Authors Joshilyn Jackson, Jane
Smiley, Tatjana Soli, event organizer Robbie Wright, and authors
Josie Brown and Eileen Goudge
Last week’s “Between The Pages”
event on Bainbridge Island wasn’t perfect, as you’ll see below …
but it was a success. (Let me check that: Once things got
to Bainbridge, things were perfect.) But an enthusiastic crowd
of about 75, paying at least $50 a ticket, came out to support the
Kitsap Regional Library system and listen to a powerhouse lineup of
female authors — Jane Smiley, Josie Brown, Eileen Goudge, Joshilyn
Jackson and Tatjana Soli — read from their latest books.
And when I asked Josie Brown to reflect on the evening, here’s
what she had to say:
It was a great adventure, for sure. We had plenty of time to
get to the ferry. Too much, apparently, because we got onto the
wrong one: the Bremerton one as opposed to the Bainbridge — and
didn’t realize it, until we almost docked and my husband, Martin,
timidly asked me (because he thought I’d faint): “Hon, um, wasn’t
this ferry ride supposed to be a half-hour, tops?”
A mad rush by taxi (we had a colorful driver — Anthony,
originally from Buffalo, and the topic with him jumped from his
tenure in the armed services to his job as a masseuse, to hemp
clothing) and we were there, only fifteen minutes late. Jane was
laughing because she’d made it over earlier that morning to visit a
pal — and she was the one we thought would get lost or be late, as
she’s always the one texting, “I have to be where? When?”
It was a wonderful crowd! Friendly, inquisitive, and
obviously avid readers. What I love, too is that there were quite a
few teachers and librarians there as well.
Eileen calls us “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Books.”
Most of us met face-to-face for the first time just the night
before, but you’d think we’d known each other for quite some time,
the way everyone got along. Joshilyn is a consummate performer: you
can tell she was an actress in her previous profession. Tatjana
gives an eloquent read. Her book is serious, but she is
lighthearted and fun. She and her husband, Gaylord, dance the
tango!
The way back — this time the RIGHT ferry — was too short. It
was fun just to sit together and recapped the fun. I hope everyone
in the audience had as much fun as we had.
Authors of literature are usually valued in society as
philosophers, sages and teachers. Oh, and quality drinking
companions (in my experience, anyway).
To that list, add superheroes.
It’s in the latter mode that five highly regarded fiction
writers from all over the United States are coming Thursday to
Bainbridge Island for a public reading and reception. Their
mission: To raise money for the cash-strapped Kitsap Regional Library system.
Jane Smiley
The $50-a-ticket “Between The Pages”
event, at the Bainbridge Performing Arts center, features one
marquee name: Jane
Smiley, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand
Acres, a modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s King
Lear which was later made into a movie starring Jason Robards,
Jessica Lange and Michelle Pfeiffer.
For 90 minutes, they’ll read from their latest novels (more on
those below), interview each other and possibly take some questions
from the audience, Wright said. They’ll stay for another 40 minutes
after to chat and sign copies of their books.
“My karmic way of giving back is to come up with ideas in which
the sales of my books can help good causes,” said Brown, a Bay Area
author who helped spearhead the event. (She even arranged for
copies of her newest novel, Secret Lives Of Husbands And
Wives, to be included in the ticket price.)
Brown is friends with Robbie Wright, a corporate events planner
who lives on Bainbridge. When Wright told her last spring about the
library system’s woes — budget cuts, past levy failures and the
theft of children’s books from the Port Orchard branch — Brown came
up with the fundraiser idea.
They quickly enlisted Peter Raffa, director of the Kitsap
Regional Library Foundation, and the three drew up a wish list of
names. One glittery name at the top of their list — show-business
novelist Jackie Collins —
initially committed to the Between The Pages event.
Joshilyn Jackson
But, Brown said, Collins had to drop out when when the date for
the London premiere of a movie based on one of her books shifted
from summer to fall. Also having to drop out was novelist Lisa
Rinna, who saw the release of her latest novel shifted to
October.
They got Smiley, their other top name, to come up from her
Northern California home, however. Goudge, a New York author with a
second home in the Puget Sound area, came on board next, followed
by Jackson, a Georgia resident, and Soli, who lives in Southern
California.
Tatjana Soli
All write what could be labeled literary, issue-driven women’s
fiction.
“They are heavy hitters, all of whom have have books that
resonate with library patrons all over the country,” Brown said.
“And there are no more avid readers than those in the Seattle metro
area. That’s a known statistic in the book industry.”
And, she added: “Any excuse to get out into the incomparable
Puget Sound area is a writer’s joy. Which is why so many great ones
live in your neck of the woods, right?”
*****
Sad disclosure: As things stand now, I
won’t be able to attend the event, as I must punch in for my
regular Thursday swing shift at the paragraph factory in Bremerton.
However, if you’re going and bringing a camera, would you mind
sharing some of your shots with me so I can share with everyone?
E-mail me at thomsen1965@gmail.com. And please share some of the
funny anecdotes and other highlights of the evening. And cake, if
there’s any.
*****
A little about each author and their
latest books:
• Jane Smiley, who has published 13
novels, three nonfiction books and a short-story collection over a
30-year career, came out earlier this year with her latest,
Private
Life, which follows one Midwestern woman’s life in
marriage from the 1880s to World War II. Said Booklist:
“Smiley casts a gimlet eye on the institution of marriage even as
she offers a fascinating glimpse of a distant era.”
• Josie Brown is a journalist who
specializes in celebrity interviews and relationship articles. Her
previous novels include True Hollywood Lies and
Impossibly Tongue-Tied; her latest release, just out in
June, is Secret Lives Of
Husbands And Wives, which examines the dramas of two
vastly different Silicon Valley couples. Wrote Booklist: “These
women inside their fishbowl are fun to peer in on despite being
caricaturish, and the momentum of Brown’s writing and plot keeps
the pages turning.”
• Eileen Goudge broke into book
publishing by contributing to the crazily successful Sweet
Valley High series for young teen girls in the early ’80s. She
published her first adult novel in 1986, and her latest, released
last October, is Once In A
Blue Moon, a tale of two tempestuous sisters and their
secrets. Said Publisher’s Weekly: “A touching story with
wide appeal, Goudge’s novel is a sharp example of dysfunctional
family fiction.”
• Joshilyn Jackson, a Florida native
and former teacher, broke into book publishing with a splash, with
2005’s gods in Alabama. Her fourth book, released in June, is
drawing her biggest notices: Backseat
Saints, a Southern-fried tale of an abused woman who runs
from the husband who will never let her go. Said Booklist:
“Jackson peels back Rose’s hard edges and resignation to reveal a
smart, earnest, brave, and surprisingly hopeful young woman who
yearns to make a better life for herself.”
• Tatjana Soli, born in Austria, wrote
and published short stories for years before breaking out this
spring with her debut novel, The Lotus
Eaters, an exhaustively researched story of a female
wartime photographer in Southeast Asia at the close of the Vietnam
War. Wrote Kirkus Reviews: “Graphic but never gratuitous,
the gripping, haunting narrative explores the complexity of
violence, foreignness, even betrayal. Moving and memorable.”
*****
Between The Pages: A fundraising event for the
Kitsap Regional Library Foundation
Who: Authors Jane Smiley, Josie Brown, Eileen
Goudge, Joshilyn Jackson and Tatjana Soli
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Bainbridge Performing Arts Center, 200
Madison Ave. N., Bainbridge Island
Tickets: $50 (includes copy of Brown’s novel,
Secret Lives Of Husbands and Wives), with discount
available for groups of eight or more; and $150 for “VIP” access,
which includes a catered pre-event reception with the authors and
copies of each of their latest novels. Purchase at Liberty Bay
Books, 18881 D Front St., Poulsbo.
More Info: For ticket info, Peter Raffa, (360)
475-9039; for event info, Robbie Wright, (206) 390-1989
A look through Kitsap’s September literary calendar:
• Friday, Sept. 3, 9 a.m. through 4 p.m.: Stillwaters
Environmental Education Center, 26059 Barber Cut Off Road in
Kingston, begins its annual fundraising book sale. At least 15,000
new and used books, covering all genres and subjects, will be sold
each Friday through Sunday, through Oct. 3. During the sale’s last
weekend, books will be sold by the grocery bag ($5 on Friday, $3 on
Saturday and free on Sunday). All proceeds go to support
environmental education. For more information, contact Naomi
Maasberg at (360) 297-1226 or at naomi@stillwatersenvironmental
center.org.
• Sunday, Sept. 12, at 3 p.m.: Eagle Harbor Book Co. on
Bainbridge Island hosts Carol Cassella, the Bainbridge
author whose second novel, Healer, will be
in bookstores Sept. 7. Those wanting a signed copy can order it in
advance through the bookstore. (Full disclosure: I was lucky enough
to score an advance copy, am about 150 pages in, and can say it so
far is every bit the equal of Oxygen … and
probably a lot more than that. I’m working on an interview with
Carol for this blog ahead of this reading; stay tuned for
details.)
• Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m.: Liberty Bay Books in Poulsbo
hosts Erica
Bauermeister, the Seattle author of the novel, The School Of
Essential Ingredients. (Of the book, Publisher’s
Weekly says: ““In this remarkable debut, Bauermeister creates
a captivating world where the pleasures and particulars of
sophisticated food come to mean much more than simple epicurean
indulgence…Delivering memorable story lines and characters while
seducing the senses, Bauermeister’s tale of food and hope is sure
to satisfy.”) Bauermeister is a founding member of Seattle7Writers, the
literary-and-literacy promotion collective, and will participate in
The Novel:
Live! fundraising event in October.
• Thursday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m.: The Kitsap Regional Library Foundation hosts
Between The
Pages, an evening with five authors — Eileen Goudge, Jane Smiley,
Joshilyn Jackson,
Josie Brown and Tatjana
Soli — at the Bainbridge Performing Arts Center. Tickets are
$50 for the event, a fundraiser for the foundation, and includes a
copy of Brown’s novel, Secret Lives Of Husbands And Wives.
VIP tickets sell for $150; that price gets you an invite to a
catered pre-event reception with the authors; the latest books bu
all five authors and an opportunity to have them signed, among
other good stuff. Click on the above link for ticket and other
info; tickets can also be purchased through Eagle Harbor Book Co.
and Liberty Bay Books. (If, like me, you’re wondering how Kitsap
lined up so many literary rock stars for one evening, rest assured
that I’m looking into the story behind this event and hope to have
a blog soon on that subject. I’m dying to go to this myself, but
that damned work thing appears to be getting in the way. Hint,
hint, boss.)
• Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m.: Field’s End hosts
Bainbridge resident Tom
Tyner, aka The Latte Guy, who will speak on “The Ins And Outs
Of Writing A Weekly Column.” A land-conservation lawyer, Tyner has
written his humorous observations on coffee, parenting and island
life on and off for The Bainbridge Island Review since 1993. His
earlier columns were collected in a book called Skeleton From
Our Closet.
• Tuesday, Sept. 23, 7 p.m. (and continuing for the next four
Tuesday evenings): Field’s End hosts novelist and University of
Washington English professor Shawn Wong, who will
offer a workshop
on “Beginning Fiction.” (From the website: “Nearly everyone
says or overhears someone say, “I have a great idea for a novel.”
How do fiction writers get from idea to written pages? How do you
give yourself practical writing assignments to meet your goal? What
tricks can you play on yourself to move your writing ability from
one level to another? How can you be an objective editor of your
writing? There is no tried-and-true path to writing fiction, but
Shawn Wong’s students for the past 26 years at UW have gone on to
write and publish short stories and novels and win writing awards.
What he tells them will be compressed into four sessions. In other
words, let’s skip the apprenticeship and get straight to the
writing.”) Wong is the author of the novels Homebase and
American Knees, both literary novels stemming from his
Chinese-American experience. The latter book was adapted into
Americanese, an independent movie being release this year.
Cost for the four-week workshop is $160. For registration forms and
other information on the classes, which take place at the
Bainbridge Public Library’s meeting room, go to Field’s End online.
Know of any September signings, readings or other literary
events in Kitsap County you’d like to publicize here? Drop me a
line at thomsen1965@gmail.com.
