Reflections on our Nancy Price Weekend

Post date: Jul 17, 2017 4:38:28 PM

Reflections on our Nancy Price Weekend

The Cedar Falls Authors Festival launched activities for our third author this past weekend: Nancy Price, best known for her book "Sleeping with the Enemy," which was made into a movie starring Julia Roberts.

We began the weekend Friday night in Seerley Park, where vendors set up food and drink and our Committee members Barbara Lounsberry and Rosemary Beach sold Nancy Price books, Tour Tickets, and Festival posters. Later, Barbara introduced the movie and Rosemary gave away a signed poster. Then it was time to watch "Sleeping with the Enemy" on a special outdoor screen.

Saturday afternoon people began to arrive for the Tours of five different houses in the Seerley Park neighborhood: more than 200 tickets were sold, while others hung out at the Park and listened to music, chatted, and rested between tours.

Nancy Price made an appearance as well, signing a mural in a home she had once lived in, as shown below.

Sunday people gathered at the Hearst Center for the Arts: they packed the house and parking was a challenge. However, it was worth it for the exhibit of Nancy Price illustrations, the reception, and then the Panel, led by Barbara Lounsberry with Grant Tracey and Greg Holt who compared the book to the movie. Before and after the program Nancy Price greeted people, had her picture taken and signed books.

Here are my ten Takeaways about the weekend.

1. The movie (and book) Sleeping with the Enemy is still scary! I probably amused a few people sitting behind me when I jumped at several crucial moments during the movie Friday night.
2. The book helped create awareness of domestic violence in our society, and the movie added to that, with a touch of horror. Sara tells the woman on the bus that she called the police but there was little they could do to help her.
3. Set in Cedar Falls, the book describes a number of houses in the Seerley Park neighborhood; however, the movie was filmed in South Carolina to make it easy to get both the beach scenes and the “country” scenes.
4. Watching a movie outdoors was fun, but I should have worn long pants and taken my heavier hooded sweatshirt along. (Okay, I admit that my husband was right--sigh).
5. Last fall, as we planned these events, we wondered if anyone would really want to take a tour of the houses in Seerley Park mentioned in the book: we ended up selling over 200 tickets.
6. People taking the tour enjoyed walking around the neighborhood and touring the homes alike: a couple I visited with related that the wife used to live on the street and hadn’t been back in that house for 40 years.
7. Thank goodness for the brochure that explained the role of each house in the book; people were also appreciative of the hosts and volunteers who spent time answering questions and chatting with those who lingered.
8. Nancy Price is our only living author of the five featured authors, since Robert Waller passed away in March. She is still writing and her next book is out in March 2018: what a role model for those of us who are beginning our writing careers!
9. After listening to the panel today (Barb, Grant and Greg) I want to re-read the book. There are numerous differences between the book and movie, with some of the characters in the book being left out altogether.
10. It was amazing to watch Nancy Price interacting with the public today at the Hearst Center: she has a wonderful personality and sense of humor and graciously agreed to pose for pictures or sign autographs.

This post first appeared on Blogging Basics with Cherie

https://bloggingbasicswithcherie.blogspot.com/2017/07/reflections-on-nancy-price-weekend.html

Last updated July 17, 2017