| Jeffrey Somers April 10, 2010 |
Event Recap
Before I do anything else, I want to thank the hard working staff
and management team of the Borders Books & Music at the
Ramsey Interstate Shopping Center. They managed to get a good
supply of books in with almost no notice, and they were so
hospitable, helpful, and nice in helping us set up! Also, Thanks are
definitely due to Jeff somers for stepping up to the plate, and to his
brother Sean and wife, Danette, for coming along for the ride to
Ramsey and the event. I hope you guys had as much fun as we did!
Now, on to the event! I recorded the first hour of the event, again,
and the audio is all muffed up, again. Next event I am setting up a
proper microphone! Still, if you turn your volume waaaaay up, you
should be able to hear the author speaking. I apologize for this and
have written a strongly worded letter to Creative, the makers of my
Vado recorder.
Jeff Somers started the night off reading an essay he published in
his personal 'zine, The Inner Swine about how he started writing.
The essay, which posits two head injuries as the cause of his writing
obsession, was quickly obviated by Jeff relating a story of watching
an animated version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on
TV and then seeing book and realising for the first time that there
was source material for the movie. He tore through the entire
series, and then was upset by the fact that it ended, so he started to
write his own version of 'what happened next.' The rest, as they say,
is history.
At the Duchess' (Danette Somers) request, Jeff read Chapter 1 of
The Eternal Prison, the third book in the Avery Cates series.
Afterwards we found out a bit of trivia in regards to this particular
scene, which was set in Las Vegas. Apparently the entire thing was
inspired by a trip to Vegas forced on Jeff by the Duchess (much like
Dancing with the Stars, Grey's Anatomy, and American Idol) and
during a performance by Cirque de Soleil he had an epiphany for
this scene. Thus has the Duchess been able to continue forcing him
on further vacations: they are inspirational!
After the reading, we moved on to questions and answers, in which
we learned a lot of important things. Number one, Jeff is a Pantser
(a writer who flies by the seat of their pants) as opposed to a Plotter
(a writer who puts together outlines and plans). Number two, while
he likes music, he finds himself writing in silence more often than
not these days, mainly to cut down on the distractions. We also
found out that Jeff is not a schedule and maintain kind of guy, but
rather prefers his day to move organically, like his writing or that
case of broken beer bottles a fan sent him in the mail. Learning
about prison 'zine pen-pals was fun, but we kept turning our
attention back to the protagonist with a heart of... lead?... Avery
Cates.
There was a great deal of information flowing back and forth, like
data moving through the networks at Westminster Abbey in The
Electric Church, and for those of us in attendance, this was a
rewarding and enriching experience. After we got our books
signed (by the way Jeff, I am glad you wore pants as well) and
wished the author and his family a safe ride home, many of us
retired to the Stateline Diner to feast and gab about a variety of
subjects.
While I did not eat (yes, I am still on the diet, and yes I am still
miserable, and yes I am now only 40 pounds from my goal weight), I
did have a great conversation with Paul and Kate and BJ at our end
of the table. For those keeping track, that would be the Cool Kids
end of the table! Those on the other end, while inferior on the cool
scale, sounded like they were having fun as well. I know I heard
both Gene and Chris laughing, and I am pretty sure Ann Marie,
Josephine, Emir, and Liz were joining in. Next time, I may allow
more folks at the Cool Side of the table, but you will have to be nice
to me! I demand this:)
Next month join us again at the Borders Interstate Shopping Center
for Benjamin Tate. Always Free, Always Fun!
(writeup by Todd Ehrenfels)
Before I do anything else, I want to thank the hard working staff
and management team of the Borders Books & Music at the
Ramsey Interstate Shopping Center. They managed to get a good
supply of books in with almost no notice, and they were so
hospitable, helpful, and nice in helping us set up! Also, Thanks are
definitely due to Jeff somers for stepping up to the plate, and to his
brother Sean and wife, Danette, for coming along for the ride to
Ramsey and the event. I hope you guys had as much fun as we did!
Now, on to the event! I recorded the first hour of the event, again,
and the audio is all muffed up, again. Next event I am setting up a
proper microphone! Still, if you turn your volume waaaaay up, you
should be able to hear the author speaking. I apologize for this and
have written a strongly worded letter to Creative, the makers of my
Vado recorder.
Jeff Somers started the night off reading an essay he published in
his personal 'zine, The Inner Swine about how he started writing.
The essay, which posits two head injuries as the cause of his writing
obsession, was quickly obviated by Jeff relating a story of watching
an animated version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on
TV and then seeing book and realising for the first time that there
was source material for the movie. He tore through the entire
series, and then was upset by the fact that it ended, so he started to
write his own version of 'what happened next.' The rest, as they say,
is history.
At the Duchess' (Danette Somers) request, Jeff read Chapter 1 of
The Eternal Prison, the third book in the Avery Cates series.
Afterwards we found out a bit of trivia in regards to this particular
scene, which was set in Las Vegas. Apparently the entire thing was
inspired by a trip to Vegas forced on Jeff by the Duchess (much like
Dancing with the Stars, Grey's Anatomy, and American Idol) and
during a performance by Cirque de Soleil he had an epiphany for
this scene. Thus has the Duchess been able to continue forcing him
on further vacations: they are inspirational!
After the reading, we moved on to questions and answers, in which
we learned a lot of important things. Number one, Jeff is a Pantser
(a writer who flies by the seat of their pants) as opposed to a Plotter
(a writer who puts together outlines and plans). Number two, while
he likes music, he finds himself writing in silence more often than
not these days, mainly to cut down on the distractions. We also
found out that Jeff is not a schedule and maintain kind of guy, but
rather prefers his day to move organically, like his writing or that
case of broken beer bottles a fan sent him in the mail. Learning
about prison 'zine pen-pals was fun, but we kept turning our
attention back to the protagonist with a heart of... lead?... Avery
Cates.
There was a great deal of information flowing back and forth, like
data moving through the networks at Westminster Abbey in The
Electric Church, and for those of us in attendance, this was a
rewarding and enriching experience. After we got our books
signed (by the way Jeff, I am glad you wore pants as well) and
wished the author and his family a safe ride home, many of us
retired to the Stateline Diner to feast and gab about a variety of
subjects.
While I did not eat (yes, I am still on the diet, and yes I am still
miserable, and yes I am now only 40 pounds from my goal weight), I
did have a great conversation with Paul and Kate and BJ at our end
of the table. For those keeping track, that would be the Cool Kids
end of the table! Those on the other end, while inferior on the cool
scale, sounded like they were having fun as well. I know I heard
both Gene and Chris laughing, and I am pretty sure Ann Marie,
Josephine, Emir, and Liz were joining in. Next time, I may allow
more folks at the Cool Side of the table, but you will have to be nice
to me! I demand this:)
Next month join us again at the Borders Interstate Shopping Center
for Benjamin Tate. Always Free, Always Fun!
(writeup by Todd Ehrenfels)
Face the Fiction
Saturday April 10, 2010
7:00 p - 10:00 p
Borders Books & Music
235 Interstate Shopping Center
Ramsey, NJ 07446
201.760.1967
Join us for Jeff Somers - The Electric Church, The Digital
Plague
About our guest: Jeff Somers (www.jeffreysomers. com,
http://the-electric -church.com) . Mr. Somers is a Jersey
native, born in Jersey City, NJ. In 1995, Jeff began
publishing his own magazine, The Inner Swine
(www.innerswine. com)which he hysterically claims "has
done nothing for my writing career. Except, perhaps,
inhibit it." The Electric Church was inspired by a
character in Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic
Agency - loosely inspired. Jeff says he took "an amusing
concept and turned it into something horrifying." I'd say
we are in for one fun night!
Saturday April 10, 2010
7:00 p - 10:00 p
Borders Books & Music
235 Interstate Shopping Center
Ramsey, NJ 07446
201.760.1967
Join us for Jeff Somers - The Electric Church, The Digital
Plague
About our guest: Jeff Somers (www.jeffreysomers. com,
http://the-electric -church.com) . Mr. Somers is a Jersey
native, born in Jersey City, NJ. In 1995, Jeff began
publishing his own magazine, The Inner Swine
(www.innerswine. com)which he hysterically claims "has
done nothing for my writing career. Except, perhaps,
inhibit it." The Electric Church was inspired by a
character in Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic
Agency - loosely inspired. Jeff says he took "an amusing
concept and turned it into something horrifying." I'd say
we are in for one fun night!
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |  |  |  |
