tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post4807354020384864545..comments2024-03-28T09:40:06.621-04:00Comments on Murder is Everywhere: Disappointing the FansOvidia Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05749549092493567689noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-77584119142659499822012-08-02T09:46:50.265-04:002012-08-02T09:46:50.265-04:00Tim, sorry to come late to this blog. But I wanted...Tim, sorry to come late to this blog. But I wanted to say you are one of the most genuine people I've ever met. This is a rare quality; most people find it compelling, and would happily make the time to listen to what you have to say. Hope to see you over here soon.Christopher G. Moorehttp://www.cgmoore.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-48466361058183186692012-07-31T11:34:21.357-04:002012-07-31T11:34:21.357-04:00Tim, hearing this SO made my day... Thank you!! ...Tim, hearing this SO made my day... Thank you!! I wish you'd been at the San Diego MG birthday event - my mom was in the front row and watching her face as I read that scene was priceless...Dana Fredstihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12802936840624512415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-75523125235763946602012-07-31T02:10:15.078-04:002012-07-31T02:10:15.078-04:00Dana, you were hilarious. I haven't laughed t...Dana, you were hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard at a book event, ever. I would follow you from store to store.Timothy Hallinanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551263887774445511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-57692934687219019442012-07-30T18:48:23.856-04:002012-07-30T18:48:23.856-04:00I'm amazingly nauseating? That's the sweet...I'm amazingly nauseating? That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said about my public speech abilities! :-)Dana Fredstihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12802936840624512415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-39427715807026065902012-07-30T06:11:50.100-04:002012-07-30T06:11:50.100-04:00With all due respect, Stan, if I drank three glass...With all due respect, Stan, if I drank three glasses of wine beforehand, instead of a reading, I'd find myself performing Yanni's greatest hits while tapdancing in Tim's Kleenex boxes. Then again, that might make the local papers. Is all publicity really good publicity?Annamaria Alfierihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12311596277267789834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-15077962381185368762012-07-30T01:20:06.047-04:002012-07-30T01:20:06.047-04:00Annamaria (and Tim and Jeff, of course), I find it...Annamaria (and Tim and Jeff, of course), I find it far better to have a glass (or two or three) of wine before the event, not after it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-37826821327198630892012-07-29T23:05:37.773-04:002012-07-29T23:05:37.773-04:00Probably too late, but I just wanted to know if yo...Probably too late, but I just wanted to know if your Kleenex slippers were The Real Deal, or if they were from some no-name knock-off brand of facial tissue?<br /><br />Also, if you wanted, I could always post the video I made (all one and a half hours of it) of your talk in Ashland, and that way you wouldn't have to visit any more bookstores, you could just send a nice card saying, "Please visit this website..."Everett Kaserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12371555243187874414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-7412742177019374312012-07-29T18:25:54.495-04:002012-07-29T18:25:54.495-04:00Michael, Beth, Everett, Annamaria, Kevin -- didn&#...Michael, Beth, Everett, Annamaria, Kevin -- didn't intentionally snub you -- I had bacon burning and United Airlines on the phone very kindly explaining why every single thing I wanted was completely impossible, and why would I think otherwise? Kind of a jangly morning. So Kevin, I laughed out loud at the Atwood quote. She can be really wicked at times. Michael, you and Stanley can lean on each other. One of you doesn't have the punch line, ha can blame the other one. You share the agony, and--most important-- ONE OF YOU GETS TO THINK WHILE THE OTHER ONE IS TALKING. Jeez. I'd twin myself if the option were available, just for that.<br /><br />Annamaria, I hope they appreciated you for what you are, a really fine writer and, at least at normal times, a very interesting person. In a book store, who knows? The best writer in a bookstore situation I ever hear writes a zombie series, and all she had to do was talk about how her imagination works; she was totally deadpan and her visions were so amazingly nauseating that the whole place was rolling on the floor.<br /><br />And Beth, you're not alone in not knowing what to say. There are few silences this side of the grave that are more profound than the one an exhausted writer encounters when he or she finally runs out of gas or caffeine and says, "Any questions?" And the writer stands there thinking, "I could be at home conjugating verbs."Timothy Hallinanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551263887774445511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-28410991813549360012012-07-29T17:37:23.034-04:002012-07-29T17:37:23.034-04:00"Wanting to meet an author because you like ..."Wanting to meet an author because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like paté." - Margaret AtwoodKevinhttp://www.kevinandratree.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-80550073498068466012012-07-29T16:09:56.822-04:002012-07-29T16:09:56.822-04:00Hi, everyone -- so glad that my cry for help was h...Hi, everyone -- so glad that my cry for help was heard in time. I was thinking of becoming a washing-machine repairman because no one asks washing-machine repairmen to get up in a hardware store and talk about how they repair washing machines.<br /><br />I've had a couple of people who saw me at yesterday's event in Pasadena, which inspired this rant, say that I was interesting and seemed calm and in control. It just goes to show you how little attention we pay to each other. I saw a picture someone took and my eyes looked like fried eggs.<br /><br />D.R., That's the sane approach, but I would be overcome with the awareness that the people Cary Grant was talking about may not have been expecting much-- but, on the other hand, they were getting Cary Grant, who probably could have held them spellbound by shaving onstage. My audiences are getting me, and I'm no Cary Grant, but I do take your point that people WANT to like you.<br /><br />Anonymus (AKA Julia) -- glad you enjoyed the rant. It truly was inspired by a book event in Pasadena at which I seem to have spoken for quite a while, although all I really remember was one question, which was about why my heroes are all so angry. Really pissed me off, although I tried not to show it. (That's a joke, Georgia -- it was a great question.)<br /><br />Jeffrey, I'm glad/sorry your GF is hip to it now, because most significant others like to feel when they come into a room that we at least know who they are. It's like a minimum deliverable, at least in my marriage. And I never should have let Everett talk about my cheerleading outfit. Some people just can't keep a secret.<br /><br />Lil, you pegged the issue: here it is, I made it myself, it's got a lot more blemishes than I wanted it to have, but on the whole I like it, and what the hell am I going to say about it? My father once introduced me (I was about ten) by saying, "This is my son Tim, and fortunately he resembles his mother." Maybe I should collaborate; at least then I'd have someone to blame things on.<br /><br />Thanks to all of you for dropping by the Neurotic's Corner.Timothy Hallinanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551263887774445511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-86843056933260241512012-07-29T15:58:01.589-04:002012-07-29T15:58:01.589-04:00Tim, I arrived at home after doing a reading and s...Tim, I arrived at home after doing a reading and signing at Canio's Bookstore in Sag harbor, New York last evening. I booted up my computer and came right here to check out my favorite bloggers. Now I am laughing out loud. This is best of all possible descriptions of what I did last evening. And why I was so GRATEFUL that someone handed me a glass of wine as soon as it was over. Blessings on you! Live long and prosper!!!Annamaria Alfierihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12311596277267789834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-13800325484286240272012-07-29T15:07:58.303-04:002012-07-29T15:07:58.303-04:00Tim,
I know exactly how you feel, and I too have ...Tim,<br /><br />I know exactly how you feel, and I too have often been in that uncomfortable situation. Can I possibly hold anyone's attention? Wouldn't people rather be browsing for other people's books instead?<br /><br />What saves me, often as not, is a quote I read in a biography on Cary Grant, who mentioned that people come to a performance to like it. They want to be entertained. So even when I think I'm not so exciting, I try to keep in mind that people WANT to like me. And after that, I try to stay out of their way!D.R. Ransdellhttp://www.dr-ransdell.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-25852195665365729682012-07-29T14:59:28.209-04:002012-07-29T14:59:28.209-04:00I got a great bowl full of belly laughs at this on...I got a great bowl full of belly laughs at this one! You ARE funny! I haven't read your books yet - but now I want to!! You said what most of us would say - but you said it better! Thelma Straw, MWA-NY in ManhattanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-68619198071900852352012-07-29T14:58:06.863-04:002012-07-29T14:58:06.863-04:00Listening, Lil? To what? To the lonely silence tha...Listening, Lil? To what? To the lonely silence that surrounds me now that my girlfriend read Tim's on-the-mark reflections on the writer's life, said she realized what her life with me shall always be, packed her bag, and left the island? <br /><br />Okay, so it's only for a few days in Athens and she'll be back, but hey, we writers live for the drama! <br /><br />By the way, just between us chickens, I really hope Tim can turn that thing he knows about into a joint appearance because I'm sure I can drum something up over here on Mykonos to compliment what Everett described as his Ashland attire.Jeffrey Sigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00718317707555064653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-85219139589618832902012-07-29T13:42:02.168-04:002012-07-29T13:42:02.168-04:00How many ways can I say I would love to hear you s...How many ways can I say I would love to hear you speak? Your audiences seem to be very happy with you, so you seem to come through your angst pretty well. Readers are pretty forgiving, I find. I do think it would be hard to bring your newborn baby to a group and say here it is! But most of us are there because we want to be. And most of us want to like you. And your book. Are you listening, Jeff?lil Glucksternhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288522126331817172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-55157581604734450422012-07-29T12:40:56.508-04:002012-07-29T12:40:56.508-04:00Gee, Tim, this puts a WHOLE new light on why you i...Gee, Tim, this puts a WHOLE new light on why you insisted on dressing as Glee's cheer-leading coach Sue when you showed up for your bookstore visit in Ashland this spring!<br /><br />Now I feel like I should apologize for having asked, in front of your already confused audience, where you managed to find that particular shade of mascara...Everett Kaserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12371555243187874414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-43380990892202767332012-07-29T11:20:01.962-04:002012-07-29T11:20:01.962-04:00I would be on the other side of the conundrum - I ...I would be on the other side of the conundrum - I would have loved every word of the book but I wouldn't be able to think of one thing to say.Bethhttp://www.murderbytype.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-82981981012041740022012-07-29T06:46:11.931-04:002012-07-29T06:46:11.931-04:00I know the feeling! Well, at least there are two ...I know the feeling! Well, at least there are two of us to try to liven things up at book events.<br /><br />One of the crazy things we do at the end of writing each book, is check to see if the African character names might be confusing to western readers. If so, we change them. Imagine not knowing who one of your own CHARACTERS is when someone asks you a question about her at a signing!<br /><br />By the way, I'd jump at the chance to be at one of your events!<br /><br />Michael.Michael Sears (of Michael Stanley)https://www.blogger.com/profile/09886295534214542834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-70275054947833821932012-07-29T05:03:19.714-04:002012-07-29T05:03:19.714-04:00THANK YOU TIM HALLINAN FOR SAVING MY RELATIONSHIP....THANK YOU TIM HALLINAN FOR SAVING MY RELATIONSHIP. After reading your marvel(l)ous blog, she looked up and said, "Oh, I see it's not just you."Jeffrey Sigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00718317707555064653noreply@blogger.com