To continue with the report of our traveling to Charlottesville, VA a few weeks ago: After the mid-night excitement in Richmond we trundled on up Interstate 64 and arrived at the beautiful Omni Hotel in downtown, just off Market Street. Before dinner we took a walk around the old part of town in the late afternoon, then went to a lecture by John St. Augustine (Living an Uncommon Life: Essential Lessons from 21 Extraordinary People), who spoke on his own 'uncommon life'. Down and out with no immediate prospects for change, he was living with his wife and child in a less than elegant motel when 'an inner voice' told him to go on radio. Though he had no experience at such, he finally convinced a station owner to give him a one week show, which he converted to a decades long (so far) career. He is now a widely heard radio commentator and a producer for Oprah & Friends Radio. Very inspirational and upbeat.
Next morning Randy decided to wear his kilt to the event, and so dressed in hose, his Prince Charlie jacket, a white dress shirt with cuff links and studs, a bow tie, and his Bruce Hunting Tartan kilt. In the top of his hose he slid a hand-made sgian dubh (pronounced skee-an doo), and belted his sporran around his waist. I wound up wearing my jeans, a suit jacket, and a black tee-shirt. He was to the "nines" and I was just there. *sigh* When we walked into the meeting room on the first floor of the hotel, there were cameras and lights being set up. Seems that BookTV (C-Span2) was going to film/tape/record our panel discussion for future broadcast!
We were the least bit trepidatious at the prospect, but managed to settle down while chatting with the two authors who were joining us on the panel: Robert Marston Fanney and Jeff Winner. Both were witty and fun, and I hope they enjoyed themselves as much as we.
Robert (at left in the photo above) is the author of Luthiel's Song: Dreams of the Ringed Vale--the first novel in "an epic fantasy whose protagonist is a 15-year-old girl with a magical gift." Due out soon is the second in the series: Luthiel's Song, The War of Mists. Read more about his works and life at: www.luthielssong.com/
Jeff, from Southern Cali (obviously at right in the above pic), and his twin, then eleven-year-old, daughters, Brittany and Brianna, have written a fantasy titled The Strand Prophecy for young adults. The work features a dark superhero whose only "super" power is being able to think clearly and creatively. To check it out, go to http://strandprophecy.com/
Moderator Mayapriya Long kept us from going too far afield, but we were so talkative that all the questions were not asked, much less answered. If you would like to see the whole recorded discussion, Publishing Day: Successful Self-Publishing, tune in Saturday, April 19th, at 8:00 a.m. or 11:00 p.m. It may also be broadcast at some other times as well. Just keep watching the BookTV site for scheduling.
Afterward, we had lunch with our cousins Kirk and Norma Sheap, who drove from their home an hour away to meet with us. Though we had emailed back and forth for many years, we had never been able to converse face-to-face until then. We enjoyed talking family with them, since Kirk and I are both deeply infected by the "genealogy bug", and had a really good lunch at the hotel.
That evening we took the shuttle to and attended the "Authors' Reception" at Carr's Hill, on the grounds of the University of Virginia, where we were received by former Virginia Governor, the Honorable A. Linwood Holton (author of Opportunity Time), former Virginia First Lady, Jinks Holton, and Professor Woody Holton (who authored Unruly Americans). With all the authors and others who attended, it's a wonder we had time to speak with anyone else, but in addition to our fellow panelists, we had a nice chat with Bob Friedman of Hampton Roads Publishing, and actor Mike Farrell, of M*A*S*H* fame, both nice guys.
Being the only man in the room wearing a kilt, Randy got great attention. Unfortunately, I forgot to pack his plaid, which is a length of one's tartan worn pinned at the left shoulder and draped down the back. I think that would have garnered more neck-wrenching looks, especially from the ladies.
Before heading home, we stopped by Richmond for a meeting of the Virginia Production Alliance, a group of professionals and wannabes like us, who are working toward having more movies made in the Commonwealth. Great idea, and I hope they are successful. We might need the services of our "homey" movie makers WHEN we get our motion pictures made of our Robert The Bruce series. Please note I said "WHEN", not "if".
More about that next time, maybe, when the gatekeeper opens the Postern Gate for another day at the blog. Thanks for visiting, and y'all come back.
