Signing in the Rain

No, you're not reading that wrong...I meant signing, not singing, although there was a bit of singing to be heard. Picture this...my first booksigning for a great local bookstore, where everyone had been following my writing and were so supportive before they even had a book in their story. I so wanted this to be a great signing for them. Now, the night before, there was windstorm here in Erie, PA. A big one. Okay, so now you've got the set-up for my first signing for my first Harlequin, I Waxed My Legs for This?

I arrived at the bookstore, so excited to be doing a local signing for people who'd already been so great to me and I found...bags covering all the racks. Buckets sprinkled liberally about the store. And out in the hall, an entire section of the mall was fenced off because it was raining inside. And just to make things more interesting, every now and then one of the ceiling tiles finally became so water-logged it fell. Splat. It seems an awning had been blown off the back of the mall and across the roof.

So there I was, my table set in a fairly dry area in the archway. Unfortunately, the rain began creeping toward my table. I scooted it (and the people who'd been kind enough to come out) over until I ran out of room. Then, I simply began scooting my books over, until I was out of room. I warned everyone over to the one dry spot left...thankfully, all the readers were as nice as the people who worked at the store!

Now, before you think this was a bust...let me confess, it was one of the best times I had. I kept singing, "I'm signing in the rain," and as the tiles in the hall fell, I'd say something like, "All my signings are a blast...or bang as the case may be!" LOL Nothing could have made the day more fun...well, nothing except an umbrella maybe!

If you're ever in Erie, PA, visit the Borders Express inside the Millcreek Mall and tell them I said hi! You should be okay without an umbrella. They haven't had an indoor rainstorm since that first signing. LOL

Holly

Every Signing is an Adventure

Every book signing is an adventure. Truly. I think Mark Burnett has missed a segment for "Survivor." He should try throwing those people into a bookstore and telling them to fend for themselves for a few hours, armed with only a pen and a couple "signed by author" stickers. See how well they do. They may just end up eating the cover flats for lunch.

[Here's a picture from my fun and really busy signing at the fabulous Valparaiso, IN Barnes and Noble, with the great CRM, Becky Ashcroft, on the left].

First there's the people who come by my table, look me up and down, clearly seeing that I am sitting behind the "AUTHOR" sign, and ask me where the restroom is. Or where they can find Bill O'Reilly's book. Or demand to know why the latest book by XYZ isn't on the shelves when they saw it out just last week. I tell them I write the books, not sell them, well, except for my own. ;-)



The last guy I said this to scowled. "So? You're in a bookstore. You should know where the books are."



Uh, okay. I smiled politely and showed him where the information desk was. Yeah, that big round thing in the middle of the store with the huge sign over it saying "Information." :-)



Then there's the guy who came up to me at my last signing asking me about some journals he'd found in his apartment, left behind by the previous tenant. Apparently, they contained some salacious details about her life, and he wanted to publish them and reap the financial rewards. I told him it was illegal because those were her words, and thus, she owned the copyright, because she'd written them down.



He thought about this for a second. "But she didn't write her name on one of the journals. Can I publish that one?"



Uh, no. I reminded him once again that he would be violating federal law and that she could indeed sue. Not to mention the whole ick factor and violation of privacy and a whole host of other legal sticky wickets. Sorry, but the answer was still...no. A note to anyone moving...don't leave your diaries behind.

But overall, I have to say that book signings are fun. Booksellers are a great bunch. Library visits are wonderful, too, because libraries are filled with people who love to read. I have a built-in audience of people who love books. There is the occasional person who thinks they're there for something else ("What do you mean, this isn't a children's book?", as if I'm some bait-and-switch and the "romance" on the spine of the book wasn't a huge clue to the type of book I write) but overall, I have a blast at my signings. Every one of them has had its memorable moments (like the time a guy sat down next to me and just started reading his unpublished preschool-age children's manuscript with its horrific, violent ending...that's a story for another day!).

Truly, though, I love to talk books and spend time with people who love books. Signings are always fun (and the free coffee is just a bonus!) and to me, simply connecting with readers, whether it's one or a hundred is the best part of the whole day.

So, if the people who produce "Survivor" are ever looking for a unique spin, they just might want to consider the bookstore setting. I'll tell you, it's an adventure in and of itself!



Shirley