My book, "The Haunting of Elmwood Manor, A Pekin Dewlap Mystery," was published in March of this year. I've been super negligent in promoting it, either through blogging or book signings. I guess working full time distracts me from focusing on getting to know my fans. It seems strange to say "fans," as famous people have fans, and I'm not famous. (Except in a very small circle of family and friends.) Anyway, I'm in the process of figuring out how do do this author thing.

This past weekend, I went to the San Diego Festival of Books, and sat at a long table with other authors from my publisher, Acorn Publishing. I had a ton of props: business cards with a picture of my book and a catch phrase on the back; book marks with a short synopsis of the story; coasters (I know, maybe an odd choice, but I wanted mine to be different from the usual collection of give-aways) with the cover of my book prominently featured. I kept telling people they could take enough for a whole set, but I don't think they thought I was serious. But I was! I had copies of my book set out, and a poster with a picture of my book.

My wonderful sister came to the Festival with me. She was such a huge part of the experience. She did a lot of shopping to pick up items I needed for the Festival, and helped me carry all my supplies and set up my space, and she kept me company for the whole day. My brother and sister-in-law let us spend the weekend with them since they lived close to Liberty Station. My sister-in-law drove over with me and my sister, and a while later my brother arrived. (It's great to be surrounded by supportive people who go out of their way for you.) For the first two hours I didn't sell a single book, and then my brother bought one! At least when I went to work on Monday and people asked me how the book signing went I could say I sold one. I wouldn't necessarily have to mention that it was my brother. After he left, however, I managed to sell several more copies, both paperback and hard cover. So, wow! I observed techniques of the other authors, considering which might work for me. If (I should probably say when) I do this again, I'll have an idea what I'm getting into and how I can be successful at it.

There was one little girl, maybe around 11, who stopped by and looked at my book and read the back cover. Her mom said she was very aware of how much money she had to spend on books, and then they wandered away saying they'd think about it. A couple of hours later, I looked up to see the little girl, this time with a huge smile on her face. Her mother said she'd been talking about wanting to come back to get my book. That kind of made the whole day worthwhile.

Anyway, I hope to become a prolific blogger, just in case anyone comes here hoping to get to know me. Thank you for checking in!