Two Alison (Jean) Lesters, one event!

I am so very excited to announce that after many years of communicating from afar, the ‘other’ Alison (incredibly also Jean) Lester and I will be meeting for the first time, and making this meeting public in a joint event at the Droitwich Library, Worcestershire. If you’re anywhere near Droitwich on Wednesday, 22 May, come along to this unique opportunity: the award-winning former Children’s Laureate of Australia and . . . me.

Two American Authors, Many Paths to Publication

A sunny moment at Wayland's Yard 

What are the advantages to the traditional publishing route, despite the patience it requires? What's essential for the self-publisher? How do the hybrid, crowd-funded options work? 

These are some of the questions fellow American author Suz Korb and I addressed at our talk last Saturday, 5 August, at Wayland's Yard in Worcester. We had about 25 participants in the lovely Community Room upstairs, and while the weather lurched between sunshine and rain outside, inside we grappled with our dreams and the practical considerations of the writing life. 

As these are things we also discuss in our Twitter feeds, you can have a look at @A_J_Lester and @SuzKorb for more. I also highly recommend following @FionaMoMitchell, as it's her regular subject as well, and her blog does a great job of laying out the ups and downs of getting one's work into print.

(Fortunately, Wayland's Yard is a dog-friendly café, so our miniature schnauzer, Jasper, could chill in the back row...)

Yuki Means Happiness. So Does Sake.

Yesterday evening was like a dream - the best kind of dream. There were surprises, but they were all good! I have to thank Birmingham Waterstones for their bright space and enthusiastic staff, and Blake Woodham of Brum Radio for being such a seasoned and interested MC. 

Brum radio's Blake Woodham was clever and engaging

I took the opportunity to read from Lillian on Life as well as Yuki Means Happiness, as I was living in Singapore when my first novel was published, and didn't get a chance to do any readings here ("It's my party and I'll read what I want to."). The assembled crowd was so warm and attentive, and it was wonderful to hear how much people enjoyed being read to. We do as children. We do as adults. Lovely.

 I also sang ("It's my party and I'll sing if I want to") a Japanese folk song, 'Habu no Minato'.

In order for everyone to have at least a tiny taste of Japan, we poured sake - Japanese rice wine - into disposable shot glasses and offered bowls of rice crackers and wasabi peas. The sake was drained, and the books sold out. 

Everyone had a little taste of Japan

The questions from the audience were great

This is my favorite photo from the event - I'm talking to a young man who is studying Japanese. Behind me a friend i met in China 32 years ago is laughing with a friend i met in Japan 23 years ago. 

This week I've been short on sleep, and long on satisfaction.

Many thanks to everyone involved.