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