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Dining With a Literary Legend Doesn’t Disappoint

I have come clean about touching Bobby Duvall's Oscar, dallying with Sean Connery, running from an empassioned Pavarotti and late night drinking experiences with Tom Stoppard. I thought I had no secrets anymore, but there are always new vistas to conquer, and recently I had dinner with Lee Child.

For those of you who live in caves and never frequent bookstores, Lee Child has written 16 books, which are second in sales only to the Harry Potter series. He sells a book every three seconds. His main character, Jack Reacher, is the most popular in contemporary fiction. He has a four-picture deal with Paramount, and the first book to be made into a movie, "One Shot," is currently being made in Pittsburgh. Lee Child is HUGE, and he was here several weeks ago as highlighted speaker at the West Virginia Book Festival. In the interests of full disclosure, I am a devoted Lee Child fan. 

Learning that Child would be here, I immediately called my friend, Patty Thompkins at the Kanawha County Public Library, and asked if I could host a dinner for him. That wasn't going to be possible, but I was invited to a tasteful reception. Steve Blankenship, my friend and author of "Wild," also was included. He, in turn, invited three friends and made them read at least one Child book before the reception. We were nothing if not prepared.

Child is delightful, smart, modest and funny. He took the time to answer questions that he's probably been asked 1,000 times before, making each person feel as if he had asked the most fascinating question imaginable. I immediately decided I wanted to follow him everywhere.

Tamping down this stalker instinct, I tried to act dignified and sophisticated. I didn't drool. I didn't snort when I laughed. I didn't babble. I didn't clam up as I sometimes do in the presence of greatness. And when opportunity presented itself, I was there to snap it up. Child was going to be in Charleston one night longer than anticipated by Mike Albert, chairman of the library's board, and Mike had other commitments. I leapt into the breach; and before I knew it, Child was coming to my house for dinner the next night.

This opportunity was not without challenges. My daughter and her 20-month-old child were visiting me. It was impossible to go from my kitchen to my living room without tripping over about 100 toys. In an attempt to childproof, I'd moved all tempting things up. As a result, every surface had been cleared of tasteful objects d'art and the tops of bookcases showcased everything that had to be out of the baby's way. Trust me, the house was a disaster. We cleared a path to the living room and decided that since Child has children, he'd understand. This required deep breathing on my part; I am just the tiniest bit anal.

Then there was the small problem of actually having to serve a dinner. I raced to Sam's and got racks of lamb. I rocketed through Kroger and picked up everything else I needed. I zoomed home, invited Lee and Angie Hill, more great Child fans, and spent the rest of the day cooking. An additional challenge was attending Child's formal presentation at the Book Festival, which took two hours out of dinner prep time and was worth every valuable second!

When he finally arrived at my house, I was bombproof. I'd been through the Valley of the Shadow of Dinner Preparation and emerged unscathed on the other side. I even looked moderately put together.

I don't think I've ever been more charmed. Not only did he toss the golden ball of conversation, Child is the ultimate communicator; everything he talked about had us on the edges of our seats, mesmerized. History, economics, literature, science — all were fascinating when lofted by Child. 

What did I learn? More than I can recount here. However, the most recent book Child had read illustrates his interest in "everything;" it was "The History of Air Conditioning in America." "Lee Child" is a pen name. After 18 years as a TV director in England, his company downsized, and he was fired. Although he had a wife and small child, he decided that this was a career opportunity and sat down and wrote his first book, which he sold on the first try. And, as Child said, "I am an overnight sensation; it took 10 years for all this to happen." He said he'll write 20 or 21 books, and that he'll kill off Reacher in the end. I am in mourning already.

About midway through the evening, I saw Child visibly relax. This was my goal; I understand from my motivational speaking days how difficult it is to be "on" all the time, and I especially wanted him to remember Charleston fondly for being different from his other promotional stops. He gets gold stars for jumping over toys and not blanching at the condition of my housekeeping.

OMG. Lee Child. I can't tell Bobby Duvall that his Oscar has been eclipsed.

Lynne D. Schwabe was owner of Schwabe-May of Charleston, ran her own marketing consulting firm and is a nationally recognized motivational speaker. She has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Women's Wear Daily, and has appeared on CNBC's Power Lunch. She is now director of development for the National Youth Science Foundation.