Sunday, November 18, 2007

Susan Cooper

I'll be posting my Beowulf review tomorrow, but what happened on Saturday was better than any movie could be: I got to meet an author I've idolized for (almost exactly) 30 years: Susan Cooper, who wrote The Dark is Rising books.

Cooper was doing a book signing at our amazing local bookstore here in the Dedham, The Blue Bunny, and we arrived early. She ended up chatting for almost half an hour with my family and me, she signed my old, falling-apart copies of The Dark is Rising and the The Grey King, and laughed when I pointed out that I'd found an inconsistency in The Dark is Rising (she said I was only the second person in the world who had noticed it).

Even more happily, she confirmed that the town I had identified as the setting for The Dark is Rising is in fact the one I thought it was (I am saving this for a publication) and that certain landmarks are still standing.

But best of all, she was one of the first famous writers I have ever met who was not disappointing (Stephen J. Gould was the other). Instead, she was charming, funny and genuinely kind.

Thank you, Ms. Cooper, for the many years of joy you've given me (and now my daughter, and soon my son) through your writing, and for the wonderful time we had on Saturday speaking to you.

4 comments:

Debbie G said...

How wonderful to meet one of your favourite authors and not be disappointed! I've heard that Diana Wynne Jones is like that. I had a similar experience meeting Ursula LeGuin, and it was so great to be able to thank her for the pleasure she has given me over the years. I love The Dark is Rising sequence, too.

Another Damned Medievalist said...

That is so cool. I didn't realise we could also talk children's fantasy!

Dr. Virago said...

Ooh, that's so cool! I've never read Cooper, but I can understand the excitement and joy of meeting a favorite author and not being disappointed.

I've found that the mystery writers I like -- Michael Connelly, George Pelacanos, for example -- are pretty cool people. But then genre fiction is so fan-driven they'd be nuts not to be nice to their fans.

squire said...

What fun to meet a favorite author and get such a personal response.

I also got to know Stephen J. Gould a little bit, and he was indeed funny and wise, and just a little satisfied with himself. But he autographed 'Ever Since Darwin' for me, the only author-signed book I have besides 'How Tradition Works'.