What I Did On My Summer Vacation

by Michele

                                                 

                                          

Part I -- In Which I Walk in the Footsteps of Clooney and Blond Bond and Feel Nary a Heart Palpitation (Okay, Maybe One, but only for George.)

It's been a while since I've blogged, because I've been off to the far ends of the earth, or at least to another continent, in pursuit of the perfect summer vacation, and if I do say so, the hubby and I nailed it.  There's pretty much nowhere on earth as perfect as Lake Como in July.  I could spend a lot of time telling you about the air so velvety that it was like the absence of air, the moonlight on the water, the flakiness of the breakfast pastries and perfection of the pasta, but no.  That's not what you want.  You want to know about George Clooney's house.  So, you shallow thing, here's the picture I took for you of Gorgeous George's Beautiful Villa:

Clooney tourism is big around the lake, but apparently some poor, misguided souls are creating a demand for Blond Bond tourism.  The recuperation scene, after Blondie got his firm behind kicked, was shot at the Villa Balbianello, one of the loveliest spots on Lake Como and therefore in the world. I went there one day and took a picture for Ramona of the place where Blondie's feet touched the earth.  Here it is, ho hum:

What did I feel as I stood there?  Admiration for the glorious gardens, of course, but other than that?  NOTHING.  Not a thing.  The man does nothing for me.

Part II -- In Which, During a Visit To Gotham, I Interview Lee Child at Midnight in the Hotel Lobby, Write His Words on a Cocktail Napkin, and My Little Heart Goes Pitter Patter (As Do the Hearts of the Other Women in Attendance).

The first time I met Lee, I had the same thought Raymond Benson had the first time he saw Clive.  "Bond," I thought.  Not that he could play Bond, but that he sort of IS Bond.  So imagine my nervous energy when, after the banquet on the Saturday night of ThrillerFest, after I'd been badgering Lee to let me interview him for our readers, the crowd in the bar suddenly parts and there he stands, looking just as good as George and, I'm sorry,but a damn sight better than blond Bond.  "So when do you want to do this interview?" he asks.  "How about now?" I say. 

We go find a little table in the lobby.  Eventually, a crowd gathers, all female.  What follows is not the interview in its entirety.  I'm sorry about leaving the good stuff out, especially since we're looking for that X rating, but some things are better left floating in the ether of the hotel lobby.

• Me:  Did you always know you'd be dazzling and successful? 
• Lee:  I'm not sure about the dazzling part.  The success didn't surprise me.  I'd been a media professional for a long time before I wrote the series.  I work hard on the books.  I suppose I could take the success I've had so far and spend ten or twelve years coasting on it.  Let the books decline.  Some people do that.  I never will.
• Me:  Lee Child isn't your real name.
• Lee: No.
• Me:  That surprised me, when I found out.
• Lee:  It surprises me that anyone would be surprised.  In the job I came from, writing for television, it was normal to take a new name with each new project.  Reacher was something different.  I needed a different name.
• Me: Is Lee Child a character you play?
• Lee: I suppose you could say that.
• Me: How is he different from you?
• Lee: The real me is less artistic, more impatient.  (He gives an example, which I didn't write down and have since forgotten, but at the time it made complete sense).
• Me:  You've become an American?
• Lee: I have a green card.
• Me: Why the attraction to the U.S., to New York?
• It's more about what I didn't feel for England.  I grew up in Birmingham, it was a late industrial revolution manufacturing city, very grim.  I had an Irish father.  I suppose you could say it's about British xenophobia, the class system.  I was never allowed to be English. . .

[At which point Margie walks up, catches the words "industrial revolution", and decides something's seriously off course with the interview.]

• Margie: Can I ask a question?
• Me (trying not to show my concern): Uh, okay.
• Margie, to Lee: Are you wearing any underwear?
• Lee: Yes, tonight I am, since I'm wearing wool trousers. But I don't always.  Yesterday I wasn't.
• Me: I've never really understood the attraction of going commando.  I like my underwear.
• Lee: Yes, but knowing you, you probably have beautiful lingerie.
• Me: Yes, I do.
• Lee: I'm sure I'd like your underwear too.
• Margie, waving goodbye:  My work here is done.

And the rest would be history, except that I'm leaving it out.

The End.

[NOTE TO OUR READERS about another one of our favorite men, Harry Potter: Please finish reading Deathly Hallows by Friday, when we're running a DH review blog which will contain spoilers].

Comments

[Cinema Dave]

Florida State University Italian Study program makes a stop at a town in Lake Como. I remember that there was a spa and street musicianship. I hate to think that Lake Como has become Clooneytown.

[Nancy Martin]

Lee has an Irish father. That explains so much.

We want the rest of the interview, Michele. But we're going to have to get you liquored up to dish, aren't we?

[michele martinez]

Fraid so, Nancy. Margie was only there for a brief moment, or I know she'd dish in a second. As for the other women who were there, I'm not giving out their names.

I think of this as a sort of "Men We Love" blog. I'm aiming to interview Clive, George and Blond Bond next, and I could use some help coming up with the questions. As you see, my instinct is to go for the "serious" interview.

[Harley]

Michele, I think Ramona and I could give you a question or two for Blond Bond. Don't you worry.

Where the hell was I during the Lee Child interview? How'd I miss, not only half the fun at T-Fest, but ALL the hors-d'oeuvres at every single event?

[michele martinez]

Harley, you were rehearsing. I'd think twice about that Killerette thing next time. (Although you looked awful cute in the outfit).

[Josh]

What a wonderful-sounding vacation!

It's things like that that make spending all that time in The Hole worth it.

[William Simon]

Let me get this straight: Michele interviews Lee Child in the hotel lobby, Margie shows up, and less than a week later there's a massive underground explosion right near the hotel. Coincidence?

Having met with Harley right after the show, I can vouch for her Cute Factor. All I could think of is the classic line from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER: "Well...that's a nice little nothing you're almost wearing...." (said in the appropriate Scots burr....)

[Maryann]

Thanks for the travelogue, Michele. I'm passing it on to my sister who is taking a trip to Italy in October...it may not be as warm, but at least she can find Clooney's house :o)
Now I'm really anxious to meet Lee Child next February...although with the temps, I'm sure the wool trousers (and accompanying items) will be wardrobe of choice. Lee Child and Barry Eisler and Kent Krueger all at the same conference? Color me happy. Someday I'll get to Thrillerfest...
As long as no one mentions the end of DH on Friday, the other stuff won't bother me. I'm only on HBP right now...of course I could skip Friday's blog but that would be like giving up chocolate malts.
Off topic for a minute here...just wondered if y'all have read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. YA, but really an interesting take on first love...with a vampire.
Have a great Monday!

[ramona]

Dearest Michele, great blog! Vacation photos and a Lee Child interview--my, what a lovely way to wake up on a Monday morning. Thank you tons for the photo just for me (which I will share with soul sister Harley, naturally) and for sharing your perfectly reasonable feelings of meh about Blond Bond. Differing attractions is what makes the world such a wonderful and interesting place!

(BTW, I've been reading about verbal judo. I think it's my new religion, so I thought I'd practice a bit. How am I doing?)

Hmmm, questions for the trio. For Clive, how about: How does it feel to be passed over for Bond? For George: How does it feel to not even be considered for Bond? For Daniel: How does it feel to BE Bond? And, also for Daniel, why don't you ever answer any of Ramona's e-mails?

[ramona]

Maryann, I have not yet read Twilight, but the kids in my school book her worship Stephenie like a goddess. (They all call her Stephenie, so now I do, too.) Have you read her other two? Great cover art, BTW.

[ramona]

Okay, I'm going to try this in English: Maryann, the kids in my school book group worship Stephanie Meyer. Ignore that gibberish above.

That photo Michele posted did something to my brain for a bit.

[Margie]

Good Morning.

It's Me, Margie - glad I helped rescue that interview with Mr. Cool - it could have been deadly otherwise.

Maryann - read faster, honey!

[Kerry, The Martial Tart]

Michele, color me jealous all the way about everything :) I hate to admit that I've not read Lee Child, but I'm clearly going to have to. Fortunately, I finished HP on the long drive home from NJ (my dear hubby arranged a book store trip on Saturday morning just so I could pick up the book). No spoilers, just let me say that, for my money, it's the best-written of the whole series. I'll be out of town, but will do my best to find a computer!

[Maryann]

Ramona- I understand. No, just got the first one on Saturday (assistant manager assured me it would only take two pages to hook me, and he was right) and finished it in two sittings. I'm trying to follow Margie's advice to read faster on HBP but will definitely get the second after this week. Edward probably looks like Daniel would have at 18 :o) but I kind of like Carlisle myself...
And Kerry, you have to read Reacher, really you do :o)

[Maryann]

Ramona-sorry...did she write others besides the Twilight trilogy? If so, no I haven't...I'll check them out. And I agree about the art work!

[michele martinez]

Josh, it's true. When the hole is being hell, I will have these warm, tingly memories to keep me going.

Ramona, you're welcome, sweetie. Differing attractions DO make the world go around, and as far as I'm concerned, the Blond Bond debate does too.

All I can say is, Margie was not in the office on the day of that explosion in New York. Where she was and what she was experimenting with, we're afraid to ask.

[michele martinez]

Maryann -- lucky you! Please do the blog proud and entertain those men properly when the time comes. Make sure you give Lee my regards.

Kerry -- thank you for bringing up Lee's BOOKS. Somehow that didn't occur to me. For anybody who's been silly enough to miss them (and judging by the sales, that's very few people), the Reacher books are as addictive as candy, hardcore adventure with a soul. Here's a link to his website (where there are cute pictures of him, too!):

http://www.leechild.com/

[Rita Scott]

Margie - if we're going to lose this 'G' rating, you're going to have to start doing some interviews! You're going to have to focus on one guy to interview instead of the multitudes! OK?????

[SarahS]

God, Michele. I am so envious. But I have to say that the Blond Bond hangout looks seriously nice. Why can't I recover there?

Lake Como is now on the list of my places to visit - once I lose 20 lbs.

MARYANN!!!

I'm afraid you're going to have to skip Friday's blog. That's just the long and short of it.....

[Maryann]

's OK Sarah...I can always hit the archives after I finish. Unfortunately at my age I need at least one or two hours of sleep a night, and they frown on me reading here at work (except at lunch) and at B&N, where come to think of it, people who DID stay up will be talking about it anyway. So...I'll know anyway I guess ;O)

[michele martinez]

I don't know that I'll be done with Deathly Hallows by Friday myself. I've been bringing it around with me and reading whenever I can. I notice other people doing that too. Yesterday I rented a canoe from a girl who was reading it and saw a kid in the car next to me in the pharmacy parking lot reading while his dad shopped. Gotta love all this public reading!

[ArkansasCyndi]

LEE CHILD! I am so jealous. I'm afraid I would have been one of those other women hanging around while you tried to interview him. Heck, I probably would have beat Margie to the underwear question. But I might have been disappointed he wasn't commando!

Margie - next year - Thrillerfest - we team up and find out if it's boxer, brief or commando.

[ramona]

Michele, when book 3 came out, my kids had an early Saturday morning swim meet. We'd ordered the books by FedEx, and the waiting was agony. So, at the meet, FedEx trucks kept going by to deliver books in the neighborhood, and little swimmers would rush the fence, waving and cheering and looking to see where the truck would stop. The meet was brought to a halt a couple of times because swimmers refused to line up for their races until they saw where Mr. FedEx had stopped. It was hysterical. It is tied with my other favorite memory--of the movie crowd going ballistic when Harry's name appeared onscreen for Sorcerer's Stone.

I'm done with DH. I've seen the book everywhere, too. I can't wait to discuss. People, read quickly!

[Karen Olson]

I'm done with DH as well (my daughter beat me to the finish, though, by several hours) and am anxiously awaiting discussion.

As for Lake Como, well, if I knew George Clooney lived there (yes, I'm under a rock), I would've made vacation plans there some time ago....

[Johanna]

Great to see you blog! I've been wanting to catch up with you! How was your vacation?? It sounds wonderful! Did you get me a Lee Child autograph?? Haha. Shoot me an email about everything that's going on! I have so much to tell you! I miss you all!

I finished Harry Potter yesterday because I was so afraid that someone was going to ruin the ending. Happily, a few of my die-hard friends have finished it so we've been discussing. Can't wait to share my thoughts with you!