Human contact “very cool” in era of virtual reading
Toronto, March 3, 2011—To full attendance at Toronto’s Berkeley Field House yesterday, five Blue Butterfly fiction writers spoke about their work, signed copies of their books, and interacted with a lively, diverse assembly of book lovers.
Billed as “Meet the Authors,” the Blue Butterfly Books initiative was aimed for interaction between writers and readers. Positive response by those present clearly suggests the success of this inaugural Blue Butterfly “book party” means more will take place, for other Blue Butterfly authors, in the days ahead.
“A very cool event,” said Elaine Loring, known as anchor of Global Television Network’s entertainment desk. She met “some great people!” and found Douglas Bland’s comments about uprisings and Dorris Heffron’s about sled-dog slaughter in B.C. “so timely.” Communications specialist Laurier Soper of Cambridge reports: “I felt positive vibes all evening, from everyone there.”
John Denison, a veteran Canadian publisher (Boston Mills), was in awe of the “great turnout” and considered “having 5 authors at once was clever.”
Member of the Legislature Norm Miller (Parry Sound-Muskoka) tweeted from the event, including a photo of author Cheryl Cooper, one of his constituents, with his micro report.
In brief remarks, F.W. vom Scheidt, author of Coming for Money, highlighted the complexity of today’s financial pursuits as involving far more than whether one has, or does not have, money; Cheryl Cooper offered cameos of colourful characters in her War of 1812 work of historical fiction Come Looking for Me; Douglas Bland reflected on why his subject in Uprising is “a toxic topic to Canada’s governing powers but of direct interest to Aljazeera news in the Middle East”; Dorris Heffron, bridging from the role of sled-dogs in her book City Wolves, reported on her participation in British Columbia’s task force inquiry into the sled-dog slaughter at Whistler; and Michael J. Goodspeed revealed the touching spark that first inspired his dramatic books Three to a Loaf and Our Only Shield.
All five writers also enjoyed the opportunity, in a world of eBooks and internet communication, to have direct human contact with readers, sharing conversation and, with satisfaction, inscribing copies of their books.
Expanded Goodspeed, “It was a tremendous evening, professionally a huge success, but also from a personal perspective a delight to meet my fellow authors and so many others. The whole thing was brilliant and great fun, an impossible combination to beat.”
Bliss prevailed full-circle. McNally Books, one of Toronto’s leading independent booksellers, handled sales and reported a “really great night.”
