Guest Blogger: Barry Eisler

Hi, Barry Eisler here, blogging from my first Romantic Times. Please forgive any spelling errors; I was up late at the Fairy Ball (hmmm, don't think I've ever uttered that particular sentence before) and even later at the poker tournament...

If you know my books -- a thriller series about a half-Japanese, half-American assassin named John Rain whose speciality is making it look like natural causes -- you might wonder what I'm doing at RT. Well, it's like this: my thrillers have a lot of romance and sex in them, and women seem to like them a lot, even though my publisher packages them more for men. So I started looking for ways to meet more female readers, and a friend told me RT would be a good place for that... and holy smokes, was my friend right.

Today's my third day at the convention, and here are my impressions so far: first, what an incredibly engaging, enthusiastic, eclectic group of readers! Everyone's been exceptionally friendly and approachable, and even as a first-timer (a virgin, in RT parlance) I've felt welcome from go.

Second, these people read a lot of books! I wonder if anyone's done a study about the number of books romance readers read per year versus the number read by readers in other genres? Something tells me romance readers do it more (sorry, I couldn't resist).

Third, romance readers read a lot more than romance. When I first decided to come to RT, I thought my books would be a good fit because of their strong female characters and romantic plot lines. Thrillers with romance... as a category, not so far from Romantic Suspense, right? But in fact, most of the readers I've met at RT read romance as a kind of core interest, with lots of other genres and story types forming concentric circles around the core. In other words, you don't have to write romance: if you write great stories with compelling characters, you'll make plenty of new friends at RT.

If we didn't have a chance to meet at the convention, stop by my web site discussion board -- a fun forum with a lot of interesting people talking about reading, writing, sex, politics, single malt whisky, and anything else that strikes people's fancy -- and say hello. Or shoot me an add request on MySpace or Facebook. And if we have met, come by so we can stay in touch.

Okay, signing off now, hopefully to take a nap. I need to rest up for tonight's Vampire Ball (another sentence I don't think I've ever uttered before) and for tomorrow's big book signing. Thanks for making me feel so welcome and see you in Orlando!

Cheers,
Barry

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