I had the pleasure of visiting Written Words Bookstore in Shelton, CT, for my first appearance and signing yesterday. It was a perfect way to spend an afternoon. If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit this bookstore, please do. It’s a large, bright, inviting space filled with great books, a wonderful children’s section, and plenty of cozy chairs and sofas adorned with the pillows and afghans from the store’s knitting group. The shop even has its own bird, a parrot named Hemmy, who was very well-behaved even in the presence of my daughter’s fitful screams of glee.
And the owner, Dorothy, clearly knows her stuff and is willing to spend the time required to ensure her customers are happy and satisfied. We spent the better part of three hours in the store, and during my stay, she was frequently engaged in long conversations with several customers about books, and she seemed to know most customers by name.
Despite the miserable weather, the turnout was excellent, with Written Words regulars joining some of my friends who made the trip to support me and the store. Best of all, three of my former students also surprised me by showing up, making the nearly one-hour trek to see their teacher’s first bookstore appearance. Annoyingly, they seemed to pay more attention to my words in the store than they ever did in the classroom, staring in rapt attention as I spoke and asking great questions.
The questions that I was asked were interesting as well, and in attempting to provide answers, a few things became clear:
I am not very good at summarizing the plot of my next book, nor was I ever adept at summarizing the plot of Something Missing. I need to work on not making my books sound like gobbledygook.
People are intensely interested in how the film industry works with the publishing industry. As of yet, the film rights to Something Missing have been optioned, which means a lot of people have read the book, there have been many meetings related to the book, but nothing much has actually happened. Yet people are very intrigued by this stuff.
Many more people are interested in reading a sequel to Something Missing than I could have ever imagined, and some are downright angry that my next book is not a sequel.
Many thanks to everyone who came to support me in this first appearance and to Dorothy and Sandy for treating me and my family so well. We will be back to visit again soon!
My next bookstore appearance will be at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT, on Thursday, August 13, at 7 PM. Hope to see you there!
