Author Events: Gail Honeyman and Michael Chabon

[Gaily Honeyman and I at Pages]

I was fortunate enough to attend back-to-back author events this week and am now so inspired to read (more) and write (more). The first one was an afternoon with the author of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman, that I won through an Instastory contest through Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine, and the other was a Michael Chabon's talk at the Skirball Center in LA. 

I wasn't really sure what to expect with the lunch, since the reps from Hello Sunshine basically just told us where to meet and what time to be there. It turns out a bookstore in Manhattan Beach, Pages, was hosting a luncheon for Gail Honeyman, in which the local "ladies who lunch" crowd paid to attend. The other winner and I were placed on either side of the author at a table full of Penguin reps, so that was definitely interesting! I was able to chat with Honeyman quite a bit, and she was incredibly sweet and down-to-earth. We spoke about her crazy travel schedule, the purchase of the film rights of her book, her progress on her next novel, and then she also asked about my job and family. I honestly forgot that her book had sold for over six figures in a huge auction- she was totally nice and normal. Her editor, Pamela Dorman, was there and I was able to talk to her for a minute, as well (she also works with JoJo Moyes).  Honeyman spoke to the crowd and then we drove to the bookstore to do some photos and videos for Hello Sunshine's social accounts. I have no problem with any sort of media that doesn't require me to talk- I am dreading the videos. We had to talk about why we liked the book and also did a sort of rapid-fire Q&A with the author. Despite my inability to be articulate on camera, it was a really, really fun day. The other winner was great and it was just a pleasure to be around fellow bookish people. 

Last night was the Michael Chabon event promoting his new short book of essays, Pops, which I highly recommend. My friend and I drove down to West LA and heard him discuss his experiences parenting and how this influences his writing. He touched a bit on his process, discussing how he has created a daily writing habit and about his revision process (he is an incredibly meticulous wordsmith). This was the second time I've seen him and I think he is now tied with Isabel Allende as my favorite author to listen to. He's so witty and intelligent that you just can't help but to like him and want to immediately devour everything he's ever written. 

One of my biggest take-aways after reflecting on the two days is that both authors have had to do whatever necessary to make writing work for them. Honeyman had a full-time job and was staring down the barrel of the big 4-0, so she started using snippets of time before work and at lunch to write her first novel. Chabon has a set time he uses every day and strives to hit at least 1,000 words, whether they'e great or shitty. They're passionate about their endeavors and refuse to let excuses bog them down. It was definitely motivating, to say the least. 

I can't stop but to acknowledge the fact that the only reason why I was able to go to these two events was because one of my good friends was able to pick Sawyer up from preschool on Tuesday and yesterday my husband was able to keep him at work for the last hour of the day. Once-upon-a-time I could go to things like this a few times a month if I wanted, but the logistics now are a bit more complicated. Luckily it worked out for me this time around!