After being away for 3 1/2 weeks it’s been great sleeping in my own bed and being home with Lindi again. We also scheduled my first bookstore appearances near home. Last Sunday about a dozen of us gathered at The Book Barn in downtown Bend. I kicked things off the same time that the Patriots and Giants did at 3:00 in the afternoon. A few weeks earlier, Linda (the owner of The Book Barn) and I realized we’d scheduled our event at the same time as the Super Bowl but decided to stick with our plans since they’d already been publicized. Though our crowd was small, they were energetic and engaged. We had a wonderful conversation about various issues contained in Inheriting the Trade.
Tuesday evening I traveled west about 25 miles to Sisters, where Paulina Springs Books hosted me. On this cold, snowy night approximately 40 people showed up including 10 high school students who received extra credit for attending. On Thursday I was back in Bend at The Curiosity Shoppe where 30 people gathered to discuss the more spiritual aspects of our journey.
Last night, Friday, was my last bookstore appearance for awhile in Central Oregon at the new Paulina Springs store in Redmond, about 20 miles north of Bend. Being a newly opened store this was actually the first author event they’ve ever held there so we didn’t know what to expect. It turned out to be our largest crowd of the week with about 50 people squeezing in. We began shortly after 6:00 and Lindi and I didn’t leave the store until 8:30.
I’ve heard from other authors that it is often difficult to get people to show up in their hometown. “Oh, he/she lives here. I can see them anytime.” What a pleasant surprise that we had such significant and enthusiastic crowds all week. I received an e-mail this morning from an employee of Paulina Springs who wrote about the great crowds Tuesday and Friday that, “12-20 people is a more typical turnout for us” and that “this is our ‘off season,’ too! Your books also sold incredibly well. Hardcovers are usually a hard sell for us, but people snapped yours right up.” I’m grateful and pleased that the word is spreading and that people are interested in our message.
This coming week will find me back on the road. I’ll be at Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle on Tuesday, and Powell’s City of Books in Portland on Thursday.