Appearing at Book Festivals

Lorie Ham and I shared a table at the Clovis Book Festival sponsored by the Clovis Book Barn and Friends of the Library (Fresno.)

Though it wasn't the best of book selling days--there were some problems that will probably be addressed if those who organized this decide to do a repeat performance. One of the librarians I spoke to said she hoped it would happen twice a year. That might be a bit much, it was a lot of work for those who organized the event.)

Lorie represented Kings River Life, her online magazine that supports mystery author and many other projects and events. Of course I represented myself.

We were supposed to be there at 9, so Lisa (my daughter, driver, helper) and I left at 7:15 a.m. The event was supposed to last until 8 p.m. But because of the low traffic, most folks started leaving around 3. We stayed a couple hours longer.

One of the big things to do is stand when someone comes by and engage them in conversation--unfortunately not many folks even walked through. However, I spoke with those who did and handed out my cards. 

I also met and gave my card to several of the librarians who were looking for authors to do events at their branch libraries. That's something I love doing.

No matter whether I sell a lot of books or not, I like doing these types of events too. 

Because I'm getting older and not nearly as agile or have the staying power, I don't do the big book events like the L.A. Times Book Festival (which is wonderful), or the Tucson Book Festival which I always though I might do one day. Fortunately, there are these smaller ones for me to participate in.

Another big plus was getting to see folks I hadn't seen for a long time--friends and authors.