On Sun., April 6 author Jeffrey Lent held a book reading for the Eagle Pond Writer’s Series at the Silver Center. Many attended for his reading of excerpts from his recent book “A Peculiar Grace” published in 2007. Lent chose read chapters three and four.
Lent had good diction during the reading, and was very interesting to listen to. Lent’s voice often reflected his writing. He puts emphasis on his spoken word the way his written word implies emphasis. He was able to capture the attention of the audience with his transitions in tone and pace, almost like he was describing a well-detailed picture.
The audience seemed very interested in Lent’s reading. Many of the members were holding a copy of his recent publication. The audience was attentive during the reading, with many nods of approval and understanding. It was evident that many of the audience members were familiar with Lent and his writing.
After he finished reading, everyone in the crowd gave him a round of applause, and Lent allowed members of the audience to ask questions. One of the questions was “When do you normally do your writing?” Lent responded “I typically write mostly in the afternoon” and added “I’ve been doing it on that schedule for twenty years.”
Another question was “Do you write in long hand or do you type?” Lent went on to say “I don’t write in long hand because I can’t read my own handwriting” followed by a chuckle from the audience. He added that it took him awhile to get used to writing on a computer instead of the typewriter and how he still edits on paper as opposed to onscreen.
A man in the second row asked if Lent “reads his reviews.” Lent replied, “Yes, everyone reads their own reviews. Even the really stupid ones… so as to say ‘I don’t really need that guy at my cocktail party” to the enjoyment of the audience.
When Lent was asked about the characters in his stories and how they are connected he said that he threads characters in his books and it makes characters seem similar. He explained further, “I found answers to one book from the other book, in both ways.” In other words while writing one book he obtained ideas for another.
Another member of the audience wanted to know if Lent ever continued his character development even after his story was finished. She added that if he did, then could he tell her what happened to the character in the book after it was over. The audience was amused by this, as was Lent. He answered by talking about how after he finishes his books he sometimes does still think of the characters but he uses these ideas for other characters in other books.
After all questions seemed to be answered, everyone filed out of the theater to the reception where they had cookies, coffee and conversation.