September 18th was quite a few things this year. It's the 30th birthday of someone I knew from high school, it's my parents' wedding anniversary (36 years,) it's the day my parents left for their vacation until October 3rd, and it's also the day I went up to New York to go see Lyndsay Faye's talk about her new book, Seven for a Secret, which is out in bookstores and online.
It was great to meet Lyndsay. She was very personable, funny, and friendly. Her talk was informative, and considering she's writing historical-based novels with Gods of Gotham and Seven for a Secret, she's clearly done her research. As she said while answering questions, (though avoiding spoilers!) for the Q&A part of the night, she's read journals, newspaper articles, all of that stuff to make things as authentic as possible. While I haven't read either book yet, I love how it seems she's found a great balance between what to include to flesh out the actual world of old-time New York, and also what she needs to NOT say, because it's not something her main character would take the time to care about.
Anyway, I know, this is a pathetically short entry, but I wanted to get down about meeting Lyndsay and help promote her books. Gods of Gotham and Seven for a Secret aren't Sherlock Holmes, but she's also the author of, and this is how I initially heard of her, Dust and Shadow, which was her imagining of if Holmes and Watson had gone up against Jack the Ripper.
All in all, this September 18th was a terrific, tiring, completely worth it endeavor.
