They were there all right, warmly welcoming and handing me a beautifully made program. Although I was early for my 2 PM schedule, they whisked me up to the Little Theater on the fourth floor where students were beginning to gather.
My eyes were immediately riveted to the stage where two humongous paintings of Oh, Mateo! characters* were hung. These were not tarpaulins printed by a machine, these were honest-to-goodness paintings done by hand! My jaw dropped. I have never been so hugely honored with such huge labor of love.
That set the tone for my afternoon with about 400 students and four professors in a program dubbed, "The Mind behind Oh, Mateo! and Other Stories."
It took only a few minutes to set up my books on a table, my slides and CD in a computer—all timed to be within an hour. I had a total of 50 slides (from an original 150). A stickler for promptness, I had to keep to my one-hour allotted time, allowing another half hour for Q and A.
I revisited with the audience how I wrote many of my books (from ideation to execution), a process that varies with every story. And I got questions that ranged from a writer's inspiration to frustration.
Interacting with readers in Q and A is both uplifting and thought provoking. On the spot, one is pushed into summoning snippets long forgotten, or theories no longer in one's stream of consciousness. But each question gives new leads to how readers think and to how a writer must find new ways to nurse them with words on the printed page.
The book signing was an added grace, with rare moments of brief chats with those who brought their books for signature. I had to part with my own copies—they were purchased on the spot, with Louie doing the job I couldn't do in a million years: add and subtract numbers in pesos and cents.
From there, we moved to a cozy board room where early dinner was served. I had a chance to chat with the professors (one I met in a similar event before, and another who knew me through one of my readers—her son) and the ladies with blue sashes. The topics were, well, the wonderful world of books and literature.
The afternoon ended with the ladies with blue sashes escorting me to the parking lot.
"Thank you, I was abundantly blessed," I texted Louie later.
"We were likewise blessed," she texted back. And added, "The ladies with blue sashes were thrilled that you gave each of them a hug."
When the heart is full, and the mouth can't find the right words, one could only hope that hugs might say it all.
(*The illustrator and book designer of the "Oh, Mateo!" series is Beth Parrocha-Doctolero)
2 comments:
What a touching tribute to the "mind" behind the lovable Teo.
The students were so warm. And so were the professors. One of the perks of being a writer!
Post a Comment