Launch Party Success

 

By James M. Jackson

I had a blast on May 25^th at Hijacked Legacy’s (Seamus McCree #8) coming out party. The Crystal Falls (MI) District Community Library had invited me to make a presentation and thought the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend would be a good time. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure about the date. Crystal Falls is in Iron County of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the county in which most of the book’s action takes place. The librarian figured lots of vacationers would be around and we might attract some. I was a bit worried that, being a holiday weekend, people would have family things to do.

I shouldn’t have been concerned. The space is cozy, which caused an overflow crowd. (Although there was one free seat in the front row, but those left standing preferred not to take it.)

The audience included the woman who won a silent auction to name a character in the story. At the time of the auction, she did not know if the character I picked would be good or bad, minor or major, live or die. The auction had supported the Friends of the Crystal Falls library, which supplied the event snacks. After the librarian introduced me, I called the winner forward to express my thanks on behalf of the library and the Friends. Knowing she had read the book, I asked whether she was pleased with her character. (That was not as brave or stupid as it seems. We had talked earlier, and I knew she was thrilled, so other than putting her on the spot, it was a low-risk situation.)

I prepare for author events the same way I write the first draft of a novel. I know how my presentation starts; after that, I trust my instincts and experience to guide me through to the end. Other than making sure I comb my hair and wear clean clothes, I try to be my normal self and share what I love with the audience.

Most author events I have attended start with the author telling a little about themselves and how they came to write. They know readers like to learn about authors as people (and if they like you, they are more likely to buy your book).

Some authors focus more on the book, describing its premise, or tantalizing readers with its hook, or discussing why they created this particular book. Done well, the premise and/or the hook can convince readers on the cusp of buying to plunk down their money. An author discussing why they chose to write this story at this time often works well. It combines insight into the author with an interesting reason readers would want to read the novel.

Hijacked Legacy is the eighth novel in a series that also includes two novellas. Believing most of the audience had read at least one book in the series, I took a different approach than those I had seen. I described the dilemma an author faces after publishing many books in the series: how to introduce continuing characters to new readers without boring old readers. How much character description should you provide? Hijacked Legacy is the fourth Seamus McCree novel in which much of the action centers on his camp on Shank Lake. How much, and what kind of location description is the right balance? Also, what backstory do you provide regarding where series readers last left the protagonist?

Having set up the questions an author must answer, I then read the Hijacked Legacy scene that introduces readers to the current “ordinary world” of Seamus McCree. I write all scenes in Seamus’s point of view using first person, which makes for easy reading. The chosen passage was longer than usual, lasting eight or nine minutes. Unplanned, I interrupted myself about halfway through the passage after reading this line:

Life, I thought, does not get much better than this.

My parenthetical comment, “If a character thinks something like this early in a story, you know bad things are about to happen,” elicited a warm chuckle. Of course, the reading ended on a hook. The last two lines follow Seamus detailing some of the rare wildlife he had just spotted that day.

And, blessedly, not a single human.

That luck did not hold.

After that, I opened the conversation to questions and answers. (Or, as I told them, non-answers if one would involve spoilers. If I didn’t know, I promised not to make stuff up like Google’s AI, which had suggested one way to keep cheese from sliding off a pizza shell was to use a little glue!) That kicked off the discussion, and fifteen minutes past the scheduled end, I had to stop the fun.

The questions were excellent and, many times, allowed us to engage in broader discussions. The audience bought a bunch of books, always a bonus. Most important for me, I had a great time and believe the audience did as well.

What makes author events enjoyable for you?

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James M. Jackson authors the Seamus McCree series. Full of mystery and suspense, these thrillers explore financial crimes, family relationships, and what happens when they mix. To learn more information about Jim and his books, check out his website, https://jamesmjackson.com. You can sign up for his newsletter (and get to read a free Seamus McCree short story).