Wish I hadn't done it

Jeffrey Archer!

I go to a spa in Staffordshire and have got to know a quite few of the young women who do massages and beauty treatments etc. They've all said that they absolutely dread a particular actress coming in because she's such a diva and nightmare and several of them have ended up in tears because she's so awful. Think long running North of England soap opera; actress who was in it for years but isn't anymore.

Thank goodness it wasn't CJ Sansom!

The S.O. has just read a book in which a taxi driver said the most miserable person he ever used to drive anywhere was Bruce Forsyth. He [the S.O. that is] used to have a lot of 'personalities' at their works conferences and he said one of the nicest was Tony Robinson [no surprise there].

Oh no! He's usually so lovely too. Must have been having a bad day.

Oh my goodness, that is such a surprise! But then I remember when my daughter worked in the green room at our local theatre and the stories she would tell of the gross rudeness and arrogance from some of the big names - people I would never have thought that of, not in a million years!

Also relieved to hear it wasn't Bill Bryson; that would have destroyed me....

I love those books, precious and her assistants talking shoes!

Oh no, not him! What a disappointment Eglantine. Nothing worse than discovering that a person admired from afar has feet of clay!

Wow I didn't see that coming.
was too busy worrying that it was Ian Rankin

Ah, the penny has dropped. . Pity about the book club, might have cheered you up.

An, him! McCall Smith.
Saw him on tv one time and thought the same as you.

Oh Jalima, I must just have caught him on a bad day.
Or maybe like someone says it was the audience that was less than satisfactory.
Or even me in a grumpy mood.
Still, anybody want a set of Ladies Detective Agency? I just can't feel the same about them.........

We have an annual literary festival near us and it’s a real eye opener. Some authors can really hold their audience but others are a big disappointment.

Yer pays yer money and you take your chance.

I do hope that these authors are going to be named. It would be awful to never know who they are!

Well known and successful poet - went on about her very expensive years of therapy and read us a few poems.
Now I'm even more intrigued.

Did she write a poem about her schooldays?

Alexander McCall Smith was delightful, can't be him

thinks
Of course, it could be someone we've never heard of!

Speaking of 'nice' authors, celebs etc., one of my favourites was the late lamented poet U A Fanthorpe. (I heartily recommend her work if you don't already know her - she should have been a Poet Laureate in my opinion.) She was a delightful speaker, along with partner Rosie Bailey, and sent me a book of her poems later with the message in it:
"Hope this comes up to scratch."

Hope it's not Bill Bryson. I saw him at Althorp a few years back and he was very nice.

Sorry., that shoukd read 'comic actor'!

I heard a c0mic acror speak once and was not impressed by the name dropping, arrogance and filthy jokes. This was a talk for young women (and children ) and was very inappropriate. I never liked him on screen after that.

Sorry to hear of your disappointment but you have to remember that authors can spend hours and hours putting together their wisdom & wit.
How long do they have when giving a talk?
Does it come over quite the same?

I have to know now so will have to keep checking back

Speaking from the other side and as a very considerably less well known position than the famous authors you are all speaking about, I do lots of author talks and events and I find that the audience response really contributes to how things go. It's funny (for me) that people in audiences don't seem to realise that the speaker can see them right back! My favourite case was when talking to a largish group I noticed that a person in the back row had a telescope trained on me! Otherwise, there are furtive nose pickers, snoozers, ill advised wigs and so much more!
But generally, the atmosphere generated can be so warm and friendly that author events are some of my favourite things.
Maybe the OP's writer doesn't like doing events but had been forced into it by his/her publisher?

Raymond Blanc in a tent at a rain drenched Malvern RHS Show - hilarious, spontaneous, memorable! And I was standing at the back with rain dripping down my neck!!
Lee Child - straightforward, patient and so cool!
Chris Riddell - witty and friendly.
Jess Phillips - infinitely approachable and responsive
Mark Billingham - clear, concise, direct
Well known and successful poet - went on about her very expensive years of therapy and read us a few poems.
Simon Brett - amusing and chatty
Wish I could think of an author who writes history and mystery!