Preparing to read this afternoon at the Four-Eyed Frog in Gualala is more stressful than I had imagined. You think it would be simple to choose a couple of stories to read but it turns out to be complicated.

The idea behind a bookstore reading is to generate a "buzz" about the book; to support the bookstore by encouraging attendance at an interesting event; and to let the author and readers meet face to face. So, do you read your personal favorite? The one that is most "entertaining?" Or the one that is best suited to pique the interest of your audience? With luck, they are all the same. That's what I've been grousing about.

Right now, I'm leaning toward reading, "Clarisse." Why? It's a good example of how I like to write. I hope that it will entertain the audience and that Clarisse, the main character, will be somebody with whom, by the end of story, a listener/reader can identify. Clarisse is not charismatic; quite the opposite. She is opinionated, tough and often her own worst enemy. She can cope with the world but now, maybe, she is on the verge of doing more.

Then, I think I'll also read one of my three, short Lebanese memoirs. I read "The Professor" on the radio and the recording is posted on this blog. So maybe I'll read "Up at Harissa." I haven't read that before and I think it's an amazing story. Click the link to watch a short video of Harissa.

I'm hoping that I'll have time to put the story into context for the audience since it's important for them to know how I came to be in Lebanon and to meet the men who are the subjects of the memoir. My hope with these three pieces is that they will help us see the Lebanese as people with whom we can empathize.

Next up is a reading at the River Reader in Guerneville (April 9th, 7:00 PM).

I'll be a pro by then!

Here's to good writing and good reading!

Gone to Ground is available at Amazon.com; PublishAmerica and at Independent Bookstores everywhere.