Wednesday with the Writer's Journal - Lunch with an Author

Today’s Wednesday with the Writer’s Journal is from January 27th. I told you I was not going in order.

Which writer would you like to meet? And, since it is my dream, let us try "which to have lunch with?" I live near a small town with very few restaurants and even way fewer good ones. I went to Martinsville today, to take my mom to vote and we found the best Chinese restaurant I have ever eaten at. It was great. So, I'll take them there, or not.

Six months ago, i would have asked Stephen King. I think he is the greatest living author for characterization. Sorry, Mr. King, I am not a fan of your subject matter. I usually only read the first third of his book and lose myself in those fantastic characterizations. I would love to sit at lunch with him and have him describe the people around us. What a great class that would be.

I also have a few questions to ask J.K. Rowling. Namely, how did she keep it all straight?

Now, however, I would just have to say Terry Pratchett because I have this feeling that spending lunch with him would be much like reading one of his books. Since I have only started on the second one, with the great Turtle A'Tuin, this is what I am basing him on.

My reasoning goes like this: When I demonstrate portrait painting, the comment I hear most often is, “I don’t see those colors.” I bite my tongue before I can say, "Nah, Nah, Nah Nah Nah. Well, I do." Whether it is a function of my eyesight or my brain is unknown. I was finally diagnosed as having two eyes (gosh, that is a really good thing), however, they do not work together. When I was a wee little one, the doctor told me that I probably had double vision. I compensated for this by learning to use just one eye to see out of. Thus explaining the fact that my left eye will wander off, on its own, when I am tired. Thus, causing me to look a bit like Mad Eyed Moody.

It could also be an abnormal brain pattern, which I actually have. I have been hooked up to an EEG several times; enough so that I went to a planetarium with my head all wired up once. Those who went with me were less than impressed. Hey, I do not let anything stop me from enjoying the world.

Or, maybe I just see things others do not see. I do think that sometimes, when I will point out a pattern that looks exactly like a face to me and those around me give me that “There she goes again” look, that I do actually see the world a bit differently.

So, I think Terry Pratchett would be fascinating to spend an afternoon with. I imagine he jumps from subject to subject and that he must have such a wonderful view of the world. It would have to be a very long lunch, beause I am sure it would be full of laughs, and Chinese food.