It's in the Bag by Mary Dutta

The sign in front of the local library branch lured me with a siren song I can never resist--the library book sale. Specifically, the bag sale, where for one price (in this case, $7.00) customers can fill a paper grocery bag with as many books as it can hold and they can carry. As a lover of both books and bargains, and with the convenient excuse of supporting the library, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

I headed for the mysteries, of course, but others targeted their own favorite categories. Romance. History. Science Fiction. Gardening. There was something for every reader. My other weakness at any library sale is the cookbooks, a section that provides not just culinary guidance but cultural history. One can track dietary trends through the titles that people have donated--Atkins, South Beach, low-fat, gluten-free, paleo, Whole30, keto. I also love flipping through those spiral-bound recipe collections sold as fundraisers by churches, schools, and women’s groups. And where I live, you can always find complete sets of Southern Living Annual Recipes, dating all the way back to 1979.

Such regional preferences are a given at a sale stocked primarily by local donations, but some authors are popular no matter where you live. At the sale I attended, an overflow room had been set up just to accommodate the many, many copies of works by the likes of James Patterson and Stephen King. It was like the cool kids all hanging out together in the cafeteria, with no room at the table for mid-list authors.

The only other section that competed in popularity with those mega-bestsellers was the children’s books. Parents and kids animatedly searched for treasures and loaded up their overflowing bags. For all the news stories about kids addicted to their screens, in my neck of the woods the local library sale is keeping the love of reading alive for another generation.

I didn’t pick up any kids’ books myself, but did manage to squeeze one last title into my paper bag: The Writer’s Complete Crime Reference Book. Finding it felt like my library supports my endeavors, just as I support theirs. And while this season’s bag sale is over, I know I will succumb when I hear that siren song again. Because my library and I share a commitment to a rewarding and mutually beneficial form of recycling : keeping books out of landfills and in readers’ hands.

Are you a sucker for a library book sale? What do you fill your bag with there?

How Writing is Like Riding a Bicycle? by Kait Carson

Hi Peeps! I love Peeps, and since it’s spring and they are beginning to appear in stores, I thought I’d throw that in. By the way, after years of scientific testing, yellow chick Peeps are the best. So are discounted books.

 

To celebrate the re-release of Death by Sunken Treasure, I’m offering Death by Blue Water at $0.99 for a limited time.

 

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

 

You might have noticed that 2023 has been a banner year for me in terms of publication. Two novels, two anthologies, and one serial novella after a desert dry seven-year stretch of relative nothingness. How did I do that? Well, to paraphrase a movie title – Kait got her groove back!

 

Writing a novel is hard work and distractions are plentiful. When I lost my job in 2020, I breathed a sigh of relief. I thought I had finally achieved the one thing I had ALWAYS claimed to want. Uninterrupted writing time. Then I took a look at my wanna do list of story ideas and vapor locked. It was long, intimidating, and I didn’t know where to start. Like the dog who chased the car, what did I do now that I caught it?

 

I had five story ideas shouting my name that I’d backburnered while I worked twelve-hour days. Then there was the one I’d begun when I broke my wrist. Where to start? I picked out my favorite idea, noodled around, dug out notes, outlined, sketched characters, toyed with inciting incidents, and then did it all over again with the next idea. Half first chapters filled my Scrivener files. Nothing meshed, nothing flowed. Even blogs became a trial. I’d forgotten how to write. Imposter syndrome, meet performance anxiety.

 

It took a while to figure out the problem. Writing, I discovered, is like riding a bicycle. We all rode as kids, right? Have you tried riding as an adult? Those first few miles are a bit on the wobbly side. Then you hit your stride. Somewhere between mile one and five, you’re even comfortable enough to take your hands off the handlebars and trust your muscle memory.

 

The first book I wrote after my self-imposed hiatus was both fun and torture. Nothing flowed, I’d forgotten the conventions of my genre, and I’d followed so many rabbit holes it’s amazing the book ever saw the end. Writing was the important thing at this point. It didn’t matter that it was lousy, it mattered that words were populating the page. Gradually, somewhere in the middle of the second book, things changed. Words and scenes came, not easily, they rarely do, but cohesively. My characters took over, or I had the sense to listen to them. My forced “if this then what happens next” questions became, “Hey, main character, now what are you going to do?” They didn’t fail me.

 

It's still not easy, but writing now feels right and comfortable. I’m learning to budget my time between new words, edits of old, marketing, and having a blast doing it all. Yep, Kait’s got her groove back.

 

Readers and writers, how do you get your groove back?

Kait Carson is the author of two series set in the steamy tropical heat of Florida. The Catherine Swope series is set in greater Miami, and the Hayden Kent series is set in, and under, the Fabulous Florida Keys. A new series is in the works, the Maine Lodge mysteries, paying homage to Kait’s current state of residence.

Like her protagonists, Kait is an accomplished SCUBA diver, hiker, and critter lover. She lives with her husband, four rescue cats and a flock of conures in the Crown of Maine where long, dark, nights give birth to flights of fictional fantasies.

You can reach Kait and sign up for her newsletter at www.kaitcarson.com.

The Power of Used Books

by Paula Gail Benson

This message is repeated from March a few years ago, but my friends Fran and Don Bush continue to work with others in their community to ensure the power of used books.

I have a friend named Fran Bush who, with carefully selected cohorts, accomplishes the impossible almost every day. No exaggeration.

Don Bush, second from the right, photo by Cindy Kubovic for the Aiken Standard

She and her husband Don, both lovely, genial, retired booksellers, spend their time making the world better for people and animals. They are well known in their home town of Aiken, South Carolina, for their community contributions. Any abandoned or rescued cat or dog can find a refuge at the Bush abode, and likely may become a permanent resident. (Currently, they support six dogs and thirty cats.) In 2017, the Bushs were honored by the local branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) for their leadership.

Fran’s connection with the local AAUW began when, while still working at her bookstore, she donated and collected used books for the annual AAUW Books ‘n Things Fair. She also helped to set up lunch programs with authors (including her dear friends Charles and Caroline Todd--take a look, she’s mentioned in their Bess Crawford acknowledgments) to raise funds for education efforts.

Fran Bush and Amy Conkelton, photo by Dede Biles for the Aiken Standard

This year, Fran and her good friend Amy Conkelton were named co-chairs for the AAUW Books ‘n Things Fair.

Amy is another force for good in the Aiken community. She has been an English teacher and school librarian at Aiken High School as well as caretaker for her mother.

Recently, Amy was sidelined by a severe automobile accident that required five surgeries for shattered bones in both her feet and ankles. Nevertheless, she persevered with planning for the Fair, even while in rehab.

Fran speaks humbly about their involvement in the event. “This is not something Amy or I can take credit for. The Fair is organized by a group of people who know what they are doing and have done it for thirty-five years. The biggest thing I did was to stay out of their way or do something when they needed it done.”

Front Room of AAUW Books 'n Things Fair, photo by Cindy Kubovic for the Aiken Standard

What the group did was collect 80,000 books to sell. In addition, they had a section of “Attic Treasures” that featured clothing, jewelry, household items, Christmas decorations, and other merchandise, including special books (those extremely new or very old that were specially priced). They also operated a food court, where shoppers could take a break and order from a delicious menu.

For the first two days of the event, each hard cover book was priced at two dollars, trade paperbacks were one dollar, and mass-market paperbacks were fifty cents. On the last day, everything was reduced to half price.

On the first day, Don Bush opened the doors early to let shoppers come in out of the rain. They had a record crowd.

Back Room of the AAUW Books 'n Things Fair, photo by Cindy Kubovic for the Aiken Standard

During the three days, approximately 70,000 books were sold. The 10,000 left went to different charities, including the local free libraries, another city’s library, another library’s book sale, a church library, and a church’s book sale (to raise money for a summer school Bible program).

This year’s Books ‘n Things raised $61,249, all of which the AAUW will provide to education projects and for scholarships.

So, you see, it’s not just the power of words, but the power of used books that, even in this age of technology, may make a significant difference.

Thanks, Fran, Don, and Amy. I look forward to seeing you at next year’s event.

Have you experienced the power of used books?