Meeting Jeff Markowitz - Part II

Yesterday I went to the Manville Library to see and hear Mr. Markowitz talk about murder mysteries, his writing and the Cassie O'Malley series, among other projects.

Despite his claims to the contrary, I found Jeff Markowitz to be quite funny - and the group of people attending his discussion certainly seemed to agree with this assessment. He fielded questions about how he became a writer and storyteller, talked about some of his favorite authors and books, and told some humorous anecdotes to punctuate those points. One of my favorites was about an appearance he made in Florida at a bookstore: To get the gig, he told the bookstore management he could fill the room. And he did - by calling his mother who lived near the store and asking that she send ALL her friends to come by on that date.

As a New Jersey writer, he also told the Manville Library audience that he likes to incorporate a lot of quirky state-related details into his stories, such as local politics (like the kind you can see televised on local access TV) and fictitious minor league baseball teams in fictitious towns.

After his talk, Mr. Markowitz was available for questions - and of course, to autograph copies of his latest book. Unable to resist (because 1.) I am a fan of murder mystery. 2.) because I love to support local authors - and 3.) I really enjoyed his talk) I bought a copy of A Minor Case of Murder from him, and he autographed the book for me. We chatted about some of his upcoming work - and about a bit of my projects, too - and then he also told me about another Xanga blogger who writes humorous poetry. I intend to check this writer out later today!

After I read A Minor Case of Murder, I'll give a review here.

In the meantime, if Jeff Markowitz is going to be appearing at a convenient venue - I recommend going to see him.

And speaking of upcoming readings and appearances - check me out, too!

Next Tuesday, September 16th at 7PM, I'll be joining host (and most excellent poet) Marcia Ivans for Poetry & Pastries - an entertaining evening of poetry readings at Café Beethoven in Chatham.

I'll post more on that soon, along with other dates for readings and stuff!

Cheers,
RJ