Jun

23

On Saturday afternoon, in the middle of the first witheringly hot weekend of the summer, I dutifully donned a demure pink blouse and presented myself at a Borders store in Carlsbad for what my publicist obliquely referred to as “an event.” Having never done one of these things I had no idea what to expect. Would I have to give a talk? Answer questions? Stock shelves and clean the restrooms? As it happened, I was given the choice of a short talk set up in the back part of the store, or a simple signing at a table near the entrance. I went with the latter, since after four months I’m pretty sick of hearing myself talk about this book. I ducked into the restroom to freshen my lipstick and check for cleaning supplies, then took my place at the table.

I’m sure you’ve had the experience of walking into a bookstore and spying some lonely looking person perched in front of a display of her books, smiling a wan smile. As always when I’m presented with naked desperation and profound unease, my custom in these situations is to tactfully avert my gaze and hurry past the doomed author. I figured this is pretty much what everyone else would do when they walked in and came face to face with several racks of a pretty little book and a pudgy, middle-aged woman. Surprisingly, most people paused to figure out what was going on, made eye contact, and smiled. Many stopped for a chat. A darling few allowed me to foist a copy of the book on them, and even asked me to sign it.

In the meantime, a couple of dear old friends I hadn’t seen for years dropped by, and several bosom chums who I see more often also paid exorbitant gas prices to make the trip and offer moral support. It was a rather festive event, the staff were lovely, and I must say I enjoyed myself. Overall it was much, much easier than giving a lecture or workshop.

And obviously, much easier than cleaning the restrooms.

June 23, 2008 |

Comments

3 Comments so far

Eme on June 23, 2008 3:05 pm
Lovely! I’m so glad!
Maria on June 23, 2008 9:54 pm
Ha! Yes, I know everything you described, indeed I do. I’ve taken the approach of standing in front of the signing table. Maybe my oh-so-gothic self makes a better impression that way, but it certainly helps me not feel like a sitting duck to be killed off by pitying looks.
Nina Gryphon on July 3, 2008 1:49 pm
Maybe they printed the sign while Mercury was still retrograde!

I’ve been enjoying your posts, April, and definitely will check out your book.

Nina

Sign of Pisces

Moon conjuncts Uranus at
5:54 am on Oct.12, 2008

Moon trines Venus at
11:27 am on Oct.12, 2008

Moon squares Pluto at
10:02 pm on Oct.12, 2008

Moon goes void of course at
10:02 pm on Oct.12, 2008

Moon enters Aries at
12:07 am on Oct.13, 2008

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