Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Thursday Thirteen #28 -- Girls Night Out report!



Since I focused on my then-upcoming booksigning last week, I thought I'd take today to report back on how it went. Here's the skinny:






1. Thanks to traffic, I was twenty minutes late getting there. Then I spent ten minutes driving around the parking lot trying to find a parking space. Not the best start to the evening!


2. Once in the mall, I went over to the signing tables to find my seat. There was no nametag for me. Again, not auspicious.


3. Once we figured out that Kate Austin was signing at a different bookstore and the tag really should have read Kate Davies, I breathed a little easier. The signage was fixed right away. :)


4. Even as late as I was, I still managed to be the third author who arrived. Evidently, I wasn't the only one with travel issues. (The ferries were a nightmare, from what I understand...)



5. At the start of the evening, I got to sit next to Ann DeFee, a Harlequin American Romance author with a great sense of humor. We spent a good portion of the first hour standing at our table, answering questions about RWA and becoming a published author.

6. Most repeated comment of the evening:

"You wrote that?"

"Yes!" (Big smile)

"Gee, you look too conservative to write something like that!"
Huh?




7. At around 6:30, my seatmate arrived -- Susan Lyons. A fabulous Brava author, Susan and I had fun shocking passersby with our book covers. (We were the "hot" section of the signing.)



8. Jaw-dropping moment: A woman walks by, picking up bookmarks, pens, candy, etc., from each of the authors. Then, as she walks away, she announces loudly, "I'd never read a romance unless there was nothing else available."



9. My best publicist? My mom! She talked up the signing to everyone. Including the woman at the Clinique counter, who rushed over to introduce herself. Way to go, Mom!

10. The hot tamales were a big hit! (If you can't read the label, it says, "...because a little spice is nice!", with my name and web address on it.) I was glad, because staying up until 2 a.m. filling little cellophane bags with candy is a bit of a pain. Ah, the glamorous life of an author...

11. Funniest moment: a woman walks up with a big smile on her face. "I understand you (meaning writers) sometimes come into the schools and give talks." I held up my copy of my book and said, "I don't think I'd bring this into the schools." She said, "Oh, sorry!", blushed, and literally ran away.




12. Our table, left to right: Gerri Russell, Ann DeFee, Susan Lyons, and me. The table on the other side of the signing (sorry, no pic!): Cherry Adair, Pat White, and Elizabeth Boyle. Couldn't make it: Dawn Calvert, my chaptermate and a fabulous author who got sick. :(






13. Best of all -- I sold out! I even signed copies for people I didn't know! :)






It was a great evening and I'm so glad I was able to participate. Thanks to Peninsula RWA and Barnes and Noble for sponsoring a wonderful event!




15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the sold out..!!

Michelle B said...

Sounds like it was a great time, even if you were a little late:)

Stacy~ said...

Wow, sounds like a fun time, and like a typical signing LOL. Way to go on selling out Kate. I love your stories :)

Open Grove Claudia said...

How wonderful! The world is so full of the struggles and horrors of being an author. What a treat to read about a author who is out there DOING it! YIPPEE!!

Congratulations! :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations---how wonderful and I'm glad it went so well. Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry I missed it. Sounds like it was a hoot and a half. ;-D

Tempest Knight said...

Good to hear it all went well! :)

Anonymous said...

I'm glad it went well for you.

Unknown said...

Wow!!!! Good for you and tons of congrats!! :)

charleneteglia said...

Awesome! Glad your signing was a success.

Kate Davies said...

Thanks, everyone. It was a lot of fun.

Charli, next year you've got to head on down the peninsula and join in! We could sign "Beginnings" together. :)

Anonymous said...

I laughed when I read someone said you look too conservative to write what you do. People are so funny.

Congrats on your successful book signing!

Kate Johnson said...

Great stuff Kate, glad it went so well--and that you had such a good time!

Thorne said...

What fun and congrats to you!! The lady who doesn't read romances cracked me up! (Although her rudeness was unforgivable!)Probably because I have never been much for the genre, although I'm a sap and love a good romantic bit in any other genre... I must admit that as a voracious reader I will read just about anything when the need to read is upon me. My secret guilty pleasure has been Norah Roberts from time to time, so you can imagine how pleased I am to have discovered her writing as JD Robb. The stories are great, and the characters and romance between them is complex and multifaceted, and for the most part, not cliche at all!

A Juggling Mum said...

Congrats on your successful book signing, it sounds like you had lots of fun :)

Thanks fo stopping by my blog!

Rachel xxx
A Juggling Mum