Good work QuoterGal!

Craig Oxbrow | July 31, 00:07 CET

does anyone else get the feeling she did this mainly to promote herself and her book?

narky | July 31, 00:10 CET

Not really, narky, but if that was part of the intention then I wouldn't blame her. I'd have done the same thing.

Thanks to Suzanne and also to our very own QuoterGal.

Koven | July 31, 00:16 CET

Narky i get THAT feeling (i don't want to be mean but)she was all about herself and the book and not so much with the Joss lovin/worship, im sure she's a fan but i really wish more "average" fans (you know ones without huge money making careers to promote) got to go to the dinner and also i think it was a little unfair that she was allowed to buy 2 tickets it's like favouratism to rich people (so not fair). Can you tell Im totally bitter and insanely jelous :(

property of Mr Gordo | July 31, 00:19 CET

LOL. I don't know: the "OMG--that's Joss Whedon!" sounds pretty "average" to me! At any rate, it's exactly what I expected to spend the evening thinking if I had the luck + wealth to be there! Thanks, Suzanne, and QuoterGal. And good luck on the book deadlines, Suzanne.

Maeve | July 31, 00:25 CET

I felt more like she was trying to promote the message of her book and explaining the context in which her writeup would be presented. Her whole e-mail was very conversational, and I thought she sounded plenty "gushy" about the dinner opportunity and how well things fell into place for her. I'm sure that pretty much everyone who visits this site would have loved to have been in on the dinner, but the important thing to remember is that the purpose of this was to raise money for Equality Now, not to find the most "deserving" fans.

Lady Brick | July 31, 00:58 CET

Seems like she was pretty clear how awestruck she was and how big a fan she is and then explained why she didn't have time right now to post a full account. Fair play, she did it in a way that might increase sales of her books but y'know, woman's gotta eat ;).

(and she doesn't need to post anything, she could just have sent QG a stock, impersonal response saying it was a private time that she doesn't care to talk about - reckon she's being quite nice to share at all myself, even if I don't love the whole delayed gratification thing. Patience ? Pfft ;)

Saje | July 31, 01:36 CET

Goodness, QG, you're impatient!

To me, Ms. Brockmann sounded just like a fan -- a fan who's days away from a major pre-release press action and who of course is going to be focused on her new book. She told us what was going on, and she basically told us why Joss is her hero: his shows make it a bit easier to write books about non-traditional relationships and actually get them published; his philanthropic example inspires others to do similar things, some of which she did long before the auction; and his writing attracts fans of all types, both within and outside the normal genre fan communities. That she had the money to buy 2 seats -- more power to her. That she spent the extra $10k to take her fannish husband with her is the most romantic thing I've heard this summer.

cabri | July 31, 01:40 CET

If promoting her book was the intention, I can think of far more effective ways to spend more than $20,000 than on a charity dinner with a sci-fi writer that only a handful of his sci-fi oriented fans will ever read about.

I agree with Lady Brick that the point of the auction was to raise money for Equality Now, and in that spirit, we should all be thanking Suzanne for her wonderful donation to that organization. Heck, I'd even buy her a drink for being crazy enough to blow that kind of money on dinner with a cool writer. :-)

BrewBunny | July 31, 01:45 CET

I wanna know how many embarassing questions were asked. It's not fun unless there are a few queries from the verbotten list, swashbuckling bunny body guards not withstanding.

quantumac | July 31, 01:57 CET

I don't care if she did this JUST to promote her book. The money went to a good cause, a cause that she seemed to actually know about it and be familiar with, so I say good on her!

And this part?

And I bought two seats, because I'm totally still in love with my husband of nearly 25 years, and everything is better when he's by my side. He loves Joss and Buffy and Firefly and Angel, too, but not as obsessively as I do, which is good. Every relationship needs balance, right?


Did me in. I say double good on her.

Dawny | July 31, 02:04 CET

I'm inclined to believe that Suzanne bought the dinners motivated primarily by a love of Joss-and-his-works and a desire to contribute to Equality Now. The fact that she is an author promoting her books is, no doubt, really important to her, and that she included that info in her email hardly surprising... she's up to her neck in promotional work, at the moment. As several have said, there's more direct ways to buy publicity, and there are people that could be of far more use to her in her career than Joss, if that was her intention...

I think she's like Joss, in that she's willing to be connected to her fans and other folks on the web, not afraid to be a fan her own self, and also feels free to communicate whatever she wants about her processes.

cabri: Goodness, QG, you're impatient!

Hmm.. Well, I actually prefer think of my actions as "enterprising" rather than "impatient"... but I saw no point in waiting around while I had an email address for her.

Naturally, I was very polite in my email to Suzanne. You'all know me. ;>

QuoterGal | July 31, 02:15 CET

It sounds to me more like an explanation of why she can't really go into it at the moment. I have to say I was very intrigued by what she said about her book, sounds like something I might want to read. It's also interesting to see what an author needs to do to get a book sold.

yourlibrarian | July 31, 02:20 CET

I liked her writing style in just that little email, so I'm looking forward to her dinner stories. I wonder if there was any agreement about what each diner could write about - each others' stories, or only their own?

ohbejoyful | July 31, 02:43 CET

It seemed pretty straight forward. She bought two tickets because she had the money, is a fan of Joss, it was for a good cause, and she likes sharing with her husband. All good. She answered an e-mail request for information about it in a way that would get info to other Joss fans and advertise her book, which she makes clear has to be her first priority right now. Sounds smart and focused. Good for her. I look forward to reading her report.

newcj | July 31, 02:56 CET

So was that your photo at the Goners site, QG, or was that Suzanne? Just curious. And very good of you to write her with your question. We're all obviously itching, if not breaking out in sympathetic rashes to know a little bit of what went on at the dinner!

As accounts are posted (I hope there will be more than one), Joss can certainly feel free to refute setting waiters on fire, talking about, what was that he said, auto maintenance and green cards, that his ears didn't turn red when someone actually told him he had attractive eyes, hair, feet, shoes, and ... What's that you say? You gave the dinner group the scoop on whether or not Angel receives the Shanshu Prophecy?!??!!!!

Tonya J | July 31, 03:47 CET

Garsh no, Tonya, that was Suzanne's photo.

It is interesting to speculate about what diners may or may not have agreed on as far as writing about the meal.

Look, I think we all are just looking for the answer to one question and one question alone, and then our curiosity will be satisfied:

Was the Dessert Made Of Chocolate?

QuoterGal | July 31, 05:32 CET

I think it's sweet that she threw in another $9000+ to take her hubby of almost 25 years along. I agree with her sentiment, "...everything is better when he's by my side." Dave and I passed that milestone in May.

Bobbi | July 31, 05:45 CET

My event planning company ran events for Suz, book release parties and such. She's been an enormous Joss fan for many years.

She's consistently a NYT best-seller, and doesn't need to promote in this way at all.

I'm certain this was completely done out of Joss love.

Allyson | July 31, 05:53 CET

Why do people see her response as something to lambast her? She was kind enough to answer QuoterGal's email, AND she decided to spend her money on a worthy cause rather than on some creature comfort. She reported on the meeting the way a lot of fans report on their experiences meeting a famous person. It was all about her experience with Joss as much as it was about Joss. Lots of details are missing, but lots of fans leave out the details about "What he said" in favor of "How it felt to me."

Thanks for getting this, QG!

Nebula1400 | July 31, 06:20 CET

I enjoyed that her idea of "balance" for the WhedonVerse is somewhere between "love a lot" and "obsessively love".

OneTeV | July 31, 07:10 CET

Hee, OneTeV.

Thanks for emailing her, QG. Can't wait to read her official post about it.

non sequitur | July 31, 10:03 CET

Thanks, QG, for being effectively enterprising. And also a thank you to SB, for such a considerate and timely reply.

Love's Bitch | July 31, 19:48 CET

OK, I guess I have to concede on this one, especially in regards to the charity money. And I wouldn't pass up the chance to promote my book either if I was in her place.

narky | July 31, 21:04 CET