Lady Jane’s Salon: 2nd Anniversary Tonight!

A little over two years ago, I was sitting in a bar with romance novelists Hope Tarr, Maya Rodale, and Leanna Renee Hieber. We’d just left a literary reading that I’d hosted, and got to asking ourselves why we never saw similar events for romance writers, then we decided we’d start our own. A few months later, we’d lined up the second-floor space at Madame X, where the red walls aren’t exactly velvet-lined but might as well be, invited a few authors to read, and spread the word to as many friends as we could. We kept doing it, the crowds kept getting bigger, and tonight I’m thrilled to be celebrating the second anniversary of Lady Jane’s Salon.

Our guests include Lauren Willig, the creator of the bestselling Pink Carnation series, Courtney Milan, and Caridad Ferrer, with a special appearance by Andrew Shaffer, the author of the totally nonfictional guide to Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love. We’ll also have at least one raffle prize and quite possibly a champagne toast. So if you’re in the New York City area, come join us at 7 p.m. at Madame X (94 West Houston Street); admission is just one used paperback romance novel or $5, both of which we collect for charitable donations.

The last two years have been really fun, and I’m totally looking forward to our third… especially this summer, when our salon coincides with the annual Romance Writers of America convention. But every month’s show is fantastic: We’ve demonstrated that genre fans will turn out eagerly for readings—heck, some nights I see more people in the audience than I see at “literary” events—and I’ve met a lot of fun writers, some of whom have come from the opposite end of the country just to meet some New York fans. For an idea that was hatched in the back of a bar, the Salon’s done more than all right!

7 February 2011 | events, lady jane's salon |

2/3: Hannah Pittard Meets Like Fire @ Greenlight

If you’re in the New York City area, I hope you’ll be able to join me Thursday night (February 3rd) at Greenlight Bookstore for a reading by Hannah Pittard from her debut novel, The Fates Will Find Their Way, after which Pittard will be interviewed by my friend Lisa Peet, the editor of the excellent literary blog Like Fire. The “Author/Blogger” pairings at Greenlight are always lively, and I’m looking forward to this conversation—I’m even cutting short a visit to the AWP conference in Washington, D.C., practically rushing straight from a speaking engagement to the train station so I’ll be back in Brooklyn in time for the event. Lisa has been very enthusiastic about the novel, and I’ve set it aside for my train ride down the Eastern seaboard tomorrow afternoon (weather permitting) with much anticipation.

Greenlight Bookstore is located at 686 Fulton Street in Fort Greene, right next to a C train stop, just a block away from a G train, and a short walk from the whole Atlantic/Pacific Avenue subway complex. The reading will start at 7:30 p.m., and although you don’t have to make reservations, if you do happen to be on Facebook, you can give us a heads-up; it’s always helpful to have a rough idea how many chairs to lay out.

1 February 2011 | events |