| 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! |
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