First of all, I think Seattle is the best town to do author events in on the West Coast. We’ve got five readings lined up, all at indie stores mind you, and none of them are worried about competing with the other for audience. To have all of them be their own unique event—that’s just cool.
Deanna Sukkar and Barbara Shaw are so excited about being a part of the book, that they signed up to do the Oregon events and the readings in Washington. And there has been no learning curve. They’ve kicked ass at everyone. But that’s getting ahead of myself. Lets enter into the Wide World from the beginning.
I’ve known Simone, the owner of Wide World Books & Maps, for several years now. This will be my third reading at the store, but I’ve been booking other authors here through Travelers’ Tales since way back when.
Last year, when I came up for the Sand in My Bra reading, there was *maybe* 15 people in the audience. I must’ve looked disappointed because Simone immediately said, “Jen, the book is selling without you. We’re happy to have you, but Sand is doing great even if you’re not here.” And that was nice to know. But…hey.
So, I came to Wide World this week thinking that it’d probably be a small crowd but that I didn’t care because it’s one of my favorite travel stores period. No way was I going to cut it because of a small attendance last year. Besides I had to do everything in my power to get on Terrell’s Front Table Books list in the newsletter!
Well, the Wide World folks were pretty excited, too. They had a store front window display that was all pink…and black. What’s a book called Whose Panties are These? without a pair of black lace panties hanging right at eye level? Such cool school spirit!
But that was just the beginning of cool things. This was a big homecoming for Deanna as she used to work in the store. That’s cool in and of itself, but check this out….The reason she submit her story, “Underwear and Tear,” was because she had met me at a previous Wide World author event and had been inspired by the encouragement we offer writers in the audience to submit their tales. It worked! Deanna heard it right there, sent in her story, got her first story published, and was now reading it in front of her friends and family in the same exact spot where she got the idea to do so. What an inspiration for others!
When I got there with my friend Andy Walker, there was still plenty of empty seats. No biggee, lets go get some coffee. Then we came back ten minutes later and the seats were packed, with others standing in the back. Of the 40 that were there, I zeroed in on the 10 year old. Damn! I can’t read my story in front of a 10 year old. And then I thought, well, what from this book can I read to a 10 year old? One of my other faves, “The Big O” isn’t that appropriate either, in the end anyway. So, I did some quick thinking and figured she’d love “The Barf Boat” by Karla Zimmerman. Cindy Chupack’s “The Mile High and Dry Club” also does well with the crowds, so I was able to contribute to the laughs as well as the hoot and hollers that Barb and Deanna got from the audience.
And guess what? They lined up to buy books. Some bought both Sand and Panties. Part way through the signing, Simone came over to tell me that we went over their 100 sales marker for Sand. That would be in the past year and a half. Good stuff for one book in a little indie shop. We sold 14 of Panties, and 7 of Sand right then which didn’t include the few that they sold in the few days prior.
“Are you an actress?” two women asked me. They were serious and went on to compliment the way I read. Mary, Nancy, I have to say that ranks in the top five compliments I’ve ever received! Right behind Chris O’Neill’s “You’re going to make someone a great wife someday,” and “Wow, you’re a really good map reader.”
Once upon a long time ago I went to Maui twice with a family. I was 23 something young and I asked why they would return to the same place again and again on their vacations. The eager –to-explore-the-world side of me kept thinking, why go back to a place you’ve already been to when there are SO many places still to try? A decade later, I’m starting to get why. The people. The familiarity. The connection. It feels good.
SUMMARY:
Crowd: 40
Sales: 20+
Laughs: On the SF Datebook scale, Man clapping in his chair
(This entry was posted via a free WiFi hotspot at Kitsap Regional Library (Manchester Branch) 8067 East Main, Manchester, WA 98353
thanks for the great update about a great event, Jen!