By Barbara Falconer Newhall
I like a party. No two ways about it. I love to talk. And I love to eat and drink, especially when the food and company are as delicious as those on offer Saturday night at the annual Walnut Creek Library Foundation’s Authors Gala, held in the beautiful Walnut Creek Library. Yes, in the library.
It was fun bumping into people I know and don’t know. Lisa Wrenn was there — she was my editor at the Oakland Tribune when I was writing the columns about life with little kids, husband, house and commute. Many of those columns are republished, with permission, on this website.
Lisa was a writer’s dream of an editor. I’d come to work on a Monday morning with a sliver of
an idea for that week’s column. I’d try my idea out on Lisa, who also had small children. If Lisa laughed, I knew my idea was good to go.
Also at the library party Saturday night: Don Lattin, who was the religion reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle for years and years and the author, most recently, of “Changing Our Minds: Psychedelic Sacraments and the New Psychotherapy.” Don wrote the foreword to my book “Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith.” It’s an insightful read even if you don’t get any further than that into my book.
Somebody I didn’t know till Saturday night is Robert Aquinas McNally. We shared an author’s table at the library gala. His latest book is “The Modoc War: A Story of Genocide at the Dawn of America’s Gilded Age.” I’m going to study it and get some ideas on how to write historical narrative. (I’m hoping to write about my three-times great-grandmother who had the enigmatic — Dutch? Indonesian? — name: Bandenah.)
Bob is also a prizewinning poet. Find out for yourself at this YouTube video recorded at the Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church a couple of years ago.
I also had a chance to get myself photographed with the famous memoirist Joyce Maynard, who lives in the East Bay, like so many of the writers partying with impunity at the library on Saturday night.
Jon, the thriller-writer at our house, scored a couple of writing tips from Joyce before he snapped the photo.
I always get super nervous before these author events. But I always wind up having fun. It’s a mystery.
More author events at “How Three World War II POWs Saved Each Other’s Lives.” Also, “I Landed a Bit Part in a Real Movie. Thank You, Armistead Maupin.”
Ray Howe says
good job of it – your writer’s chops are choppin’ still… and btw, your site design is great, maybe even perfect…
Barbara Falconer Newhall says
Thanks, Ray. I’m a little behind in replying to my commenting folks. I have mono — more about that in Thursday’s post.
mARK BROWN says
Barbara- let the mystery and journey continue.
Cheryl says
Ah, such fun! Looks like you had a great time out and about with the literary crew!
Bill Mann says
Lisa was my editor at the Trib, too. She was absolutely a delight to work with, unbelievably patient, and I wish she could say the same for me! More than once she had to wait to ask questions about my column until after I was playing golf with TV and radio degenerate buddies/sources.. She was great.
Barbara Falconer Newhall says
There’s nothing like a smart editor to make OK writers into pretty good ones.