Crime Fiction Authors Tomorrow: Why You Need to Be There [I am Holding Seats for You!]

The ARRT and Sister's in Crime joint author event is tomorrow at 2 pm in Deerfield. Click through for details.

I have heard from many of you that you want to come but did not pre-register.  GREAT NEWS-- You can let me know with a quick email bspratford [at] hotmail [dot] com and I will make sure there is room for you.  Then please just bring your $15 to the event to pay at the door.

But here is why you should drop everything and join us.  This is a librarian centric event.  Cari Dubiel, Sisters in Crime's Library Liaison will be joining to moderate the event spotlighting: Lori Rader-Day (The Black Hour), Susanna Calkins (A Murder at Rosamund's Gate and From the Charred Remains), and Clare O'Donohue (Missing Persons, Life Without Parole, and The Double Wedding Ring).

Cari will be there to ask the authors questions about how they write.  These are 3 popular authors who our patrons already enjoy.  If we can understand how these authors craft their stories, we will have a better understanding as to why our patrons like reading them.  This leads us to better RA interactions, as we will be more prepared to ask the correct questions as we help leisure readers. 

I for one am excited to hear how they work with the concept of genre within their works.  How much do they think about the genre conventions of mystery, suspense, thriller, and psychological suspense as they write? Between the 3 of them, they hit at all of the crime genres at some point. I am the most interested in hearing Lori Rader-Day whose first novel exploded onto the scene. I think she really captures this trend to move from traditional mystery into more amorphous "crime fiction" style. Readers are eating it up, but do writer realize they are blending more?

See what I mean. There are great questions and issues to be addressed here; things that don't come up at a more traditional author event. This is why I am saving seats for you last minute procrastinators. And if you can't make it, send a staff member.

Plus, there will be plenty of time for you to ask anything you want AND there will be books for sale. The authors have not only agreed to appear for a low fee because they love libraries, but also, they will stay and sign books for as long as it takes.

So, let me know if you did not pre-register ASAP so I can save you a seat. We would like to allow some Deerfield patrons the opportunity to come as a thank you for the free use of their meeting room, but only if there are seats available, so please let me know if you can make it.

Hey, I'm driving all the way from my desk shift at Berwyn (which doesn't end until 1) to be there. You can make it too. 

Seriously though, this will really help to increase your personal knowledge of crime fiction AND it will lead to tangible improvement in your work with leisure readers. Plus, it is going to be fun!

If you do come and we have never met, I'll be the one introducing Cari to kick it all off. Stop over and say hi after the presentation.