Tag Archives: writers

Writer Talk With Adriana Trigiani

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The whole point of our Cleveland trip last week was to see a writer I have read and admired for years. She was speaking at the Parma-Snow Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library system and I just had to go. 

Adriana Trigiani is a writer first and foremost but her bio talks about the many hats she wears because she wants women to be inspired to pursue their own career aspirations. She’s billed as a women’s writer (although a lot of men like her books too) who has also worked as a television writer/ producer and a film director/screenwriter/producer. She also has a terrific podcast where she talks to authors about their books. I know her primarily as a fiction writer whose colorful books are true works of art that I look forward to with each and every release. 

When I learned she was coming to Ohio, Adam and I planned an adventure around this event. 

We were part of a lively audience packed into the Sari Feldman Auditorium at the library. Out of the 400 seats available that day, they all seemed full and they were mostly occupied by women. Adam was one of maybe two dozen men that I saw filter into the theater so the energy in this room just hit a little different. 

She’s an Italian American who grew up in the Appalachian community of Big Stone Gap, Virginia. My gateway into her world was a series based in Big Stone Gap that features a fictional character named Ave Maria, the 35-year-old self-proclaimed spinster of her mountain town. I actually listened to the series on CD in the car several years ago when I was driving more than I do now. I vividly recall many driveway moments when I simply did not want to stop listening and go inside. 

Since then, I have read everything she’s written except two of her older books (on my shelf and waiting to be read) and her newest book which I just acquired last week. It’s signed so it will eventually be moved to my signed book collection. All of her books pay homage to someone from her past and the contributions Italian Americans made to industries like dress making, music, shoemaking and more. They all are respectful and celebratory of these people and how they maintained pride in heritage while embracing a new life in America. These are immigration stories at their finest. 

They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes and I didn’t. However, I do feel like I met her. In fact, I bet most people in that room left feeling like they know her, at least a little. She sat down with Ron Block, an employee of the library system and co-host of the Friends With Fiction podcast (if you read fiction, you’ll love it and the hosts who are New York Times bestselling authors). They’re old friends and he had a list of questions to try to guide the conversation. Truth is, there’s no guiding this woman in a conversation. She tells fantastic stories with side stories and side treks off of those. 

I’m pretty sure she hasn’t met a rabbit hole she didn’t like and I appreciate that! 

Adriana  is relatable and funny and knows how to pull at your heartstrings too. She’s quick on her feet, fast with a joke and can paint a mental picture like no one’s business. It was like sitting in the living room of an old friend. 

I loved every minute. 

When we left, I was grateful that the event ticket came with a signed book and that I didn’t have to stand in line for it. We would have been there all night. 

Three ladies in front of us knew her from college. A woman they didn’t know who was sitting next to them gushed about what these books mean to her and was excited to finally see her in person. One man stood up to say his family ran the apartment building where she lived years ago. Another brought a pair of earrings Adriana  had given her twenty years ago. Adriana  took them off and handed them to her during a Q&A, the woman said. 

My only complaint is that it went too quickly. 

You can get a mini dose if you watch or listen to last week’s Friends and Fiction podcast interview with Adriana. Learn more about her here.

If you are a reader or just enjoy some good storytelling, I recommend you go listen to writers talk any time you have a chance. It’s always an enriching and fun learning opportunity! This one was filled with laughter and lots of wonderful stories!

Wanderer of the Wasteland

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They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but I’m not above buying a book specifically for its cover. This is especially true when the book is an antique because I have found some beautifully done antique and vintage covers that are just too pretty to leave behind.

In today’s digital world, it’s challenging to find a book that looks and feels like a piece of art. One exception is my pal Eilene’s book Fortune’s Frenzy with a captivating cover and title. Read about it here.

This copy of Wanderer of the Wasteland took me by surprise while browsing the section Half Price Books calls rare and collectible.

Written by Zanesville, Ohio native Zane Grey, this book has a gorgeous cover but the spine is what caught my attention. It is uncommon to see a spine with hyphenated words. They easily could have made the font smaller or rotated the words so it feels like sort of a mystery.

This book once had a dust jacket but, for three bucks, I could hardly complain about the missing jacket.

This first edition was printed in 1923 when Grey was about 51 years old. In case you don’t know, Zane Grey was a prolific writer in the Western and Adventure genres. He even wrote nonfiction books on fishing and baseball.

He was one of the first writers to become a millionaire and was said to be a favorite author of President Eisenhower. Here’s a story about that.

Throughout his prolific career, Zane Grey wrote over one hundred books and collections of short stories, some of which were adapted by Hollywood. He even formed his own motion picture company to maintain control over his stories. Early television enthusiasts might recall Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theater that ran in the mid-fifties.

But I digress.

I learned a lot about Zane Grey by visiting a museum that’s dedicated to him and to the National Road here in Ohio. Oddly enough, I didn’t really write about the Zane Grey part of the museum in this account.

I haven’t read many Zane Grey books but it’s clear that his infatuation with the old west helped to shape early 20th century views of this piece of our history – both through his books and film.

Grey himself was an interesting character. An athlete, he played baseball in college while studying dentistry. He was an outdoorsman and conservationist. The son of an abusive father, he made friends with Muddy Miser, an old man who supported Grey’s love for the written word and for fishing, a popular pastime in their river town. It’s good to know there was someone in his life who supported his love for the things that would shape him into the man he would become. If you find yourself in Zanesville, check out the restaurant named for Muddy Miser.

By the way, that river town is named for Grey’s ancestor, Revolutionary War patriot Ebenezer Zane. Lots of cool stuff where Zane Grey is concerned.

In case you’re curious, this book I bought for the cover starts out strong.

Adam Larey gazed with hard and wondering eyes down the silent current of the red river upon which he meant to drift away into the desert.

The Rio Colorado was no river to trust. It chafed at its banks as if to engulf them; muddy and thick it swirled and glided along in flood, sweeping in curves back and forth from Arizona to California shore.

They just don’t write ‘em like that anymore!

So, yeah, go ahead and judge a book by its cover. You might find a great one!