Monday, May 6, 2013

Book Signing for Flights of Fiction - Okay, It Was Fun


Well, I made it through my (our) first book signing. And, yes, it was fun.

Our host bookstore put us in a lovely reading room with chairs and low tables all around, a very comfortable setting.  We had a nice assortment of refreshments (which added to the comfort level) and a beautiful cake.




Although, if you look closely at the top, you can see the cake had slipped slightly off its foundation due to a quick stop on the way from the bakery. 

We did the traditional cake cutting with all the participating authors. You'll notice they only trusted us with small plastic knives. 


The readings went well. Each author read about a page from their story. I didn't flub up too much on mine.

Then came the signing part. Since there weren't a lot of large tables, several of us simply signed at the low table near where we were seated (we were scattered through the room, among the guests).  Those with books to be signed just followed a line that wove through the room past each author. It was a little awkward but worked well enough.

  

For a little while, things were sort of a blur. People handed me books and I signed them. I even remembered to sign my pen name instead of my real one.

Things finally slowed down when the bookstore ran out of copies to sell.  How's that for a book signing problem? 

Was it perfect? Not quite. I wish the signing part had been slower so I could have really thanked everyone who bought a book. I wish I'd had more time to talk to people who came to support me. And I feel bad because there were a couple good friends who deserved very special "signings" and in the rush, I couldn't think of the right words.

But all in all, it was a really good night.

My thanks to the Western Ohio Writers Association - especially Gery Deer, who organized this event - for being such a great group to work with and learn from.

So...how was your weekend?

Joke of the Day: The nuns at a small convent were happy to learn that an annonymous donor had left his modest estate to them. Each nun was given $50 in cash to give away as she saw fit.  

Sister Catherine Ann decided to give her share to the first poor person she saw.  She looked out the window and saw a man leaning against the telephone pole across the street, and he looked very poor indeed. 

She immediately left the convent and walked toward the man. He had obviously known better days. The good nun felt he had been sent by Heaven to receive her offering.  

She pressed the $50 into the man's hands and said, "Godspeed, my good man."  

As she left, the man called out to her, "What is your name?"  

Shyly, she replied, "Sister Catherine Ann."  

The following evening, the man returned to the convent and rang the bell. "I'd like to see Sister Catherine Ann," he said.   

The nun at the door answered, "I'm sorry, but I cannot disturb her right now. She's in the chapel. May I give her a message?"   

 "Yes," said the man gleefully. "Give her this $100 and tell her Godspeed came in second at Churchill Downs."

22 comments:

Unknown said...

Yay-- I'm so glad it was a fun experience for you. How affirming!

E. M. Prokop said...

Hahaha! Good groaner! Glad the signing went well. You must feel so proud!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Glad it went so well! Running out of books is a great problem to have. And that cake is awesome.

Maria Zannini said...

Wish I could've been there for you, but I was there in spirit. Did you see me? :D

Loved the joke!

Stacy McKitrick said...

It was a fun evening and I enjoyed hearing the readings, too. I already read Arch's "Chick Story" because I just had to know what's up with that!! He's such a cut up.

Robin said...

Running out of books is an *excellent* problem to have at a signing. Sounds like things are really going well. So happy for you!!!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I've been to a couple signings like that - it happens so fast. I love the cake. Good thing you got a picture before it was eaten.

Now, when's your next signing?

LD Masterson said...

Julie - Thanks.

Eve - More relieved than proud, actually. I was nervous.

Alex - Funny note: if you look closely, you can see the cake was made off the same cover image I have on my blog. Both have the faint outline of the word "PROOF" across them.

Maria - Ah, that was you. I thought the bookstore was haunted.

Stacy - Yeah, I loved Arch's story.

Robin - Thanks. As problems go, it wasn't a bad one.

Karen - Well, being just one of ten helped a lot. Not sure it would have been the same if I'd been on my own.

Diane - I got that shot before it was even out of the box. And I have no idea when. Gery sets them up and I go where I'm told.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on a successful book signing, Linda. And the joke made me smile. :)

Emily R. King said...

What a fun time! Love the cake.

Mark Means said...

Big time congrats on the signing...looked like a lot of fun.

Also, nice to see another 'lefty' in the blogosphere :)

Kaye George said...

Looks like a fun time! Love the cake, even if it did slip a little. Love the joke, too.

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Sounds like a blast. Congrats!

James Garcia Jr said...

Ha! very cute joke!
Congratulations on the event. Even though it sounded like mostly a blur that you can barely process, it does sound as if it went very well. And don't worry about the cake. Its only purpose in life is to hold up the frosting! ;)

-Jimmy

LD Masterson said...

Linda J. - Thanks and I'm glad.

Emily - It was pretty cool, wasn't it?

Mark - Of course, I'm a lefty. All the best people are. *grin*

Kaye - It was, and thank you.

Jimmy - Well, to hold up the frosting and to show off our cover. But it was tasty, too.

Tara Tyler said...

fantastic!
you gave me a preview of my launch party/signing! i better practice signing my pen name! and have some witty signing phrases...

congratulations!! sounds like a wonderful experience!
and awesome joke! a blessing in disguise! ha!

Linda G. said...

Congrats on your first signing! Glad it went well, and I love that cake. :)

Murees Dupè said...

It sounds like an amazing experience. I am so glad that you enjoyed it. Congratulations!

Julie Flanders said...

So glad you had a good time and I just love the look of that cake. Congratulations!!

Al Diaz said...

I'm very happy that your signing went so well that you ran out of books! That have to be a very good sign. Hopefully this happens often, that libraries run out of your book from so many purchases.
The joke was very good! Lucky nun. Thanks for the laughter.

LD Masterson said...

Linda G. - Thanks, on both counts.

Murees - Thank you.

Julie - The cake was pretty cool even if it was a bit off it's foundation.

Al - Well, it's a small press so I don't know how many bookstores or libraries we'll be in but selling out works for me.

Sarah Allen said...

What a great experience! I always love hearing how these kind of things go for everyone, what works, what they wish was different. Great way for all of us to learn.

Sarah Allen
(From Sarah With Joy)