The Best Book Signings Ever

The Village Bookstore in Garrettsville, Ohio

This month I had three of the best book signings ever. It wasn’t that I sold more books at these book signings; it was those who came to them.

The first one was at a Rotary Club in Mantua, Ohio; part of the district where I taught for twenty years. The person who arranged the signing contacted me by email through my web site. I wasn’t sure how he found out about me, but later discovered he’d clipped an article from a small area newspaper about a signing I’d done nearby. We arranged for a Tuesday evening when they had an opening and I was free, too.

There was a major downpour when I arrived at the church where they meet. I waited a while hoping it would let up, but when it didn’t I dashed in to verify I was in the correct place. I was. There were several women there setting up the tables for dinner and finishing meal preparations. They helped me carry my books in and set up on a low stage at the front of the room. Gradually, others started arriving and introducing themselves including the man who had contacted me.

Ivy Green, one of the girls who came.

What made it absolutely the best book signing ever? Two girls walked in; two of my former students I considered my adoptables; students I would have adopted if they ever became available and I actually wanted to take on raising kids again. There were always a few in every class that won my heart and some classes had more than other classes. The class they were in had many. It’s not that I ever showed any favoritism, but it was there deep down.

There was laughter and hugs. I hadn’t seen them in quite some years and they were all grown up now. To make it even better, the mother of one of the girls came in, too. I sat across the table from Ivy and Madeline, the girls, and Madeline’s mother, Kendra. They each had just finished their freshman year of college in different schools. It was so cool catching up on what they were doing and to hear what different friends of theirs from that class were doing, and to reminisce about their year in third grade. They had heard they were two of the characters in my book; The Sherlock Holmes Detective Club.

After the meal I gave my little talk about my books and how I came to write them, etc. followed by questions and answers. There seemed to be a lot of interest by the questions asked. I was thrilled to have several women say they’d read and liked my books and one had brought her copies and wanted me to sign them. I sold about seven books that night – not a lot but quite enough as far as I’m concerned.

Ivy, Madeleine and Kendra helped me pack up and carry my books out to my car and then stayed to talk. I’d forgotten to take my camera, but Kendra took lots of pictures of the three of us together. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get in touch with her to get any of the pictures for this blog.

The next signing was the following evening at the Newton Falls Library. I don’t think it was advertised much – maybe a notice on the counter? Anyway, except for the new young librarian, two members of my book club, who already had bought and read my books, and a young girl probably just out of high school, perhaps, were all that came. So we sat in a circle and I talked about how I started writing and other things, and we had a lovely discussion for an hour. That night I didn’t sell any books, but I got a lovely note from one of my book club members several days later saying she’d learned so many new things about me and was quite impressed. Wow!

The funniest thing about this evening was the young girl who followed me out to the parking lot and asked how to get published. I told her I do my own with help from a computer geek and a granddaughter designs my covers. I asked what she writes. She said not anything really, but she’d written a few essays in the past. I’m assuming for an English class? I stood there dumbfounded, then told her she had to write something first and told her about our local writers group and when we meet. I suggested she join us and said not everyone has something to share at every meeting. She said she would. She didn’t – at least not yet.

Ellen Eckhouse, owner of The Village Bookstore 

My third book signing was at The Village Book Store in Garrettsville this past Saturday afternoon where I’ve had two book signings before. Ellen Eckhouse, the owner, is the parent of two of my adoptables; one from the same class as Ivy and Madeleine and one a few years earlier. Over the years we’ve become friends, and when I need a book for one of my book clubs or an older mystery I want, I contact her. She sells mostly used books, but a few new ones, too. There were four other authors there, and probably because of the nice weather keeping people home working in their gardens, etc. none of us sold a lot of books. However, I did sell three or four, and I met some lovely people, including Fred Tribuzzo, author of American Sky, a history of local fliers. He shared a table with me, and his wife and mother sat nearby.

A young check out girl at Aldi’s, the grocery store where I shop most often, always greets me with “There’s the famous author.” It always makes me laugh because nothing could be further from the truth. However, there are fans who are bugging me for that fourth book. One comes into The Village Bookstore quite often and always asks Ellen if I have that fourth book out yet. And that’s all the famous I need. As Garrison Keillor would say, "It’s good enough."

Have you had book signings and how did you do?

Have you gone to book signings of authors you like? Who were they?