Launches are the worst. Wait, no, book signings are the worst. I remember I had one for my first children's book a gazillion years ago (32+!) and the person at Bolen's didn't know I was coming. They hastily set up a table where I sat and watched people avoid me for a couple of hours. My editor, Saint Valerie Wyatt, came and sat with me for a time which eased the pain. I loved your story of how you engaged with your small but keen audience!
Thank you, Adrienne! Being set out in front of the bookstore like a Boston fern to sign books is a classic and you nailed the quick aversion of eyeballs by passers-by too! I had to do that in a mall once on a Thursday. There had been a shooting (yes, not fatal but someone was nicked by a real bullet) in this mall the very day before. The place was nearly empty. I found out much later why this was so… the poor booksellers were practically wringing their hands off, so apologetic, but they kept mum so I wouldn’t flee my little table out front I guess. The hilarious/horrific accounts of authors on the road ought to be compiled with a companion book written by booksellers about dealing with anxious/awful authors. I could write for both collections!
Thank you so much for sharing more of your delightful stories, Caroline! And on top of that, for the great photo at the end. Before reading your account of the photo, I tried to guess the location. It did not look like Whitehorse to me, the setting you took us to toward the end. But when you revealed that it was taken on the road to Carcross, I saw it immediately. We drove that very road just a handful of years ago, and we loved it.
Launches are the worst. Wait, no, book signings are the worst. I remember I had one for my first children's book a gazillion years ago (32+!) and the person at Bolen's didn't know I was coming. They hastily set up a table where I sat and watched people avoid me for a couple of hours. My editor, Saint Valerie Wyatt, came and sat with me for a time which eased the pain. I loved your story of how you engaged with your small but keen audience!
Thank you, Adrienne! Being set out in front of the bookstore like a Boston fern to sign books is a classic and you nailed the quick aversion of eyeballs by passers-by too! I had to do that in a mall once on a Thursday. There had been a shooting (yes, not fatal but someone was nicked by a real bullet) in this mall the very day before. The place was nearly empty. I found out much later why this was so… the poor booksellers were practically wringing their hands off, so apologetic, but they kept mum so I wouldn’t flee my little table out front I guess. The hilarious/horrific accounts of authors on the road ought to be compiled with a companion book written by booksellers about dealing with anxious/awful authors. I could write for both collections!
Thank you so much for sharing more of your delightful stories, Caroline! And on top of that, for the great photo at the end. Before reading your account of the photo, I tried to guess the location. It did not look like Whitehorse to me, the setting you took us to toward the end. But when you revealed that it was taken on the road to Carcross, I saw it immediately. We drove that very road just a handful of years ago, and we loved it.