I went
I read
The morning of this event I was a bag of raw nerves. I’d spoken publicly before but it was generally for business. I may have owned the project but everything else was owned by the company I worked for.
This time it all belonged to me. How would it be received?
Now I should tell you that the crime fiction fans and writers who attend N@TB are very supportive especially to debut authors and newcomers like me who’ve had the occasional story published. So there is no fear of being run out of the room.
No, my fears were about flubbing lines, losing my place, and generally not doing a good job of presenting my work so that the audience could feel what I was reading.
Seemingly, these fears were all for naught (and I think I looked quite relaxed in this pic snapped by Tanis.) Several people commented positively on my work. The best remark was presented by an editor sitting with a group of women at a table.
Apparently they all wanted to know more about the protagonist. That “tell me more,” request feels great and something every writer strives for.
Of course the evening wasn’t all about me (really?) The pictures by Brian Baker show only a part of the fun.
It was great to meet-up with Rosemary McCracken (pictured right) again. Her book Raven Lake has just been released.
“Murder, jealousy, fraud, deceit—welcome to cottage country!
Financial planner Pat Tierney’s dream vacation in cottage country turns into a nightmare when the body of an elderly woman is discovered in a storage locker. Pat’s friend, Bruce Stohl, is the murdered woman’s son, and when he is pegged by police as their prime suspect, Pat rallies to find his mother’s killer.
Meanwhile, a con artist has targeted cottages in the area, and vacationers are arriving, only to learn they are victims of a rental scam. When disgruntled renters show up at her door, Pat fears for her family’s safety.
Now she must navigate treacherous waters to protect those who are dear to her.”
As a huge fan of Giles Blunt (pictured left) and his John Cardinal series it was very special for me to participate at the same event. He read from his stand-alone book Hesitation Cut.
“Master crime novelist Giles Blunt is back with a standalone novel of penetrating psychological suspense. Turning the screw tighter on every page, he delivers an intricately plotted story of jealousy and obsession that rivals the best of Patricia Highsmith and Gillian Flynn.
Nothing could be more serene than the life of Brother William, a young Benedictine monk who had turned his back on the world ten years earlier to retreat to a monastery in upstate New York. But then Lauren Wolfe, a troubled young poet, comes to use the library to research a book on Heloise and Abelard; one sight of the faint scars from a failed suicide attempt on Lauren’s wrist is enough to turn the monk’s life upside down. Every suppressed romantic impulse rises to the surface: his desire to rescue and soothe her trumps his vows of obedience, poverty and chastity. Soon he is simply Peter, a gentle young man who has followed his beloved to New York City because he needs to look out for her, as sincerely as he once pursued his calling…”
Books read by the other crime fiction authors: Dietrich Kalteis – Trigger Fish, John McFetridge – A Little More Free, Dee Wilson – A Keeper’s Truth, and Peter McGarvey – Hair Trigger.
Much appreciation goes out to Tanis Mallow and Rob Brunet who host N@TB with great style. They also read from a work in progress and a short story (consecutively.) Thanks to you both for inviting me read.
Rob has written about pulling it all together for an author event for International Thrill Writers so have a peek and read what it takes.
~ June Lorraine
35 responses to “Toronto’s – Noir at the Bar”
[…] Common. See a review of Zero Avenue here. And like me, he’s read at Noir at the Bar Toronto. Group photo here, front row, second from the right. I didn’t get a chance to speak with him that night. Hoping […]
I love film noir, but haven’t read any books on which the movie was based, like Chandler or Hammett. Maybe it’s time to get back to reading fiction again 👍
I don’t know where you live, but Noir at the Bar is a small but amazing event that takes place in many places. Google that, and you will find the ‘posters’. It will give you a great place to start with the names of the authors who are reading.
Then again, Murder in Common is 95% noir books…so you may wish to start here 🙂
Sometimes we’re our harshest critiques when it comes to speaking about our work. Thank you June for the post. Congrats on your book.
Very true and thank you for the encouragement. It’s not a book..but who knows…someday… 🙂
Your blob is fantastic, I’ll be checking regularly.
Thanks June. Go for writing a book. It’s a lot of work but I can tell you the process is a lot of fun. I look forward to following your blog too.
We do get “better” after our first …..
Glad to hear it!
Thanks Sue, it really was fun and as always, a very interesting evening
Looks like a lot of fun, June. I’m sure your reading was wonderful. Great pic!
You rocked it, June. I knew you would. 🙂
You are the best…!
I’m curious if you’d admit the nerves often are because it’s exciting as in it matters some events. I typically can not stand hearing myself somehow be truly honest or creative and ME reading something of that honesty aloud. your event would be a double whammy for me. perhaps you remember that show… an old game show called, “The jokers Wild” come on big money!! no whammy, no whammy! of course i’ve stood to creative workshop’s live fire exercises after, i CAN do it thus,kukos to you.
Yes, absolutely! It was my first public reading and there were authors & family/friends there whose opinion mattered to me. I don’t mean approval, I mean insight, appreciation and so many other things. And that TV show sounds familiar 🙂
it’s interesting to me that you take that thought of it’s NOT approval, not that a little isn’t a jazzing, but it’s the growth from what is done already, it’s HOW it’s received, that ‘insight’ as you say it…. not how well it’s recieved. I remembered that dragging 240+ pages of all the most recent then poetry crapinsky to a poetry workshop. then as isn’t too surprising, while I had previous material and in hardcopy no less, I literally didn’t have time to sort through it to a best fit but had to create again new. I then had to choose to stand and deliver that with our host of that to a musical accompanyment. weird. I mid stream was to perform, versus recite…such flips a switch that is not hating my more personal thoughts unvarnished, but trying to breathe them not say them. I lost the usual feeling of presence/static for a moment having to hear a voice in my ear for timing ‘s sake but otherwise was elsewhere, not whomp, reading something aloud. while that isn’t your ‘insight’ on how it’s recieved, it is just a different feeling and situation, it is just that, a neat feeling to not see the same. whomp write whomp speak whomp wee whoopie clap my pen peed on a page. clap for me, I’m brilliant. it’s – different. uplifting again, to be in that new.
That must have been so challenging and I say congrats to you!
looks at you a touch funny as such was so many years ago, my memory fails to date my experiences :D…. sometimes. that’d be an odd thing, dating experiences…pun on that word of course. yes, I’ll be there 7:15 sharp Friday evening and well bowl of macaroni white cheddar from scratch and watch something cheesey. heh. dating experiences..
You go girl! :0)
You have to be a bit nervous for it to go right. And it looks like it did – wish I’d been there! Will there be a next time? Maybe a video then…
N@TB Toronto is held about three times a year. They (we) are lucky to have Brian Baker to take photos! Now that you mention it no one videos the event on their iPhone which shows quite delightfully that everyone is focused and present. That said a volunteer videographer would be nice but I’m secretly glad we don’t have one. It would have been nice to have you attend Curtis.
Maybe one day I’ll manage to be there. My nephew lives in Vancouver – closer but still a long way…
Yes, quite a way still…
So glad it all went well. Wish I could have been there!!!
Me too Donna…come to Canada!
Thanks…
I’ll try 😀😀
Sounds like it was a great evening, June. Wish I could’ve been there. 🙂
You are too damn far away in the land of AU. Thanks Vicki!
Good for you June…..I’m proud of you.
Sent from my iPad
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Thank you my wonderful sister!
Good for you! It’s a lot more fun than it sounds.
Ha, ha it was great evening Sue
You did a terrific read, June Lorraine. I really like your protagonist.
That means a lot to me Rosemary, thanks!
Kudos June!! You did it!
It was a lot of fun Judy “-)