Author Meet-and-Greet with Laurie R. King

Thanks to a good friend of mine, I attended an author signing/Q&A/reading with Laurie R. King in Denver on Friday night!

For the uninformed, she writes the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes mysteries, and I think she has another series too, but I'm not sure what it's called.

Now, I've never read her books, but thought the event sounded like fun and it was . . . just a terrific way to spend an evening with my friend! If you're ever in Denver and get a chance to go to the Tattered Cover bookstore on Colfax, it is AMAZING. I highly recommend it, just to wander through in awe!

But back to Ms. King. 

Here's a few fun facts about her in regards to her work.

She does not use an outline when she writes. In fact, the closest she ever got to an outline was little 3x5 inch notecards. That didn't last. She considers the difference in authors that are for or against outlines to be simply a matter of "organization" vs. "organic." I thought that to be a very congenial way to describe it.

However, she does write down plot points she must hit when she's working on her mysteries, just so she doesn't leave anything out.

She never writes about places that she hasn't visited herself (very wise, I think, and something I must remember with my own writing).

She does have a writing schedule, but it's usually no more than 1,500 words a day, sometimes as little as 600.

She knows that if she has writer's block than she's taken a wrong turn in the story somewhere and will re-read the book she's having trouble with until she finds the spot where she went wrong.

Her creativity flows in the way she sits. She wrote her stories longhand for the longest time until laptop computers actually became light enough to put on your lap. Then she could sit in the same position she was used to sitting in to write and her brain continued to work. Until laptops, if she tried to write on a computer, her brain blanked on her.

Her reason behind Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes was a wish to contrast and compare such incredible intellect side by side, 2 different people from different generations put together. When you think about it, that's really quite clever.

I found Ms. King to be utterly fascinating and very entertaining. She loves her work, enjoys her fans, and really has a deep respect for Sherlock Holmes, which I appreciate. I may not fully agree with her take on Dr. Watson, but is it really her take or how Mary Russell perceives him? Who knows?

And yes, I did stand in line to get her latest book, The Murder of Mary Russell signed. Not for me, but for someone else who I know is a fan and reads her books faithfully.

Here's a photo that Ms. King herself took from the podium and posted on Facebook and the little person circled in purple in the back on the left is, in fact, me. So exciting!

Now the biggest question is probably, do I want to read her work? Well, I started listening to The Beekeeper's Apprentice audio book at work on Friday before the event. So I'm not very far in. But I find it intriguing. While I am not really one for series in general, as most of you know, I may buckle down and try reading Ms. King's work. Or I may find that one book is plenty.

What I do know is that as an orator Laurie R. King is a pure delight. In fact, I bet taking a writing class from her would be a really entertaining and fun experience.

So there you have my weekend experience. I am now in love with the Tattered Cover bookstore and since my friend, Lindsay, is in love with it too and they have authors visit regularly, we might just make it a regular thing we do together. Now that would be awesome!

One last photo for the road, me meeting Laurie R. King. Proof positive that she signed a book for me! You didn't know my blonde hair was so long, eh?