new friends
Monday, June 1, 2009 at 1:39PM Last week was quite the authory week. I did a bunch of things most people probably imagine writers do every day but are unusual for me. For example: I strolled around at Book Expo America, an enormous (and surreal) publishing convention that takes place every May. I attended a downtown-Manhattan cocktail party thrown by my publisher as part of the BEA hoopla—attended by actual, brand-name writers, including Malcolm Gladwell, David Sedaris and Amy Sedaris (and didn't meet a single one of them, alas—too shy). And on Saturday afternoon in Connecticut, I had coffee with novelists Marie Bostwick and Ann Leary.
That, too, is unusual. I do know a few novelists I can genuinely call friends. But writers can be standoffish. It's rare to meet one, mention you're also a writer and have him or her respond, as I would, "Really? How thrilling! What's the name of your book?" It's rarer to meet one and end up with a friend.
Not so with Ann, whose Outtakes From a Marriage is newly available in paperback; and Marie, author of the released-last-week A Thread of Truth. I met both when we participated last month in a University of Connecticut panel discussion. It could have been the lovely dinner our charming hostess provided for us beforehand, or that we were all a little giddy. Whatever the reason, the three of us hit it off so beautifully that by the time we were waiting backstage to be introduced to the audience, we were doubled over laughing at each other's jokes. (For me, it was when I realized I was supposed to be reading from my book but didn't have a copy, and Ann cracked, as I started to panic, "Maybe you could just do an interpretive dance.")
We made plans to get together again this weekend, and I didn't know what to expect. Would we still like each other in the cold light of day? We did. We met at three, started chatting, and didn't come up for air until the waitresses at this little coffee place started putting the chairs on the tables. This being Connecticut, closing time was the decidedly unlouche hour of six in the afternoon, but still.
In the parking lot, we made a deal: We'd each blog about the experience by sharing one thing we'd learned about the other two. For two days I've been trying to decide what to share that A.) These ladies' own readers don't already know, and B.) Wasn't something they wouldn't want shared, and have come up with the following:
1. Ann Leary smells good. Yeah, I know—how creepy does that make me sound? But she came waltzing in literally smelling like roses. I kept making her hold up her forearm so passers-by could smell it, and all agreed whatever she was wearing was divine. Turns out it was some sort of botanical product from the Mayflower Inn & Spa, a nearby resort (coincidentally, the inspiration for the Colonial Inn in Mating Rituals of the North American WASP). I don't know which specific products she had on, but by all means, someone please ask her and report back. Also, she already knew every passer-by who came into that little coffee place, as if she were the mayor of the joint.
2. Marie Bostwick has lived in something like 18 different places in the past 26 years. Or 26 different places in the past 18 years. Either way, it's a stunning number of locations, including several years in Mexico. We asked why she'd moved around so much, and she said, deadpan, "Well, when you're in the Witness Protection Program...." Of course, I believed her for a moment. But despite this momentary deception, Marie is probably not the world's best liar. In fact, she would make the ideal poker adversary, as she has a "tell" when she gets excited about something: Her cheeks turn bright pink. It's very cute.
I'm glad to have gotten to know both and hope we can keep up the coffee dates.
Reader Comments (2)
Yes, my natural essence is roses. The aroma seeps from my pores, I'm just lucky that way.
Thank you for sharing on Ann Leary. I loved her suggestion that you do an interpretive dance! I've been reading her blog daily for about 6 weeks now, & that sounds exactly like her. hehehe She is so funny, warm, and down to earth. Her blog is a very homey, comfy place, and has become a really nice little community.
It's nice to know she smells as beautiful as she is on the outside and inside. ;-)