Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Sitting In On A Book Group


So I spent my lunch hour today sitting in (via polycom) on a book group that had read "I Want To Hold Your Hand". Honestly I was a bit nervous. When I had mentioned it to my father over the weekend, his response has been "I don't think you want to do that." And he had a point. What if they hated it? What if they hated it but felt compelled to say positive things just because I was listening? Worry set in, but I decided to sit in on the meeting anyway and I'm so glad that I did.

For the most part they just wanted to ask questions - what was my writing process like? How did I come up with the idea for the story? Were any of the characters based on real people? Was Will based on a real person?

My favorite comment came after a question about Will and how he wasn't a stereotypical jock, to which I said I had wanted to write him as someone worthy of swooning. I have no idea who said it, but it came through the phone loud and clear - "Well I swooned." There was a lot of giggling and twittering following that comment and I just sat back in my chair with a goofy grin on my face. I don't know why it surprised me but it did. I hadn't thought about other people swooning over Will.

Isn't that silly, that I would write a character with the intent of him being crush-worthy and yet I didn't actually expect other people to love him? I would liken this to when I try a new recipe and then am befuddled when it turns out to be delicious. Molly can attest to that, as I tasted the butternut squash raviolis the other night and said (in a completely surprised voice), "Oh man, this is really good!"

Anywho, it was fun hearing reader thoughts. I would love to hear your thoughts - have you read IWTHYH yet? Post your thoughts here or on Goodreads, Smashwords, or Amazon.

Happy Reading!
~Stephanie
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1 comment

  1. Love love love that the work book group read your latest book. Sounds like Will was a total hit with the ladies!

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