Dinner with the Authors

So, I've returned from my work trip to Anaheim, California. For those that don't know, I attended the National Association of College Stores (NACS) yearly trade show convention, CAMEX this past weekend. Each year as part of this convention, we host a "Book and Author Breakfast." This is my first year attending with NACS, so my first year at the convention.

I'm not sure how I got so lucky as to find a job that not only provided me with a trip to Southern California but also enabled me to meet some fantastic writers. I feel blessed. I was also feeling a little warmer since the temperatures there were in the 60s!

I mentioned a short while back that I would be attending the Friday night dinner with our guest speaking authors. Those authors included Gary Moore who wrote Playing With the Enemy; Elizabeth Gilbert who wrote Eat, Pray, Love; Michael Pollan who wrote In Defense of Food; Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jim Sheeler who wrote The Final Salute, and Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon who most recently published The Yiddish Policeman's Union and Maps and Legends. Unfortunately, Michael Chabon wasn't able to join us for dinner, but all four other authors were present as was the editor-in-chief of Shelf Awareness, John Mutter, several Penguin Books representatives, and a handful of NACS book seller members.


At the dinner, I had the pleasure of also meeting Gary Moore's wife, Arlene, and his son Toby. Toby, incidentally, will be playing the part of his grandfather in the movie version of Playing With the Enemy that is set to start filming this summer. Toby is also the reader for the audio version of Playing With the Enemy.

We walked from the Anaheim Hilton hotel to a very nice restaurant called Roy's at the Garden Walk. Along that walk, I chatted with Gary Moore and learned that he is working on two new books. The first should be published next year and is the story of a fighter pilot from World War II. Sadly, this war hero passed away recently and won't be able to see his story in print. But luckily, the story will live on thanks to Gary's efforts on the book. His second book is a fascinating story about Italian immigrants who formed a soccer team in a tiny town in Illinois and through a strange series of events, ended up playing the world champion soccer team.

The evening was magical. I thoroughly enjoyed every last minute of it. So, I have to send another special shout-out to Cindy Thompson who made it possible for me to join this shin dig on Friday night. Thanks Cindy!

Tune in tomorrow so I can share with you about all of the authors' presentations during the conference breakfast the following morning!



Pictured above: Editor-in-chief of Shelf Awareness John Mutter and author of Playing With the Enemy Gary Moore.