Deborah Crombie

Did you ever have one of those evenings?   It’s already dark, it’s raining, and you’re cozy, cuddled into your favorite chair, slippers on,– hunkered down for the night.

The last thing you want to do it go out, but…you have something you really want to see, a thing you really want to do.  So back and forth you argue with yourself ~~ should I go or should I stay?

Tuesday night, my neighborhood independent bookstore was hosting a talk by Deborah Crombie. She was promoting her newest book, Garden of Lamentations, which I loved.

So I pulled myself together, put on some decent clothes, my raincoat and boots.  Made myself a travel mug of tea and ventured out in the storm.

So glad I did.

 

Ms. Crombie was very open and funny.  She’s a native Texan and she told how she unexpectedly fell in love with England – especially London, how on a trip to England, she stumbled into a place that would make a perfect setting for a mystery.  Then, in a lovely self-depreciating manner, she described how she taught herself  to write mystery novels by deconstructing her most admired British authors — P.D. James, Reginald Hill and Dorthy Sayers.

Ms. Crombie glossed over what must have been really hard work  — long hours of writing through many drafts, author tutorials, writer workshops, university courses, and endless networking — other wannabe writers throw in the towel at even half this workload.

I came away with a signed book for a fellow Crombie fan/friend and a resolution to read Dorothy Sayers and Reginald Hill– whom, somehow, I’ve never read.

A very nice evening – and to think I almost stayed home in my slippers.

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