Since the Seeing Past Sickness book is out, containing Holly's first short story (click here for details), I did two open mic readings: Red Rock Coffee, and the Sunnyvale Art Gallery. I handed out my writerly business cards and pitched the book. Think about spending about $3 on it, it goes to a good charity. Holly does slapstick in her story! (Yes, John Gardner, it is possible to write slapstick, and your "On Becoming A Novelist" advice sucks!)
The Sunnyvale Art Gallery went particularly well, thanks to a kid sitting up front who was a great audience. I played to him a bit, saying that my story is PG-rated, not R. He said, "AW!" or something similar. My reading contained the C-word: "Condom." Or rather, "Intellecta-condom." Holly's love interest, Cal "The Intellectual" Critbert, is always prepared. You do not see the love scene, but you hear it: "Oh, Cal!" "Oh, Holly!" "Oh, Cal!" "Ohhh, Holly!" "Ohhh, Cal!" "OW, Holly!" "Sorry, Cal! Oh, Cal, oh Cal... Ohhh! Oooohhhhhhhhh! OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The kid got a kick out of seeing me do that. Kids like silly superheroines. Or silly open mic readers. He also liked the other performers, especially Franco (hope I got his name right) and his accordion, they make beautiful music together.
The Sunnyvale Art Gallery went particularly well, thanks to a kid sitting up front who was a great audience. I played to him a bit, saying that my story is PG-rated, not R. He said, "AW!" or something similar. My reading contained the C-word: "Condom." Or rather, "Intellecta-condom." Holly's love interest, Cal "The Intellectual" Critbert, is always prepared. You do not see the love scene, but you hear it: "Oh, Cal!" "Oh, Holly!" "Oh, Cal!" "Ohhh, Holly!" "Ohhh, Cal!" "OW, Holly!" "Sorry, Cal! Oh, Cal, oh Cal... Ohhh! Oooohhhhhhhhh! OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The kid got a kick out of seeing me do that. Kids like silly superheroines. Or silly open mic readers. He also liked the other performers, especially Franco (hope I got his name right) and his accordion, they make beautiful music together.