“It's actually kind of nice to get up close with people and be able to look them in the eye,” Massey added as her first audience member scanned the room and tentatively took a seat in the back row. “Sometimes when it's this vast sea of eight faces, it doesn't feel like you're even talking to people at all.” ¶ Massey said other aspects of the event, such as the audience Q&A, can also be modified to accommodate the turnout. ¶ “You might only get a single question, if any, with a really small audience,” Massey said. “But the good thing about that is you have time to offer a longer, more thoughtful response. At one of my bigger readings, I might get avalanched with two or even three questions and have to really keep it moving.” When asked if she could remember the largest audience she ever read in front of, Massey instantly recalled an event at a Minneapolis Borders at which 11 people, not even counting her old roommate from college or an elderly shopper who just wanted to sit for a moment, were in attendance—a reading she described as her “ultimate rock-star ego boost.” - × × ×