One Reader at a Time, Part Deux

Good morning! This week I will turn my head from pimping my novel to Girls Write Now and Writopia responsibilities. For GWN, the time is upon us for putting together the Anthology, and for Writopia, we are enrolling for our summer programs in Westchester - not only in Katonah, but now I will personally be involved in further developing the Larchmont/ Scarsdale area.

But first I wanted to share with you my time on Saturday at the Barnes and Noble in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania! It was very different from anything else I've experienced, and must be noted. My expanding philosophy of one-reader-at-a-time is serving me well. I am building relationships . . .

I drove from Katonah to Wilkes-Barre in under three hours, and when I walked in with my family, there was a table in the front with copies of Edges on it, and a pen with a poster of me saying signing and discussion! Right there in front of the doors! The boys were impressed, but hunkered down in the kids section with the husband. (The girl had soccer, so she stayed with neighbors).

It wasn't really the forum to engage people as a group, but I am open, and  willing to try anything! The staff couldn't have been lovelier. They hooked me up with a venti mocha at the café, and checked in on me periodically with questions of their own!

I have to admit though, that I was uncomfortable at first. I felt like a Barnes and Noble greeter: "Welcome to Barnes and Noble! Would you like . . ." and in the beginning, people would nod and rush past. Sales! Talk about pimping your novel!

Fortunately, I was there also to meet Alison - a fellow blogger,  reader and friend - face to face for the first time, and Lauren, a teen blogger I had recently met on Twitter. Lauren is absolutely amazing. She is in tenth grade, and started blogging about books three years ago because nobody in her community liked to read as much as she does! She has read over 50 books so far this year, AND does well in school. Here I am with Lauren and her BFF Emily, courtesy of Alison's camera! We all wanted to hang out and talk, but it was a little awkward because there was no place for them to sit! So we all experienced this slight strangeness together, and I did end up reading a passage, although not as dramatically as I would have liked.

Lauren hasn't read Edges yet, so she bought a copy and I personalized it for her. On the drive back, I felt bad because she's a blogger and probably doesn't have to buy any books! Later I tweeted that she could have first dibs on an ARC of the next one . . . needless to say, I hope that she loves it and isn't disappointed!

Alison stayed by my side the whole time - three hours - and we talked to many people, gave away bookmarks, and even sold a few books. One teen even told me that she had just checked it out from her local library! So people are reading Edges, one reader at a time.