Sandy Sales Overseas

If you thought I was done promoting Sand in My Bra, you were wrong. I had a terrific event with the American Women’s Club in Belgium today. It was held for the Mothers of Young Children group, but open to all in the club. The event had been publicized in several newsletters and members got email invites as well. Still, when I saw the room and discussed the layout with the coordinator, she was only expecting 15-30 people.

However, her efforts were tireless. We were both thrilled when 45 women turned up and they needed to add more chairs. I read and gabbed, they laughed and asked thoughtful questions about writing as an expat. They loved Ellen’s story, laughed at Lori Mayfield’s “Scared Shitless on Safari” which I always like to read, and for a change I read Kelly Simon’s “Family Connection.” I thought it was appropriate for the audience and they cackled.

All in all we sold 3/4 of the books I brought including plenty of A Woman’s Path, Hyenas Laughed at Me, A Mother’s World, and Gutsy Mamas. The event brought my overseas book sales up to 550EUROs, nearly $700.00. I’ll be bringing half back to Travelers’ Tales, and trying to sell more this Thursday at a different women’s luncheon.

It was fun, and still rewarding to encourage people to join writers groups, submit their stories, and in this case, get the kids in a creche and have a few hours to talk about something for themselves.

Big thanks to Drue Glauber for her tireless coordinating and promotional efforts, and to my friend Judy for encouraging and kickstarting the event. It was well worth the long haul.