New writers sometimes ask for my advice about how to do a book club talk, because I’ve done a number of them–in person and via Skype–and hope to do many more. Talking to book clubs is my favorite part of being an author, because these groups are composed of people who love books and cherish stories, just as I do. It’s a privilege and an honor to speak with them for an hour or two. Whenever I get an invitation, I think something along the lines of, “Imagine that–people I don’t know want to talk to me about a book I wrote!”

In my experience, book clubs want to learn two sorts of things when an author visits them:

  1. Answers to their questions about the book
  2. The story behind the story

Because #2 often addresses many items in #1, I always start with the story behind the story: what compelled me to write the book in the first place; why I made the decisions I did while drafting, rewriting, and editing the work; were any aspects of the characters and/or situations based on real life; would I do anything differently if writing the book  today; and so on.

Again, these tend to resolve many readers’ questions about the characters, plot, action, prose style, and themes. Telling the story behind the story also produces more questions and, I think, a more fruitful discussion. Finally, from a purely selfish standpoint, telling that story also gives me plenty of opportunities to show my vulnerabilities–by sharing my feelings, mistakes, and doubts–which  humanizes me in the audience’s eyes, makes me more likable to them, and will cause them to buy one or more of my other novels after my talk concludes. The best book club talks yield two things: new friendships and more book sales. Let’s face it, I’m not doing these talks simply for the wine, snacks, and camaraderie. Baby needs a new pair of shoes, as the saying goes.

Thanks to Daniel Espeut and Karalee Brannon of Espeuté Productions, I have some examples to share. Below is a link to a playlist of 11 brief videos taken from a book club talk I did in July 2016, which encompasses my journey from writing plays at age six for my stuffed animals to act out, through writing love letters to court the woman I wanted to marry, to the completion of my latest novel, the mystery titled Aftermath. Because the book club had just read my Southern historical novel, Hardscrabble Road, I spent a lot of time discussing aspects of that story behind the story. This will give you a good idea of how I structure my talks–and now you know why!