Surprise "guest" at book discussion

We were having a great discussion last night at Bill Library on the book Dirty Water by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith and Jere Smith. It was a lively discourse by Red Sox fans, a Yankee fan and a few nonbaseball folks. The book, if you haven't read it, is a Red Sox mystery, using current Red Sox players and a Boston locale. Speaking as the only Yankee fan present, it was very interesting to see the different take on the book by Red Sox fans. The biggest surprise of the night, however, was when we were interrupted by a phone call. Laverne came in to tell us the author of the book was on the phone. You can imagine our surprise. I know authors are now offering to "attend" book club meetings by phone, but I have never tried to make that arrangement. This time the author tracked us down. I had a lovely chat with Mary-Ann Tirone Smith. She said her son and co-author had discovered our book discussion on line and e-mailed her and she just decided to give us a call. I asked her several questions that had come up in our discussion, but didn't think to ask if the Red Sox bars in New York City in the book are actual bars. That was what one participant wanted to know. After visiting Jere Smith's blog last night, I now know how to find out. Since he responded to my post last night in under fifteen minutes, I am sure I can get a quick answer from him. If you would like to check out his blog, it can be reached at letsgosox.blogspot.com.

I don't know if the next book discussion will be as exciting, but now I know there is always that possibility.