Newbie @ Book Signing

Today (August 25, 2012) I had the first official book signing for "Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart", at the Hastings on the corner of Lomas and San Pedro.

I didn't know quite what to expect, especially when we came in, asked for the manager. The manager wasn't in, so we were told we needed to see the book person. (The 'we' is me and Barbara, my wife, publicist, and person without whom nothing would happen.)

"Fine. Who's that?"

"Me. Only I don't know anything about a signing today."

Gulp. This is not quite the confidence-inspring start I would have hoped for. But she was affable, and went to check the calendar. Sure enough, I was there. But the books that were to have been ordered...weren't. The event was supposed to have been cancelled because the store's being remodeled, but word never got around.

Well, okay. We had author copies to put on the table, and the staff at Hastings bent over backwards to help. We got the best possible spot, and there was a lot of traffic from the beginning.

Unfortunately, a lot of that traffic went hard left into the videos, never to be seen again. I guess they're still there.

But the rest were wonderful. We at least got smiles, nods, and 'hellos'. Several people stopped to talk, and we got one sale, to a lovely and vivacious woman named Laurie. (If you're out there, Laurie, you've got the first official bookstore -signed copy of Blessed Are The Putre Of Heart.)

Others stopped by, took cards, looked at the book, and chatted. We had moms with kids, men shopping for their adult children, a couple of genial bikers, and a friendly gangsta.

The time went by too fast. It felt, for those brief hours, as if our table became a focal point of good-feeling and kindness.

It was what I hoped it would be, when I wrote the book.

(Special thanks to the staff at Hastings, and to everyone who stopped by, and most of all to Barbara.)