in a public place of business that left a stain upon an otherwise enjoyable presentation. I don’t mind profanity, in fact I use it often, but there are levels of profanity in the English language and though I never, repeat NEVER, want to see an author censored in print, I must admit that the use of Blue language during a free public event is troubling.

She went so far as to comment on the language before the reading as a warning but that did nothing for the public shopping in the store who might have walked by after her reading began.

I keep looking around, relieved to see no children in the immediate area and hope an offended parent or shopper listening might leave and never return to one of Seattle’s few Independent book stores.

The occasional damns and hells are fine in Author readings but the evening could have been made less uncomfortable had Ms. Priest insert edited language for the F-bombs and C-word instead of using them in their full glory