Reader Friday: A Fan Moment – Dale Ivan Smith
Like many authors, I have been fortunate to have moments in my author career where I’ve received emails from fans, or a message on social media from readers who liked my work. There was the woman who plowed through my Empowered series in a few days and wrote to tell me she couldn’t stop reading, and how she’d missed sleep thanks to me because she had to see how the series turned out. Then there was the award-winning fantasy author who emailed to say they had enjoyed my urban fantasy novel Gremlin Night.
Writers are also readers, and I’ve been equally fortunate to have some fan moments with authors whose own writing made a difference to me. One author was David Morrell, who I met in person at a writer’s workshop he gave here in Portland years ago. I’d found his novel First Blood a riveting read, and his non-fiction book on writing, Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing AKA The Successful Novelist. David was as thoughtful and encouraging in person as he was in his writing book. He took the time to talk to each of us during breaks. Being able to talk to him casually for a couple of minutes meant a lot and helped reinforce the kindness he showed throughout his workshop.
Another was getting to meet Neil Gaiman in person. I had loved his Sandman graphic novel series and his novel American Gods, and his television work for Doctor Who and Babylon 5. At a 2013 book signing hosted by Powell’s Books here in Portland, I mentioned to him I had applied to the six-week Clarion West Writers Workshop he would teach at shortly. When I had applied to Clarion West a few months earlier, his upcoming workshop inspired to go further and apply as well to a two-week novel writing workshop being given by Kij Johnson, another Hugo and Nebula award-winning author.
I ended up not being accepted into Clarion West. However, Kij did accept me for her novel writing workshop and itt had just ended shortly before his book signing. We agreed Kij was a brilliant writer and teacher. I told him that, while I was sorry not to have made it into his workshop, Kij’s had proven transformational for me, and it was thanks to him inspiring me to apply to both CW and the Novel writing workshop. He smiled and reached out and shook my hand.
Now it’s your turn. Please tell us about a fan moment you’ve had with a reader, or as a fan yourself with an author you admire.
The fiction author I’d most like to have a fan moment with unfortunately passed away 27 years before I was born so hopefully I’ll meet him in heaven one day & get my chance.
My fan moment comes with a non-fiction author–Robert M. Utley. He wrote numerous books on the history of the American West & was a historian for the National Park Service. I never had the pleasure of meeting him in person but did correspond with him by email once, both to gush over my appreciation for his books and to ask for a little direction concerning a research question I had. He was so nice and offered some helpful input. I was very sad to learn that he passed away on June 7 this year at the ripe old age of 92, but oh, what a treasure trove of books he left behind!
Thanks for sharing that story, BK. I remember his books well from my years at the library. How wonderful you could exchange emails with him.
Good morning, Dale. Thanks for doing this post. Fun topic.
The first author I met and asked to autograph a book was Allan Eckert. He wrote many books, but was famous in our geographic area for his historical fiction based on characters and stories set in the Midwest. The Frontiersmen was the story of Simon Kenton and Tecumseh, and some of the story occurred in our backyard.
As a high school kid I read Outdoor Live magazine faithfully, and joined the Outdoor Life book club. In 1967, Eckart published The Frontiersmen and it was offered to the book club. I read it and collected all six of the books in the series.
In the early 1980s I had returned to my home town of Bellefontaine to live and work and discovered that Eckart had also moved to Bellefontaine. I wanted to get my book autographed, and learned how to navigate the local book store, who got me in touch with Eckart’s wife (his gatekeeper), and finally took my two young sons to meet Eckart at his home.
He was doing research for a book on minerals, and graciously showed my sons his collection, even allowing each of them to buy a stone. When I handed him my copy of The Frontiersmen, which had been beaten up by over a dozen family members and friends who had read it, he opened the book to the copyright page and looked at me with curiosity. “How did you get such an early edition?”
It was a first edition, second printing. I had no idea that I had lent out, and at times had to track down the borrower of, such a collector’s item.
Thanks for stirring the memories, Dale. Have a good weekend!
Thanks for inviting me to guest post today, Steve. Thanks for sharing your story–that was one well loved book. Have a wonderful weekend!
Back in the 1990s, Jack Bickham was a featured speaker at a conf. I attended. I’d struggled a lot with plotting but, the simple, clear way he explained it, the pieces fell into place. He autographed Scene and Structure and graciously spent a few extra moments talking with me.
I’m still kicking myself to lending that copy to someone and never getting it back.
At another conf., Kevin J. Anderson (international bestselling sci-fi author of 120 books) was one of several judges on an anonymous first page panel. After listening to page 1 of my then-unpublished thriller, Instrument of the Devil, Kevin said, “I want to go first. This is an excellent first page” and went on to elaborate why he thought so in front of about 75 people.
In the audience, I almost fell off my chair. I was still shaking when the session ended and I went to the stage to thank him for his encouragement. IOTD became my first published novel.
Cool stories, Debbie, especially the KJA one! Positive feedback, especially in front of others, can be so encouraging. I got to meet Kevin at the end of the two-week novel writing workshop I attended in 2013 at the University of Kansas. He arrived for the Campbell Conference, being held immediately after our workshop. A very prolific writer who has really honed his own creative process.
I went total fanboy when I met Ray Bradbury. I wrote about that HERE.
Great story, Jim. What a writer. That would be one precious copy of Zen. Thanks for telling the story.
Hi, Dale. Fun post.
The first author I ever met was a distant relative by marriage: Isaac Don Levine, whose son married my cousin. Don (as he preferred to be called) was very Russian and always wore a very stern expression that belied a gentle demeanor. He started his journalistic career in the waning reign of Tsar Nicholas II, and was in fact the reporter who first smuggled news of the Romanov assassination out of Ekaterinburg in 1918. When the Bolsheviks stormed his train looking for the man they knew to be a journalist yet whose name they did not know, Don watched as they ransacked his luggage, but they never checked the inside pocket of the coat he was wearing. Had they done so, they’d have found the notes they were looking for.
I was 10 years old when we visited Don at his home in Maryland–the same home where he sheltered Leon Trotsky as he fled toward Mexico and Whittaker Chambers during his unpleasant times with Alger Hiss. I wasn’t aware of the historical significance of any of that at the time. All I knew was that I was in the home of a REAL WRITER. Being there gave me hope that writers were real human beings. My mother scolded me when I asked Don if I could have a book–one should never ask for gifts–but Don was delighted. He pulled a copy of his book, THE COURT MARTIAL OF BILLY MITCHELL off a shelf . . . and autographed it for me! I was over the moon.
The prose was a bit too rich and thick for me at that age, but I treasured that volume. Somewhere along the way, through various moves, I misplaced the book. Until a couple of months ago, when it reappeared during our move to West Virginia. Don now has a place on the book self in my library–high enough off the floor to be out of young Kimber’s reach.
Amazing story and historical connection!
I have to echo Jim’s comments–what a story and what a connection with history. Thanks for sharing this!
My “hero moment.” Arrival of my first letter of acceptance, for an article published in Production Engineering magazine*, coincided with an evening meeting of Southwest Manuscripters. I brought the letter with me, showed it to two or three friends, and was duly congratulated on having sold a piece of fiction to an engineering magazine.
People were already going upstairs to the meeting room, but I saw that Haley was still downstairs and alone, so I delayed to show him the letter. I asked if he would autograph it, which he did**, saying, “Sure feels good, doesn’t it?”
By the time I got upstairs, every seat in the meeting room was taken, except for the oversized chair in the far corner where speakers were lionized. I went back to the head of the stairs and sat on the floor of a little landing, where, by leaning to one side and craning my neck, I could glimpse the big chair.
Alex Haley came up the stairs, looked the situation over, and, instead of heading for the empty seat, said, “I have a bad back; I’ll just sit right here,” and plunked himself into a rocking chair on the landing, right behind me. I swiveled around and looked up at Haley as he spoke to the gathering. A lot of his remarks were directed at me. He was wonderful.***
It was only after many years that I realized Haley didn’t have a bad back that night. He’d chosen the rocker so he could sit near the fan who wanted his very first letter of acceptance autographed by Alex Haley.
* https://jguentherauthor.wordpress.com/2020/06/09/beware-the-wrath-of-abibarshim/
** https://jguentherauthor.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/meeting-alex-haley-part-2/
*** the detailed story: https://jguentherauthor.wordpress.com/2013/06/16/meeting-alex-haley/
Great story J. I hope you still have that letter. Thanks for contributing to our stories today.
I once accidentally sat at a table at a conference with Nora Roberts, some NYC editors, and three major history romance writers. I didn’t know who they were, and I needed a seat. Roberts smoked like a chimney and shuffled tarot cards but was fairly quiet. The editors were discussing questions they needed to answer at a presentation. I ended up giving them the answers to the craft questions. I was very unimpressed with all of them. I certainly respect Roberts, though.
Thanks for your story, Marilynn. It’s always interesting to get a look behind the curtain. Cigarettes and tarot cards. Hmm.
Have a great weekend!
What timing! I’m at the Killer Nashville Conference now and today I met one of my heroes, Hank Phillippi Ryan.
Knowing Hank was an honored guest at KN, I took a copy of her novel Truth Be Told with me since that book had a huge influence on the writing of my first novel. She signed it for me and we had a nice chat and took some pictures. Hank is as gracious as she is talented.
Sorry for the late reply, Kay. And glad the post worked for your meeting with Hank. Glad it was a good encounter. Those are the type of meetings we always remember, and the books we keep on the top shelf of our “special books.”
Enjoy the remainder of KN, and safe travels.
Kay, I’m so happy to hear you were able to meet one of your heroes at Killer Nashville. What an exciting moment.
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