Teresa Jade LeYung's BLOG

This is what happened.  Women’s National Book Association-San Francisco Chapter sponsored an author showcase and silent auction in November 2007 at the Mechanics Institute Library.  I was one of thirteen WNBA member-authors showcasing our books.  This event was a fundraiser for the chapter, so, many of us donated prizes for the silent auction.  I donated one hour of consultation (help a writer with her/his pitch, query letter or synopsis, or, platform building/career coaching).

Rita Lakin, author of the Gladdy Gold comedy-mystery series, donated a set of her novels and a chance to be a character in her upcoming novel!  Well, I placed my bid for that.  How fun is that—to be a character (no matter how minor) in a mystery novel written by Rita.

Networking.  Great food.  Being with friends and colleagues.  Having fun. Every fifteen minutes I dash over to the auction display table to check the bid sheet for the prize I want.   Good.  I’m still the highest bidder.  Sure hope I get it.

Author Showcase portion of the event begins.  Each author gets a minute or two to talk about her book.   Fun to listen to all the other authors.  Rita Lakin says that her protagonist is modeled after her mom.

Women's National Book Association members at Mechanics Institute Library November 2007 Rita Lakin is second from the right standing

We sell and autograph books. I am having a lovely time.

Okay last chance to place bids.  I see several people going by where Rita’s auction item is displayed, but, I can’t tell whether they’re writing something on the bid sheet.  The auctioneer announces, “Bidding is now closed.”

It’s not often one can be a character in Rita’s novels.  Her cast of the mainstay characters is already large.  True, there are always the new villains in each novel, but, those names are already assigned, their character profiles already determined.  Rita says she has to get creative to match the auction winner’s name and physical traits or personality to a minor character’s profile.

Breathe.  If I don’t get it this time, well, maybe the next auction, the novel after this one. But what if I can’t attend the next auction?

The auctioneer is walking over to the display table, announcing the winners.  She’s standing in front of the prize I want.  “What do we have here?” she says, “A set of novels featuring P.I. Gladdy Gold, by Rita Lakin, and a chance to be a character in her upcoming novel!  The highest bid is from Teresa LeYung Ryan!”

Yahoo! I think I’m jumping up and down like a cheerleader.

Teresa LeYung Ryan got a set of Rita Lakin's mystery series and a chance to be ...

That was November 2007.

Getting Old Is a Disaster hits the bookstores in January 2009.  Page 104 Protagonist P.I. Gladdy Gold and Jack her sweetheart head out to Key West for their romantic getaway.  Hurray.  By the time they reach Islamorada though, the rain is seriously coming down.  By the time they pass Marathon, the wind is howling and the rain is pelting down.  Ah, the Brown Pelican Inn, a charming faux-Victorian B&B.  At the desk, the checkout line is longer than the registration line, which consists of just Gladdy and Jack.  The manager introduces herself as Teresa LeYung . . .

[Since one of Rita Lakin’s mainstay minor characters in the series is Denny Ryan (and my last name is also Ryan), to make the manager Teresa LeYung Ryan might mislead readers.  So, in this spellbinding mystery that involves a hurricane unearthing a fifty-year-old skeleton, I got to be a minor minor character.  What a thrill!  What a major event for me.]

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