A Raymond E Feist Collection
I have been fortunate thus far in my life to have met quite a few authors, some starting out, some ending their careers, some good, some not so good, some have been really well known, some have had no ego to speak of and some have had trouble fitting those super-size-me heads through the door. It has only happened once in my entire life though that I have had the fortune to meet an author who changed the genre of books I read and thereby changed my whole life!
I have always believed in faeries at the bottom of the garden, the monster under the bed and that the garden gnomes come to life when you turn your back on them. A world of fantastical beings, filled with magic and wonder is not a stretch of my imagination to perceive. So, it is no small wonder that the first book of fantasy that I ever read, Magician, by Raymond E Feist, changed my life and set my reading on a path all of its own. I have never given up the thrillers, dramas and historical spectaculars but my one true reading love is fantasy and Ray, as he introduced himself to me when he arrived at Indulgence Cafe is the man who brought that spark into my life and introduced me to worlds not bound by the gravity and sense of the one we live in.
Magic, magicians, dragons, royal families, rags to riches, love, betrayal, elves, good and evil, light and dark, Raymond E Feist’s work brings it all alive. He paints pictures with words and weaves worlds that you can picture in your head as you read and become lost in the forests and the mud splattered roads of Midkemia and kelewan. Careful, or you will find you leave your mind behind and end up a little confused about where you are when you close the book and suddenly return, abruptly to the harsh realities of planet Earth.
This man, this Raymond E Feist, has just returned home to San Diego after a whirlwind book tour of SA with his publishers and I was lucky enough, okay, I did have to grovel quite a bit, to get him to come and speak at Indulgence Cafe on Heritage Day, 24 September 2014, but that’s okay as well because, I know people 🙂 Of all the authors we have hosted at Indulgence Cafe, this is the first one to have had people begging me for seats and places at the event. One family even brought me a box of chocolates to say thank you for making place for them, I was quite humbled and no, I have no intention of sharing. What a remarkable event, with an incredible author.
SA’s own fantasy author, Dave De Burgh spent an hour chatting to Ray about his work, his characters and how he got started. Never before, has one hour passed by in such a flash and we would love to have had them speak for longer but duty and lunch called. Ray is awesome, funny, witty and he was incredibly patient with the fans who brought along entire collections of his work for him to sign. The poor man must have signed 300 books for the 103 people who were at Indulgence Cafe on Wednesday morning, I have to say that I was incredibly impressed with him.
Raymond E Feist chatting to Dave De Burgh
The 103 Strong Crowd
The Man Himself
The Fan Collections for Signing
The Happy Staff from Skoobs, Theater of Books
The Never Ending Queue for Book Signings
The Patient Author
A Post Chat Laugh with Dave De Burgh
For me, little old me, it was a dream come true and something to cross off my bucket list. I met Raymond E Feist in the flesh, I heard him speak and I have the pictures to prove it.
The link to YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du7BpOT1R_w
So when is the next one coming out Ray?
Love & Lollipops 