Busy day; tiring too

Our Franklin County Library BookFest committee held a brief meeting today to discuss next year's August event, possible writers to invite as speaker(s), the very successful coffeehouse readings and what and whom to include next time.

It's possible we'll have coffeehouse readings every several months, with all the local authors we have that could participate; we also hope to have our new branch open after the first of the year, at Westlake. So we'll be considering a coffeehouse venue to draw attention to that location.

Lots going on, and some of the names that came up were exciting. Stay tuned...

Good Day at The General Store

Vickie, the boss-lady at The General Store, provided a lovely setting for Becky and me to sign our books. She'd put a table up before the fireplace covered with a linen tablecloth shot through with gold thread. Believe it or not, I'd worn a tunic top that practically matched. She had flowers and a beautiful small clock on the table, and our books neatly displayed.

As customers entered (and what a busy place that is on a Saturday) Vickie would bring them over and introduce us to her two "authors," raving about our books. It seemed everyone knew about Ida B. Peevish aka Becky, and some had come specifically to get her book(s). Others laughed at the title of my book, When Men Move to the Basement, asking me if I knew HOW to get them to do that!

Sales moved briskly, and we signed and signed. Bruce Rae, the artist who illustrated my book and one of Becky's books, also showed up to sign. When traffic was slow, we three had time to chat as well as walk around the store looking at their eclectic selection of gifts...fun jewelry, teddy bears, stained glass, paintings, even food products.

Speaking of food products, Vickie and her cheerful staff put out a nice spinach dip along with an amazing salsa, chips, ham biscuits, cheese and crackers, and lemonade, for customers as well as for us. I'd known we were to be there from 10-2, and had wondered how I'd make it through lunch time after my 6:30 am oatmeal breakfast, but we were invited to snack by 11 and lunch time just flew by. Needless to say, I purchased a jar of their corn salsa and another salsa, a black bean concoction.

We nearly ran out of their copies of our books; fortunately, we'd each brought some copies along to do some restocking. Now I'll have to call Infinity Publishing to get another shipment before August 10th and our Coffeehouse Readings at Edible Vibe in Rocky Mount. Gosh...

Thanks, Becky, for bringing me in on the signing. I mentioned it to Fred First, who is out of town at a week-long writers' conference. I know Vickie would love his book AND his beautiful photography on his notecards. They would fit perfectly at The General Store at Westlake, Smith Mountain Lake.