Among the Orchids

Okay, I've signed in some really weird places, but this one had to be the oddest. This past weekend, I did a two-day book signing at the Indiana Flower and Patio Show in Indianapolis. When Indiana Book Supply first asked me to sign, I thought the idea was crazy, because who buys books at a flower show?

But then Adriane, who put the event together and coordinates the authors, assured me that not only did IBS have a totally fabulous location, but that they were between both the cool coffee shop and the South Bend Chocolate store, which meant lots of foot traffic of women looking for a caffeine/candy fix. I agreed to go, and see if my romantic comedies with recipes series might sell.

Well, sell they did. I was astounded at the number of people who passed through the location (and Adriane wasn't kidding -- they did have a primo location) and the number of women who stopped to look at my books and then subsequently bought not just one, but many who bought the entire series.

But one thing about trade shows. You really have to grab people's attention. I'm not a shy author and have zero shame when I sell books. I have no problem with going up and grabbing people, making them aware that "Hey, I'm here and here's my books." I did get asked several times where the restrooms were, if I was selling those orchids over there, whether I was the cashier, and a number of other odd questions. Plus a lot of husbands nabbed my Shirley Jump pens (meant for customers who bought my books) right off my table. I felt like smacking their hands but didn't ;-). I can only hope their wives or someone else sees the pen and checks out my website and falls in love with an excerpt or two.

All in all, it was a VERY successful weekend. We couldn't restock the table fast enough, and had a lot of people who had seen the article about me in the Indianapolis Monthly this month, so that was an added bonus of PR. I'm glad I went, and was amazed that even among the flowers and patios, people still want to read books. :-)

Shirley

Watching the Wonder with Kids

My kids are at the age now where they are loving bookstores and libraries. On the bookstore end, this costs me, dearly. Especially with the teenager, who loves to read--and loves hardcovers, because she loves to keep what she reads (she's the one who has trouble returning her library books, so it's probably a good thing to buy her the books instead of borrowing from the library). I can't walk into a bookstore and walk out without at least four books, two for each kid.

And me...

Well, it goes without saying that if I walk into a bookstore, I'm coming out of there with something in my hands. I'm horrible that way, too.

Okay, I see where the kids get it from. But at least it's a good habit to inherit, right? Reading makes the world go round. And someone's got to buy those 185,000 new books released each year.

Well, not all 185,000 books released each year, LOL. I'll buy my fair share, though. Support the hand that feeds me, after all. And I can write it off as research, which on my end, it is. Researching the competition, researching locales for books I'm writing, researching careers for my heroes and heroines, researching little known facts that I throw into my books... there's always some new fact to learn.

The kids actually put books on their Christmas lists. Now, that's a Christmas list I like to see. My oldest put The Grimmery from "Wicked," which is no cheap book, let me tell you. But she reads it constantly (we saw the play in Chicago...awesome play!). The younger one is into The Magic Tree House series and asked for some of those. We also got him lots of how to draw books because he's into that. Then the Scholastic Book Fair came around to school and the youngest made out like a bandit because the eldest was home sick from school that week, so he got the bulk of the book budget to spend. He was one happy camper, let me tell you.

But the best part of all, is watching the wonder on their faces as they dart from shelf to shelf, trying to choose a couple of books among all the ones on the shelves. Sometimes they simply can't, and I'll cave and go over the two-book limit and buy more or let them check out more than what we decided when we walked in. I remember how fun it was when I was a kid to find new authors and new stories, and let them read to their heart's content.

It's the best reward a mom could ask for...and when I sit down with my little one and read him Spiderwick, and he's cuddled up with me, asking for "one more chapter" before bed...

Well, who can say no?

Shirley

A Novel Leader

This year's Librarian of the Year is one unique leader. I read her story in the Baltimore Sun and was impressed with the way she got things to happen and advanced her library and the cause of reading. And I loved the story at the end about her dogs and her award (anyone who has read my stories of both selling my first book and hitting the New York Times list knows that I have a dog who also has a habit of turning those monumental moments into carpet-cleaning days).

I love libraries. I absolutely love walking into them and being surrounded by books. What I love most about libraries is the possibilities in them. You can find anything in a library. A two-hundred-year-old book, or a book that came out just two days ago. A history of the walking catfish, or a history of cats.

They're incredible places, with children discovering Clifford the Big Red Dog and teenagers working on the dreaded research paper.

My problem with libraries, and the reason I frequent bookstores more than libraries, is that I have this little problem with giving the books back. It's not that I mean to keep the books. I just forget, or I get attached. And before I know it, those fines have added up to a monumental amount.

When I was fourteen, I was working on my 9th grade research paper and ended up forgetting to return over a dozen library books. Well into the summer, I got a bill for close to $100 from the library for all those WAY overdue library books. There were so many, I couldn't even carry them all in to the building in one trip. By the time I came in with the second load, the librarian gave me a stern look and said, "Oh. You must be Shirley."

I have been marked ever since as She Who Does Not Always Remember to Return Her Library Books.

I have since learned to mark return dates in my Outlook calendar. And the library has created systems to work with offenders like me, such as e-mail and phone reminders. I'm better, and my fees no longer rival the national debt. So, it's probably a good thing I don't live in the same town as the Librarian of the Year because I think she'd be embarrassed to admit the connection ;-)

Shirley