| Natalie Danford March 10, 2007 |
Post Meeting Write-up
Face The Fiction met last night in the Community Room of the
Panera Bread Restaurant in the Ramsey Square Shopping Center
to "meet & greet" author Natalie Danford. She began by
discussing her 1st published novel Inheritance, which is about a
woman named Olivia who discovers that her father Luigi (who
had been deteriorating from Alzheimer’s disease) held title to
some land in Italy, and read excerpts from her novel (she had
also attempted to get a dark teenage romance novel published
earlier but all the publishers passed on it). She talked about what
it takes to get your novel published, the main things being
persistence, having a good agent, and a willingness to be edited
(and not act like a prim Donna; she keeps a file of "diva author" e-
mails on her computer). She also discussed editing the Best
New American Voices anthology. Lots of questions were
asked until 9:50pm, when Todd shooed us out so he could
restore the room to its original set-up before the place's closing
time (which was 10:00pm) Thanks to Ann-Marie Brown for
getting us both the location & the speaker at the 11th hour, and
to Todd, Jim & Steve Spinosa, Bill Wagner, & Paul Dellechaie for
assistance in setting up the room. Next month our speaker will
be Dr. Kim Paffenroth, who has written a guide to the George
Romero Living Dead movies. See y'all then!!!
Face the Fiction met last night in what turned out to be a truly
fun night. Both the location and the speaker were fresh, new
and great fun!
The Panera Community Room was very nice and provided a nice
amount of privacy. Many of us grabbed food and drinks, brought
them into the room and settled in for a nice time. When Jo and I
arrived with the guest speaker, Natalie Danford, and her husband
Paolo, the room had already been set up (thanks go to Paul, Bill,
Todd, Steve, Jim), calendars had been placed on all of the seats
(thanks again to Steve & Jim), and we had a roomful of eagerly
waiting members (thanks to Mike P for driving Aubrey!). We had
some time before our guests 8:00 presentation, so members
introduced themselves and made Natalie and Paolo feel
welcome (not unusual for this group. Both Natalie and her
husband were friendly and fit right in! Paolo and Bill were having
a nice discussion about the Strand, while Natalie was shown her
book display, arranged awesomely by Todd (a coup for us, we
have arrangements with Borders for off-site book events - not
something extended on a normal basis). Right before the 8:00
start, Moira joined us...we were all very happy to see Moira!
Ms. Danford began her presentation with a discussion of her
novel Inheritance. She not only discussed the inspirations for
her story, but the ins and outs of the writing process, something
of particular interest to many members. She discussed how many
revisions go into a book, how you doubt your own story, and
how it's important to have another person to read your work and
make suggestions. It came as no surprise that Ms. Danford told
us that this is something you need to be prepared for - no
overnight success exists in publishing. She gave us fun little
insights into the world of publishing and editing, as she not only
writes, but edits and critiques. This gave her a unique pedigree
and a truly unique perspective. It was funny to hear that some
writers are no fun to work with and a "diva file" is out there being
kept - she's taking names people, be nice! Ms. Danford then read
two excerpts from her novel - as Aubrey put it "the writing was so
poignant, that you recalled similar situations in your life and felt
them". We all enjoyed the readings and found it funny that
Natalie asked if we were bored! Bored, we were loving it!
Questions were asked throughout the presentation and
answered thoughtfully, fully and often in a very funny manner.
You had to be there to fully appreciate Natalie's surprise at the
behavior of some people trying to get published. It amazes her
that anyone can think to get something they want by being
pushy, manipulative and just plain old unkind and rude! It's
obvious Natalie practices what she preaches, because you
couldn't ask for a nicer, more generous speaker. Mike P had
many questions and enjoyed telling Natalie about his writing
attempts. Todd had to finally call an end at 9:50 so we could put
the room back to its original state. Thanks to everyone, because
everyone pitched in - no slackers here! A very special thanks also
goes to Paolo (a guest!) who rolled up his sleeves and moved
tables and chairs. Thanks Paolo! Natalie very kindly and humbly,
signed all of the purchased books put before her. She was too
sweet and couldn't believe we bought her books.
We continued the night at a nearby diner, where conversation
ranged from tribute band denial (Aubrey, turning your head
doesn't make it go away!), the movie 300 (Taras and his hilarious
half-way reviews), bumbershoots, garden apartments with a view
(thanks Liz!), reinforced cardboard (thanks Paul!), computers &
preferential programs, what we're not watching on tv and the
mafia..don't ask. We finally left when reminded about the hour
ahead thing. Next month brings us Dr. Kim Paffenroth who
will discuss his books Gospel of the Living Dead: A Field Guide to
Romero's Living Dead Movies & his new zombie novel Dying to
Live. I look forward to seeing you all then. It means much to me
as so much work goes into the event!
Face The Fiction met last night in the Community Room of the
Panera Bread Restaurant in the Ramsey Square Shopping Center
to "meet & greet" author Natalie Danford. She began by
discussing her 1st published novel Inheritance, which is about a
woman named Olivia who discovers that her father Luigi (who
had been deteriorating from Alzheimer’s disease) held title to
some land in Italy, and read excerpts from her novel (she had
also attempted to get a dark teenage romance novel published
earlier but all the publishers passed on it). She talked about what
it takes to get your novel published, the main things being
persistence, having a good agent, and a willingness to be edited
(and not act like a prim Donna; she keeps a file of "diva author" e-
mails on her computer). She also discussed editing the Best
New American Voices anthology. Lots of questions were
asked until 9:50pm, when Todd shooed us out so he could
restore the room to its original set-up before the place's closing
time (which was 10:00pm) Thanks to Ann-Marie Brown for
getting us both the location & the speaker at the 11th hour, and
to Todd, Jim & Steve Spinosa, Bill Wagner, & Paul Dellechaie for
assistance in setting up the room. Next month our speaker will
be Dr. Kim Paffenroth, who has written a guide to the George
Romero Living Dead movies. See y'all then!!!
Face the Fiction met last night in what turned out to be a truly
fun night. Both the location and the speaker were fresh, new
and great fun!
The Panera Community Room was very nice and provided a nice
amount of privacy. Many of us grabbed food and drinks, brought
them into the room and settled in for a nice time. When Jo and I
arrived with the guest speaker, Natalie Danford, and her husband
Paolo, the room had already been set up (thanks go to Paul, Bill,
Todd, Steve, Jim), calendars had been placed on all of the seats
(thanks again to Steve & Jim), and we had a roomful of eagerly
waiting members (thanks to Mike P for driving Aubrey!). We had
some time before our guests 8:00 presentation, so members
introduced themselves and made Natalie and Paolo feel
welcome (not unusual for this group. Both Natalie and her
husband were friendly and fit right in! Paolo and Bill were having
a nice discussion about the Strand, while Natalie was shown her
book display, arranged awesomely by Todd (a coup for us, we
have arrangements with Borders for off-site book events - not
something extended on a normal basis). Right before the 8:00
start, Moira joined us...we were all very happy to see Moira!
Ms. Danford began her presentation with a discussion of her
novel Inheritance. She not only discussed the inspirations for
her story, but the ins and outs of the writing process, something
of particular interest to many members. She discussed how many
revisions go into a book, how you doubt your own story, and
how it's important to have another person to read your work and
make suggestions. It came as no surprise that Ms. Danford told
us that this is something you need to be prepared for - no
overnight success exists in publishing. She gave us fun little
insights into the world of publishing and editing, as she not only
writes, but edits and critiques. This gave her a unique pedigree
and a truly unique perspective. It was funny to hear that some
writers are no fun to work with and a "diva file" is out there being
kept - she's taking names people, be nice! Ms. Danford then read
two excerpts from her novel - as Aubrey put it "the writing was so
poignant, that you recalled similar situations in your life and felt
them". We all enjoyed the readings and found it funny that
Natalie asked if we were bored! Bored, we were loving it!
Questions were asked throughout the presentation and
answered thoughtfully, fully and often in a very funny manner.
You had to be there to fully appreciate Natalie's surprise at the
behavior of some people trying to get published. It amazes her
that anyone can think to get something they want by being
pushy, manipulative and just plain old unkind and rude! It's
obvious Natalie practices what she preaches, because you
couldn't ask for a nicer, more generous speaker. Mike P had
many questions and enjoyed telling Natalie about his writing
attempts. Todd had to finally call an end at 9:50 so we could put
the room back to its original state. Thanks to everyone, because
everyone pitched in - no slackers here! A very special thanks also
goes to Paolo (a guest!) who rolled up his sleeves and moved
tables and chairs. Thanks Paolo! Natalie very kindly and humbly,
signed all of the purchased books put before her. She was too
sweet and couldn't believe we bought her books.
We continued the night at a nearby diner, where conversation
ranged from tribute band denial (Aubrey, turning your head
doesn't make it go away!), the movie 300 (Taras and his hilarious
half-way reviews), bumbershoots, garden apartments with a view
(thanks Liz!), reinforced cardboard (thanks Paul!), computers &
preferential programs, what we're not watching on tv and the
mafia..don't ask. We finally left when reminded about the hour
ahead thing. Next month brings us Dr. Kim Paffenroth who
will discuss his books Gospel of the Living Dead: A Field Guide to
Romero's Living Dead Movies & his new zombie novel Dying to
Live. I look forward to seeing you all then. It means much to me
as so much work goes into the event!
 | ||
About Natalie Danford
Natalie Danford graduated from Yale University and received
her MFA in fiction from New York University. Her articles and
reviews have appeared in People, Health, Pages, Paste, Eating
Well, Salon, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Los Angeles Times, and
many other publications. She is series co-editor for Best New
American Voices, an annual anthology published by
Harvest/Harcourt that showcases emerging writers of fiction, and
an accomplished translator of Italian.
Natalie Danford graduated from Yale University and received
her MFA in fiction from New York University. Her articles and
reviews have appeared in People, Health, Pages, Paste, Eating
Well, Salon, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Los Angeles Times, and
many other publications. She is series co-editor for Best New
American Voices, an annual anthology published by
Harvest/Harcourt that showcases emerging writers of fiction, and
an accomplished translator of Italian.
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