Notes from the Signing Table

Here are a few highlights from the fall’s book events for THE WAY FROM ME TO US. I could go on and on about how much fun they were … but for brevity’s sake, I’ll share one nugget from each.

Saturday, October 7, 2023, Local Author Expo, Book Sales & Signing at Peachtree City Library

“What will people in my church think of this book?” asked one Newnan author, summing up his angst over the sex in his suspense novel the days after its release. Remembering some of the risque scenes in my book, I told him I shared his feelings. But we both have quickly learned never to underestimate our readers; they’re way cooler than we think.

Saturday, October, 21, 2023, Book Talk at the Atlanta Writers Club Monthly Meeting, Dunwoody

A 12-year-old boy in the lineup of local authors speaking about our books gave us all a lesson in poise, graciousness and confidence. By the way, he’s written two books, one on global warming and one on biochemistry. I was awestruck.

Wednesday, October 25, 2023, Distillery of Modern Art, Pride Month Book Talk, Chamblee

This was my fave event. Sharing the stage with three other authors, all of whom are the best and the brightest Atlanta has to offer, I felt that I had died and gone to Bookheaven. The audience was wonderful, the bookseller who interviewed us asked terrific questions, and the sales and signings were brisk. Maybe the booze helped!

Sunday, October 29, 2023, Story & Song Bookstore, Amelia Island, Florida

I take it back. THIS was my favorite book event of the fall. Co-hosted by the Fernandina Beach Pride organization, with a local celebrity as interviewer, and our friend Gordon Fowler, pictured below, providing a few songs during the event, it was a beautifully blue afternoon in an awfully red state.

Tuesday, November 28, 2023, Bookworms Book Club, Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta

THIS was my favorite book event of the fall. 🙂 Twenty friends from our church gathered to ask pointed questions (they had all read the book), discuss changes in our world over the last 50 years, get their books signed, and enjoy the delicious Cowboy Cookies our organizer had baked from the recipe included in the book. We started at 7:30 and were chatting away until nearly 10:00 p.m. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the fall signing season.

Lessons learned

It is nearly impossible to be an event guest and publicist at the same time.

I could kick myself for not taking photos at these events to post on this page. On Amelia Island, there was my erudite interviewer’s well-worn copy of my book, looking like a porcupine with pink sticky notes at numerous spots throughout. At our church’s book club meeting, there were the Cowboy Cookies and the kind, generous friend who baked them. And at the Atlanta Writers Club, there was that 12-year-old author at his signing table. Fabulous photo ops … gone forever, alas.

Still, those memories blaze bright in my mind.

Maybe I’ll get better at the photography thing as the signings go on, but it is tough to be thinking about what I’m going to say once the event starts and chatting with incoming guests and making sure I have my bookmarks and pens at the signing table. It seems virtually impossible to do all that and be Richard Avedon at the same time.

It will take practice. But I need to be ready. Because there are more events to come.

Next stop

I’m booked for Southern LitFest in June 2024 in Newnan, Georgia. And I have some other things brewing as the holidays approach.

Speaking of the holidays, you can purchase copies of my book at two great indie bookstores:

• Mt. Yonah Book Exchange (where I had a lovely signing in July) in Cleveland, Georgia
• Eagle Eye Bookshop (with a local author rack pictured at the top of this post) in Decatur
• You can also order the book at bookshop.org. Some of their proceeds help support indie booksellers.
• And because my book is now listed with Ingram, one of the world’s largest wholesale book distributors, you can order my book at any of your favorite bookstores.

Stay tuned for updates. And, as always, thanks for your interest!