[Gary Wassner]

On Monday evening, May 9 at 8:00 pm I will be appearing at Long Island's largest independent bookstore, Book Revue, on New York Avenue in Huntington, NY. I will be answering questions and then signing books. The event is open to the public. If you are in the area and you would like to attend feel free to PM me for directions.

[Gary Wassner]

I will be on vacation (yes, VACATION) until 4/27. I didn't say that I will be out of touch, but I will be out of the country. Where I am going, I can log on each day but not really for long enough to do much but browse what's going on. Maus is going to keep an eye on this volatile forum for me in my absence, so make sure you give him a really hard time!

[Gary Wassner]

Sad to say, I'm back. Business as usual.

[JRMurdock]

and glad to have you back we are.

[Gary Wassner]

So my event last night at Book Revue went very well. There were about 70 people in attendance, which made me feel quite good. I read two poems, spoke about Epic Fantasy in general for a few minutes, then about my books for a short while, and finally I answered questions. Answering the questions was the most interesting part.

The store sold on or about 65 books by the end of the evening, and I signed them all.

[juzzza]

That is awesome news, Gary, you deserve it.

Would you mind elaborating on some of the questions you were asked, who turned up and if the store was happy with the results? Do they have other stores across the country, do you have any other signings planned?

[Gary Wassner]

Sure. The first question was why I chose to write fantasy, which for me was a perfect place to start. I view fantasy as the genre of choice for poets and philosphers who want to write novels. You can employ both your creative yearnings as well as your speculative ones, and yet you are not restricted by the 'rules' of either discipline.

A few questions dealt with my environmental concerns and my interest in nature, considering the rubric of my story. A number of people were curious as to what special meaning trees have for me and why they play such a central role in my world.

Many were familiar with my books, but just as many were not and were there because they were curious. So, a few questions dealt with fantasy in general, and I enjoyed answering those very much. The impression among readers who have never read fantasy is that it is something like science fiction, but they are often not really sure at all what fantasy is. It was challenging and interesting to explain to them that fantasy is often metaphorical, deep, serious, and focused upon relevant and compelling questions abou value and meaning. The most gratifying moments for me came later when a number of these people purchased the books and told me during the signing that I convinced them to try to read fantasy.

The store has only one location, but it is quite large and very user friendly. It is the third largest independent bookstore in the US. They were very pleased with the results.

As far as other events planned, my publicist is working now on setting some up. I was reluctant to plan many until the books had a chance to circulate a bit and until a dialogue began. I would be happy to go to other stores, so if anyone on the east coast of the US owns a bookstore, happens to read this and is interested in having me come by, drop in and let me know. I thoroughly enjoyed this event and I believe that those who attended did as well.

[Gary Wassner]

By the way, if anyone is interested in purchasing signed copies of The Twins, The Awakening or The Shards, Clarkesworld, the best online bookstore around focusing on science fiction and fantasy, has a limited number of each.

[Gary Wassner]

I hope Summer doesn't mind me pilfering this bit of information from the former DeadCities site (currently Frameshift):

Since Gary is hesitant about promoting himself, then I will lend a hand.

Gary will be interviewed on The Dragon Page Radio next Sunday, starting at approximately 5pm Eastern.

While you won't hear this interview until early June, we will be online, and you'll be able to submit questions and comments to be forwarded/read to him during the interview by yours truly.

The instant message id's to look for will be TheDragonPage (AIM) and DragonPageRadioShow (Yahoo).

Bonus news: the show featuring Gary's interview will be the first one aired on XM Satellite Radio, a venue with a little over 3.8 million subscribers.

And Gary, think of "pimping oneself" as being much like "selling one's soul", only without the implication of eternal collateral damage.

[juzzza]

Hey that sounds great, what happens if I look out for the AIM IDs, does it mean I can watch the interview and post questions live, or just chat to TheDragonPage before the event with question ideas?