A bit tired today; drove up to Albany yesterday to do a reading at the Flights of Fantasy bookstore. It went well, though there were several amusing moments — my cellphone going off in the middle of the reading was not one of them — like one of the store cats deciding to leap onto the table and inspect my book while I was reading. Also, for those who wonder, the woman with the toddler was a friend and I asked her to bring the baby; had been hoping to meet her at last. (And I desperately wanted to pick her up, but she was looking very dubious after that reading. Everyone’s a critic.)
Well, aside from two-year-olds, most of the people in the audience seemed to enjoy the reading. Since some had read the sample chapters here on my site, I did a mix of old and new — read from chapters 1, 2, and 5. I guess it worked; later the very large stack of books beside me whittled down to only four copies left. I’d guess 18-20 copies got sold as a result of that reading. Cool!
Didn’t get home ’til 2 a.m., though, so feeling blah today.
Perked up to see this, though: I’m participating in the SF Signal Mind again this week, and the question was: “If your work couldn’t have been on the ballot this year, what work would you have liked in its place?” Go see my answer over there. (And go read the story I recommended!)
ETA: Re: Flights of Fantasy. Now that I think about it, it was probably 16 books sold; I think I signed 20 altogether, but 4 of them were just signed copies for the store. Speaking of which, if you want a signed copy of the book, please contact Flights of Fantasy for one of theirs — they ship nationwide!
Store cats FTW!
Yay to the store cats! (In Greece there are cats who adopt restaurants. Hygiene, I know, I know, but the big staring eyes…)
I love store readings. You get that instant feedback. Let us know when you’re coming down south to Atlanta.
Two year olds: our harshest critics.
Sounds like a great reading.