The Miami Book Fair, where I’ll be speaking this weekend, looks to have a smashing array of author events. In addition to my panel of historical fiction writers — with Michael Ennis on The Malice of Fortune, Debra Dean on The Mirrored World, and Da Chen on My Last Empress — at 12:00 Sunday, there are some real stars. Tom Wolfe. Junot Diaz. Sandra Cisneros. Jeffrey Toobin. Dave Barry. Martin Amis. And Naomi Wolf, if you’re in the mood for some frank talk about vaginas. There are innumerable cookbook authors, offering demonstrations, also poetry readings, and a guy, Derf Backderf, who did a graphic novel about Jeffrey Dahmer.
Image from My Friend Dahmer
I might stay back at my hotel’s rooftop pool for that one. Oh, that’s right, I just wrote a book about cannibals myself.
If you want to see some of this stuff, you can check out the schedule on Book TV, they’re going to be covering highlights of the Fair. As far as I can see, my panel didn’t make the cut, but you never know.
Jean Zimmerman 
If I had been there I would indeed have come hear your panel. Historical fiction has been a favorite genre of mine since high school. The first book I read along those lines was “Mary, Queen of Scots”. I especially admire writers of this genre who do all the necessary homework.
When I read in a recreational moment I do it to get a different angle on reality. A good historical novelist can bring an era to life and put perfume in the air of my mind. Sloppy details can ruin an otherwise good book.