Vroman's Bookstore presented a reading from best selling author Jodi Picoult last night at All Saints Church in Pasadena and my friend Debbie and I were in the front row (sort of). Ms. Picoult is on tour for her newest book "House Rules" which came out 2 weeks ago and debuted in the #1 spot on the N.Y. Times Bestsellers list.
I've seen and heard Ms. P. speak before. Last year she was the headline speaker at the Assistance League of Fullerton's Annual Day of Authors event. She was as interesting, friendly and engaging last night, as she was last year.
I love listening to authors speak--in addition to the Day of Author event I've listened to Lisa See ("Shanghai Girls" and "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan") and Alice Hoffman ("Practical Magic", "Blue Diary")at bookstores in town. At these events the authors give a glimpse into their writing process as well as some fun insider secrets. Last night was no exception.
I knew from last year's presentation that Jodi does a ton of research for all her books and she always has compelling stories to tell. This new book deals with a teen with Asperger's Syndrome. Jodi met with about 50 teens with Asperger's and their parents. She said she puts real life conversations and situations into all her books and in this latest novel Jodi had a teen read the book before it was finalized to see if she got the voice of her character right.
She also got to shadow a local CSI unit because the main character is really into crime scenes. She witnessed an autopsy (and brain removal) first hand as well as some rather unusual lab analysis.
An audience member asked Jodi about her writing style==she said she writes the ending of her books before she's written the beginning and the middle is worked out when she works out the characters. She often steals conversations from friends and strangers but doesn't put anyone she knows directly into the books.
It's hard for me to imagine but Jodi's book for 2011 is already done. It's called "Sing You Home" and it's about gay rights in America and will include a CD of original songs. Her 2012 book is going to be about the right to die. She works two books ahead and spends about 9 months on each one and 3 months on book tours.
The best answer of the night came from my friend Debbie's question about the movie version of Jodi's bestseller "My Sister's Keeper." If you've seen the movie you know the ending is NOT the same as the book. I won't reveal anything here but needless to say, Jodi was very, very shocked with the movie (I was shocked and I didn't write the book!).
I can't wait to crack open this new book. I'm trying to save it for an upcoming plane ride but I have to wait 2 1/2 weeks. I hope it's as much of a page turner as her 15 other books!
