Wednesday, February 21, 2007

WRITING STUFF: UPCOMING EVENTS, or DID I VOLUNTEER FOR THAT?


THE MYSTERIOUS EAST MYSTERY PANEL DISCUSSION

On March 3, 2007, at the Temple City Library from 2 - 4PM, I will be moderating a panel called The Mysterious East. The panelists are Naomi Hirahara, Bruce Cook, and Eric Stone. This is my first stab at moderating a panel of well-known mystery writers and I am excited. I hope all of you in the Southern California area will be able to attend.

What makes me volunteer for book signings when (due to the loss of mobility in my left side) I can no longer sign my own name? What makes me volunteer to moderate a panel when there are those who claim I don't know the meaning of moderation in my daily life? What makes me get up in front of a crowd of people and talk when my young and beautiful days are long gone and I have a voice like a high-pitched amphibian?

I don't know.

I like people in general and people who read in particular, so maybe I'm always looking for that spark, that connection, that bonds a writer to a reader through the beauty of the word. Okay, so lots of my words have to do with crime, but that doesn't mean they can't be precise and well-chosen all the same, and carry the beauty of language with them.

And I love to see that spark in the eyes of strangers over cookies and coffee in a library community room.

So I hope this goes well. See you there!

THREE BEAUTIFUL THINGS

The beautiful Danish modern chair in my living room. A piece of sculpture, a thing of comfort, a joy forever.

My Dear Husband's scar from his hip surgery – a thin red line that meanders gently over his smooth landscape like an Auto Club vacation map. I know there's a titanium socket thingy under it, but he says it feels just like the old hip, only without the pain.

Bookworm! My latest addiction…

7 comments:

Bernita said...

"left side"?
Were you left-handed, like me?
How do you cope? Ambi-dex or do you use a stamp?

Anonymous said...

Oh, Bernita - yes I was left-handed like you.

Although I have taught myself to eat and apply makeup with my right hand (and type really fast!) I can't seem to learn how to write with it. I have a hard time signing books. I do have a "chop" in ivory, but it was my father's and is in Chinese & english.

I don't have a stamp, but I think I will get one.

Talia said...

I hope you have a great time at the conference. I think it's good to have things to look forward to...

Bernita said...

Think having your own chop would be elegant.
In jade.

Anonymous said...

What is a "chop?"

Kate, You sound like a truly lovely person. If only you lived on the East Coast I would invite you for coffee or tea.

Kate Thornton said...

Thank you Anonymous - I would come by, too!

I'll be in the Hudson River Valley the week of May 14 - 18 - is that close enough?

A chop is a small carved stamp you stick into red ink and then press on paper - sorta like a rubber stamp, only made out of ivory or stone. It has the ideograph for your name and sometimes Arabic letters for your name, too.

Anonymous said...

Kate:

I'm currently down with the flu, but wanted to offer you a belated thanks for moderating the panel (and for the delicious meal!).

You are an amazing woman and I want to read your memoir. Really.