Jeffrey Archer….Ah! What an experience to meet a legend of his stature. I didn't know that he was also accredited with the honor – "Lord" till I got to listen to him personally at one of his recent visits to Hyderabad.
It was indeed a privilege to be able to sit and listen to him. It was very evident that he loved people in the way he interacted with the crowd and in a moment he had everyone's undivided attention. He asked for the lights in the room to be brightened so he could see all the faces which really showed how much he cared for people.
He shared his many humbling experiences as he started his career as an author and the struggles he faced before he got to the top! The many pressures he had to go through giving several of the interviews organized by his publishers, where he did not have ample time to express much about his novel — Kane and Abel. When he almost gave up and was about to go back to England, they invited him to another TV show where he spoke and that one interview made him win the best selling novel of the year.
He shared some very nice nuggets about writing. What I also admired about him was the respect he had for other novice writers in the room and he acknowledged their talent. He also called the youngest of them all – a ten year old onto the stage and acknowledged her work. That was very humbling.
All in all, a very memorable experience thanks to my friend who invited me with her to attend this function.
We also got to meet Jeffrey personally on the stage and got a book autographed by him.