Laughter fills the air to kick off winter season of the Grimsby Author Series

The Grimsby Author Series is officially back in business for the winter 2017 season, and the first evening was full of fun and laughter. Cordelia Strube, a GAS alumni, was in the house, as well as local author William Thomas for his first appearance in our popular series. Both authors hit it out of the park delivering talks that entertained all evening and kept the audience in stitches with their quick wit and hilarious anecdotes. Adding to the evening were fantastic wine selections from our sponsors Calamus Estates Winery, delicious snacks and tons of great raffle prizes – this night was definitely one to remember.

First up for the evening was Cordelia. Her bold, funny, and blunt characters shone through as she read a passage of her latest bestseller On the Shores of Darkness, There is Light. It was truly a privilege to hear her signature dialogue spoken aloud in her own voice as Cordelia has the innate ability to capture the voice of her characters so distinctly and realistically that you’re sure they must be recorded from real life conversations! In fact, we asked her about just that and she revealed how by just listening to the people around her, whether its on a train, on the street downtown Toronto, or even an overheard cell phone conversation, she can use the language she hears to build a character’s vocabulary. During Cordelia’s talk we heard fully how hilarious, raunchy, and raw those authentic conversations can be. She left the audience spellbound with her reading and then snapped them right back by interacting and asking them questions directly about what they thought. Really unforgettable!

William Thomas is quick, thoughtful and full to the brim with anecdotes that pack a hilarious punch. William’s new book The Legend of Zippy Chippy is full of them, and we couldn’t be more fortunate to hear him crack them out like a whip. His reputation proceeded him, so needless to say the audience was rolling with laughter. While delivering zingers left, right and centre, William still managed to impart the spirit of rooting for the underdog by sharing the crazy and unconventional stories surrounding the legend of a ragtag racing horse, his perfect score of losses, and the cult following that he inspired. From Zippy Chippy’s terrible diet of cupcakes, pizza, and on one occasion, a six pack of beer, to his problem with biting, kicking, and distracted driving, to his never give up attitude, William made us all fall in love that old horse by tempering the hilarity with heart! We even left with a new life motto: “Losing real close is close enough”.

 

We’d like to say thank you to both authors for kicking off our winter season and warming up a cold January evening – It was just awesome. A special thank you as well to those who donated our fabulous door prizes including the beautiful planters from  Cole’s Florists, gift certificates from Caliga Shoes and Special Effects Art Shoppe, and tickets to Theatre Aquarius, and Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as to The Peanut Mill and Forks Road Pottery for providing our authors with beautiful gifts.

See you next month!

 

Thanks to the Grimsby Author Series sponsors for their generous support: