Last evening I was lucky enough to attend “An Evening with Kathy Reichs” at my local library.    I have to start off this post by saying I am not really a Kathy Reichs fan – okay, that’s a bit cold – let’s say I do not read Kathy Reichs.  I went to this event because my BFF is a fan (of both the books and the television series) and since she had never been to an author event (shocking – I know) she asked if I would accompany her to this one.  It didn’t take much arm-twisting since these library events are always free of charge and, I know from previous experience, always interesting and entertaining.  Ms. Reichs was no exception.

 

Ms. Reichs is a wonderful speaker. 

 

She began the evening but explaining to her audience a little bit about what a “forensic anthropologist” actually does for a living.  Given her many work obligations, her numerous humanitarian efforts, her charitable work, being a producer on “Bones” and enjoying her six grandchildren I am surprised she has any time left to write her popular books at all.  Now, I must say that the topic of forensic anthropology, especially accompanied by graphic slides, could be a little tummy-churning but Ms. Reichs handled it gently and with a sense of humor that, for some reason, I was not expecting.  I’m sure had a been one of her readers I would not have been as surprised because, as she explained, she does try to incorporate humor into both her books and television series to lighten things up once in a while.  I couldn’t help but notice that each of her slides during the presentation had a little skeleton somewhere on the screen doing somersaults, dancing, or just walking back and forth.  I tried to capture him in a picture but failed.  The image will give you the idea though.

 

Ms. Reichs also admitted to frequently thinking “That sooo cool!” when other folks not in her line of work might be thinking “Ewwww!”  She did try to convince the audience, while explaining the importance of entomology to her line of work, that maggots were cute.  She even brought a slide of a maggot magnified under a powerful microscope.  Yeah … I wasn’t buying into that one!

 

I am sure that I was the only person in the audience that was not familiar with every one of her books but she went through a few of them, starting with “Deja Dead” and explained which of her real-life cases the idea for the book came from.  Often it was a compilation of two cases or a “what-if” thought she had when puzzling out a forensic problem.  Even with authors whose works I do read I find the back-story of where the idea was born is always fascinating.  Ms. Reichs, taking the time to explain where the ideas for the books came from may have earned you a new fan … it definitely made me want to go out and pick up a copy.

 

 

Ms. Reichs also introduced the “Virals” series, YA books she writes with her son, Brendan Reichs.  Wow, that series sounded really good to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ms. Reichs next segment was about “Bones” the television series.  She did touch slightly on the fact that the show doesn’t follow the books too closely.  I had been people watching and eavesdropping (as I am wont to do while standing in line) on the people waiting to go into the auditorium and one of the major things I noticed was the division between fans of the show and those of the books.  Only a slight few seemed to like both?  One group of fans enjoyed one or the other enough to make the 260-mile trek from Rochester, NY to attend the evening.  Ms. Reichs does write one show each season and I had no idea the amount of time, from idea inception to final production, went into getting just one episode on the air.

 

As her talk was wrapping up she did introduce two upcoming books.  One compilation brought to readers by the Mystery Writers of America in which she teamed up with Lee Child to write a story where the action features both Jack Reacher and Temperance Brennan.  Interesting!  Her next book (I didn’t catch the slide in time to show you the cover image) but it’s titled “Two Nights” and will NOT feature Temperance Brennan.  The only tidbit she would share was the main character’s name – Sunday Night.

 

The enjoyable evening ended with a Q&A from the audience where were learned that she enjoyed reading murder mysteries, those on the darker side, such as Jo Nesbo, Clive Cussler and, with a sly smile, she emphatically assured the audience that she had never heard of Patricia Cornwell.

 

A very well deserved round of applause ended the evening and we went out to meet Ms. Reichs in the lobby of the library to get our books signed.  Yes, I purchased her newest book “The Bone Collection” because Ms. Reichs won me over and this book is a composed of four novellas.  Ms. Reichs explained that they were intended to be short stories but she has a little problem with the “short” part of that description.  I thought this would be a good introduction to her characters for a newbie like me.  My BFF was quite excited to note that “First Bones”, included in this book and never published anywhere before, is a story that reveals how Tempe became a forensic anthropologist, leaving behind the world of academia and moving “into the grim but addictive world of criminal investigation”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. King is a historian and the author of several books including “Judgement in Paris” which he refers to as the prequel to his most recent “Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lillies”.

 

From reading some of Mr. King’s previous books I know he has the enviable ability to make the subjects of his books come to life.  He writes non-fiction that is does not read like endless boring art history lessons and biographical facts but is rather great story telling with amusing anecdotes, tidbits, illustrations and photographs.  His talk at the AGO was no different and included beautiful slides, great stories and intriguing (new to me) facts about Claude Monet’s life.  Judging from the Q&A following his talk the audience was filled with fans of Impressionist Art in general and Monet in particular yet Mr. King held everyone enthralled for the hour he spoke.  My daughter joined me for the evening, and while she enjoys art of all genres he certainly peaked her interest in Monet’s massive Water Lillies art installation.  She is lucky enough to be traveling to New York next week and after seeing the slides and hearing the story behind the mural-like paintings has added a MoMA visit to the “must fit in” list for NYC.

 

As enthusiastic as Mr. King was about his subject matter he was very careful (by his own admission – at his editor’s behest) not to give away everything in his book.  The line up to purchase his book at the end of the evening proved that he had succeeded in whetting everyone’s appetite.  I definitely picked up a copy and had it signed.  Mr. King was also kind enough to sign my copy of “Judgement in Paris” as well.  Mr. King was so generous with his time taking a few minutes to speak to everyone as he was signing his or her books. Kudos definitely go to the AGO for putting on an enjoyable evening.

When I travelled to Paris recently friends knew I would definitely be going to the Louvre – I mean who goes to Paris for the first time and doesn’t take the time to see the Mona Lisa (okay one person I know, who will go unmentioned, you know who you are!) – but those same friends, knowing of my interest in Impressionist Art said “DO NOT miss Musee D’Orsay”.  Definitely good advice!  While packing for the trip I had included a favourite top.  I didn’t think about it, just threw it in because I like it.  I wanted to wear it one day and when she saw it my daughter suggested that I should save it and wear when visiting D’Orsay.  She takes the greatest pictures wherever she goes and the wheels were already spinning for this “Monet/Mom-et” moment.

 

To quote another Mr. King (Stephen) “Ka is a wheel” and that certainly proved true in this case.  Barely a week after I returned the newsletter from AGO popped into my electronic mailbox announcing their newest Impressionist special exhibit, which includes many paintings on loan from D’Orsay, and the talk by Ross King.  My tickets for Mr. King were booked in almost a heartbeat.  I wasn’t sure about spending the money on the AGO exhibit (it seemed a little redundant after “D’Orsay) but after hearing Ross King speak we decided that we are definitely going back to walk through “Mystical Landscapes”.  Planning to make a day of it we are going skip across town and check out the Chihuly Glass exhibit at the ROM on the same day.

 

Looking forward to it!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from www.rosskingbooks.com)

 

Ross King is the bestselling author of books on Italian, French and Canadian art and history. Among his books are Brunelleschi’s Dome(2000), Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling (2002), The Judgment of Paris (Governor General’s Award, 2006), and Leonardo and The Last Supper (Governor General’s Award, 2012). He has also published two novels (Domino and Ex-Libris), a biography of Niccolò Machiavelli, and a collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s fables, jokes and riddles. He is the co-author with Anja Grebe of Florence: The Paintings & Frescoes, 1250-1743 (2015), the most comprehensive book ever undertaken on the art of Florence.

 

Ross’s latest book, published in September 2016, marks his return to French Impressionism ten years after his award-winning The Judgement of Paris. The story of Monet’s struggles and triumphs in the last dozen years of his life, Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies has been written with “a historical novelist’s attunement to the interplay of place, temperament, and society … Never before has the full drama and significance of Monet’s magnificent Water Lilies been conveyed with such knowledge and perception, empathy and wonder” (Donna Seaman, Booklist).

 

In tandem with his writing, Ross is an active fundraiser for the arts and a passionate lecturer and tour guide. He serves on the Council of Academic Advisors for Friends of Florence (FoF), the fundraising charity that ensures the survival of Florence’s art and architectural treasures. He has participated in numerous FoF study tours throughout Italy, including in Rome, Assisi and Milan. He is a regular participant in the Italian Renaissance seminars at the Aspen Institute, and has given Impressionist tours of Paris, Normandy, Brittany and Provence. He has lectured in many American museums, including at the Smithsonian, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Frick Collection, and the National Gallery. When not traveling for work or pleasure, he lives in the historic town of Woodstock, near Oxford, with his wife Melanie.

 

His books include:

 

 

About “Mad Enchantment” (from his website)

 

Claude Monet is perhaps the world’s most beloved artist. Among all his creations, the paintings of the water lilies in his garden at Giverny are the most famous. Seeing them in museums around the world, viewers are transported by the power of Monet’s brush into a peaceful world of harmonious nature. Monet himself intended them to provide “an asylum of peaceful meditation.” Yet these beautiful canvases belie the intense frustration Monet experienced at the difficulties of capturing the fugitive effects of light, shade, depth and color. Their calmness and beauty also conceal the terrible personal torments—the loss of loved ones, the horrors of World War I, the infirmities of age—that he suffered in the last dozen years of his life.

 

Mad Enchantment tells the full story behind the creation of the Water Lilies. The history of these remarkable canvases begins early in 1914, when French newspapers began reporting that Monet, by then 73 and one of the world’s wealthiest, most celebrated painters, had retired his brushes. He had lost his beloved wife, Alice, and his eldest son, Jean. His famously acute vision—what Paul Cezanne called “the most prodigious eye in the history of painting”—was threatened by cataracts. And yet, despite ill health, self-doubt, and advancing age, Monet began painting again, this time on a more ambitious scale than ever before.

 

Linking great artistic achievement to the personal and historical dramas unfolding around it, Mad Enchantment presents the most intimate and revealing portrait of an iconic figure in world culture—from his lavish lifestyle and tempestuous personality to his close friendship with the fiery war leader Georges Clemenceau, who regarded the Water Lilies as one of the highest expressions of the human spirit.

 

 

“King consummately meshes biography with art history … Never before has the full drama and significance of Monet’s magnificent Water Lilies been conveyed with such knowledge and perception, empathy and wonder.” - Booklist (Starred Review)

 

“Readers will rejoice at this critical and social “biography” of Monet’s stunningly ambitious final signature painting cycle, Water Lilies, a deeply immersive companion to the author’s memorable The Judgement of Paris … King is ever the brilliant docent murmuring the right, telling details and critical backstories in our ear as we move through space and time. He ultimately brings the man and his work into perfect focus while increasing his audience’s interest in both all the more.” – Literary Journal

 

The AGO Exhibit:

 

The event raised $673,000 for the Gallery, which will be used to support its education and outreach initiatives as well as exhibitions like this one, which not only brought Starry Night Over the Rhone to Canada for the first time, but will also take significant Canadian works from artists like Emily Carr and Lawren Harris to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

 

 

 

These “Deadly Dames” led an informative and very lively discussion about what it means to be a female author in the world of crime fiction.  Their collective works range from cozy and historical mysteries through to a more humorous take on murder and include novels, short stories and “rapid reads” (novellas).  Needless to say, an impressive body of work spanning a wide range of reader interest and preferences.

 

The ladies of the panel …

 

 

One brave gentleman joined the otherwise completely female audience, which was a little smaller than anticipated, although I found this made the setting and the discussion seem more intimate – a chat rather than a presentation.

 

Obviously, the first question addressed was WHY? – Why do these women choose to write about murder and mayhem?  The unanimous answer … because its fun!  A few other good points were made as well; women are predominantly caretakers and often find themselves ruled by other people’s schedules – work, children, spouses and running a home.  Writing crime fiction is a satisfying way of taking back some control and guiding an untenable situation to a satisfying end.  Ms. Bolin, being the cozy mystery representative on the panel stated that she enjoys writing her books because the settings were “somewhere you would want to live – well – except for the murder”.  I get that!  Sadly for fans of her “cozies” the recent acquisition of her publisher by another major publishing house is going to result in slowly phasing out that sub-genre. 

 

That revelation led to further discussion about the publishing industry in general and for women authors in particular. These ladies, while successful, made it sound like a labor of love, especially in light of the fact that female crime authors fight an uphill battle as far as getting mainstream recognition.  One statistic discovered by “Sisters in Crime”, a support organization for female crime authors, revealed that while publication of the genre consists of an equal ratio of male to female authors the mainstream media (newspapers, magazines) tends to review the books with an 80:20 ratio in favor of male authors.  In the 1980’s there were virtually no mainstream reviews of female crime writers and it became one of the mandates of “Sisters in Crime” to increase exposure for female writers in the genre.  Despite those statistics it is interesting to note that research also shows that mystery/crime books appeal mostly to women and those female readers tend to be in the 40+ age range.  That makes perfect sense to me.  I fall into that demographic and think by that time in their lives most women either have a mental “hit list” where the fantasy appeals (kidding – sort of) or as Ms. Astolfo pointed out, we enjoy the challenge of “solving the puzzle”.  Trying to beat the detective to the solution always makes for a fun past time.  It was also mentioned that mysteries can be a safety zone; when there is enough uncertainty, upheaval and “scares” in real life it is nice to escape into a world where you know the “frightening things” will be resolved.

 

No discussion of writing and publishing would be complete without bringing e-books and Amazon into the mix.  While the ladies did admit to the fact that those two entities combined have “destroyed” book pricing and decreased their income by close to 50% they were not completely negative about either recent phenom.  Both Amazon and e-books allow them to obtain an international audience and fan base that might be unachievable with solely print books.  It sounded a bit like a love/hate relationship.  With reference to self-publishing Ms. Bruce made the best comparison … when the printing press was invented it changed publishing too.  The monks wouldn’t painstakingly write out any old book but as long as the printer was paid he would typeset anything.  While self-publishing produces a glut in the market eventually the wheat separates from the chaff.

 

But on to a few of the lighter moments.

 

Have you ever included someone you know in one of your books?

 

I won’t reveal details (to protect the innocent) but it was a resounding “YES” by 4 of the ladies on the panel and the lone hold out seemed very quiet on the subject.  Hmmm?

 

What are the favorite and least favorite aspects of being a writer?

 

Again, all the ladies were in total agreement that the favorite aspect of writing was the creative process; coming up with an idea, building the world for the story and that moment when something in your brain clicks and it all comes together.  Ms. Campbell referred to it as her “turret time” … like sitting in the top of a tower until the idea comes together.  The least favorite?  Unanimous also – Marketing, promotion and social media.  Ms. O’Callaghan also added “writer’s block, distractions and procrastination”.

 

Where do ideas come from and how do you keep track of your ideas?

 

Notes … notebooks … notes … notebooks everywhere … bedside notebooks!  Obviously keeping notes and jotting things down while they’re top of mind is important.  Also mentioned were laptops, voice recorders, napkins in restaurants and bars but the most original goes to Ms. Campbell who “was driving down the Gardiner Expressway during rush hour and jotted down an sudden idea using eye liner on a paper napkin”.

 

I had my own little notebook and was taking notes but, as happens, I would get caught up in the conversation so any paraphrasing or credit errors are my own fault.  Humblest of apologies if I messed something up.

 

And the ideas?  They can come from anywhere; a newspaper or magazine article, an overheard conversation or observing something at the grocery store.  Sometimes an idea or character can be gleamed from an offhand remark made by a family member.  At some time or another we all utter those words “I could kill you” and the writer just starts to wonder how that might be accomplished.

 

If you have read this far in this blog post then you must realize that I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.  The ladies were gracious with their time, willing to share their knowledge and experience in a relaxed and very often humorous manner.

 

They followed the panel discussion with a reading from one of their books/stories.  There is something wonderful about hearing an author read their own words, especially when they are also good readers (sorry Mr. King, I love you, but …)

 

While I have to admit that I have not read any of the books by these lady crime writers I do plan to rectify that as I left with a mini book haul and a little swag in the form of bookmarks.  The ladies very kindly signed all the books.

 

 

All those attending were givien a “wanted poster” featuring a little blurb on each lady.  I don’t know who to credit with the design (Alison Bruce I think).  It was cute and I tried scanning it to include here but it didn’t scan very well on my ancient machine, so here is my pared-down version if you want to know more about each of these “Deadly Dames”.

 

CATHERINE ASTOLFO

 

Wanted for delving into the dark side of the human soul.  Do not be fooled by her pleasant demeanor and flowing prose.  Astolfo knows evil and writes about it.

 

Award-winning author of short stories, novels, novellas, and screenplays.

 

 

 

JANET BOLIN

 

Specialty killer favoring weapons of mass crafting.  Bolin’s crimes involve needlework of all kinds, quirky characters and deadly puns.

 

 

 

 

Known for consorting with law officers.  While working undercover as a crossing guard, Bruce plans murder, mayhem and the occasional horse chase.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mistress of the comic caper and able to leap small curbs in stiletto heels, Campbell is known for stealing art, shoes and numerous awards.

 

 

 

 

 

O’Callaghan has managed to maintain a low profile by authoring perfectly innocent nonfiction books as a cover for her nefarious crime sprees in short fiction.