The Every Secret Crime Book Tour Blog Part One

I get a kick out of book touring.

It's fun to talk about books, about writing and about my background. Selling is fun, too, especially when the buyer is a little reluctant at first. And you never know what sort of character is going to show up . . . or work in the store. For a writer, meeting characters is always a hoot.

So my launch event was terrific. The owner of the (independent) bookstore is just a great guy and a huge fan of writers. Friendly, helpful, professional and eager to sell books, he was ready to do whatever it took to back me up. There was great store signage as well as pre-signing publicity about me in the local newspaper. People who had seen the article came as well as others who remembered me from my radio news days.

The best part? After I thought we were finished, the owner got two phoned-in book requests. He was just tickled about that. Said it had never happened before.

The second book signing, at another independent, was just as much fun and I sold more books than I expected including several copies of my first novel which I'd brought along. The bookstore owner had devoted an entire window display to my book and made up small cards promoting it to hand out at the register. Her staff was friendly and helpful and just fun to be around. They obviously love books and get even more pleasure from knowing and helping their customers.

Ah yes, the third signing. Yet another independent but one with an attitude. Just out of curiosity I checked the store an hour before I was supposed to show up. Found minimal promotional signage, no display of my book in store or in the window. The owner was gone and the person assigned to assist me did so with all the enthusiasm of a correctional officer escorting an inmate to court. The table for the signing was in the back of the store, typical for their signings, and they'd put out eight chairs, obviously expecting a huge turnout. What was fun was watching my escort constantly running to add more chairs every time another person showed up. I think we ended up with about twenty people there, most of them buying books. What a great time.

On the way out, I realized the lack of signage was nothing personal. Martha Stewart will soon be appearing in the store yet the only mention of her was on a small card at one of the registers. When I remarked about it, one of the booksellers laughed and said, "We're looking forward to her visit. She's coming a day early...to clean."

On a high from those first three signings...I arrived for my fourth at one of the large chain stores an hour from my house. Talk about a surprise...and characters!

More on that tomorrow.