Ukiah Book Reading

 

 

Last night was Laura's reading at the Mendocino Book Company, and it was a huge success. We packed the house and sold quite a few books. Laura's good friends from her quilting club brought munchies and the bookstore provided wine and lemon aid. The staff was incredible. I arrived early at 5:30 and chairs were already set out for the audience and a table was set up for Laura to sign books. By 6:00, it was hard to navigate the room with all the people packed around the reading area, filling the chairs and blocking the aisles. At 6:20 the bookstore owner, Ann, introduced me. I told everyone how Laura's book began; one lovely day in February after I read her manuscript, I asked if I could publish it. She said yes, and here we are. People cheered and Laura began to read, at first sitting nervously in her chair, face practically buried in the book. But when someone asked her to speak up, Laura stood, found her confidence, and finished reading in a loud, clear voice. I was very proud of her.

My muse circled the room, her skin radiant with the warmth and good feelings from the people there. I think she's feeling better about being "forgotten." Rick was there as well and people praised him for his design, especially the image of the road extending completely from back to front on the cover.

Ann, the bookstore owner, is a wonderful woman and really helped me with pricing and working with bookstores. This was my first event at a store, so I wasn't sure how the percentages should be. But Ann answered my questions and explained it all, even giving Medusa a larger percentage of the sales than I had offered, saying, "How can you stay in business at that price?" Thank you Ann!

A beautiful night. Hopefully soon we'll have more readings on the coast (Mendocino?), in Willits, and south in Santa Rosa. It takes time to get them set up, and a great deal of coordination between the store's and Laura's schedule. But I think she and I are both feeling more confident about this.

I know my Muse is happier.