I have seen David Baldacci speak a couple of times, which is why I looked forward to his appearance at Borders in New York this week. Baldacci tells great stories and the hour flew by quickly as he shared tales of fan encounters, his law career and his characters. Many people ask authors how they feel about their books being made into movies. David has a great answer to this. When he makes a book deal he goes to Kinkos and blows up the check --- BIG --- like poster size. He puts it in his office. Then, when the director or producer calls and says things like, we think the heroine should be male, or the setting does not work so we are moving it, he pauses for a moment and then looks at the check, which usually is quite hefty, and says okay. The book is the book and the movie is the movie. Sounds really smart to me!