Hola, Peeps!
I'm less than one day back from my quick trip to Decatur, Illinois - I'm exhausted and have almost a bazillion things to do today, but I wanted to write a quick post to share some good things that happened while I was in the Soybean Capital of the World.
First, even though I didn't think my book, set in Placentia, would be of interest in my hometown, I contacted two of the area libraries, Decatur and Mt. Zion, to see how to get Freezer Burn on their shelves. Both head librarians, Amy in Decatur and Maria in Mt. Zion, were very pleasant to talk to, and both took all the information to order Freezer Burn. In addition, they both want me to do an author's event for them, so I'll probably be returning to Illinois in October to give a talk and sell some books. Woo hoo!
My second good thing happened when my sister-in-law, Mindy, bought a copy of my book to share with her mom, Marilyn. Mindy's folks are on a fixed income, so Marilyn took the book home with her to read first. Mindy told me several times that she and her mom like historical fiction and that mysteries aren't really in their genre, so I was expecting them to be polite and eventually tell me my book was "real nice." And I didn't expect Marilyn to read it while I was there.
The night after Marilyn took the book home, Mindy called her to ask about something else. She came into the family room and said, "I just called my mom to ask her about breakfast tomorrow and she told me, 'I can't talk right now. I'm in the middle of Gayle's book and I can't put it down.'"
She was up until 2 a.m. reading it.
I sat with her the next day at the East End Grill, where we had breakfast. It was fun to hear her tell me how much she enjoyed the book, even though she never reads anything like this. She really liked the humor that ran through it. But this is the best thing she said to me:
"I went to bed about two after reading it, but it kept running through my head, so I had to get up and find something boring to read, just so I could go to sleep."
Okay, how cool is that?
Well, I now have to run around gathering "stuff" for the launch party, most of which I'll display here and describe. Later, Peeps.
10 comments:
Wow! That IS the best blurb ever! When people who know you give you good reviews, especially when what you write is not what they normally like, anything else is gravy!
That's great. Maybe you should have them review your book on Amazon. Good luck.
Elizabeth - would that she could write a review on Amazon. Unfortunately, she is part of the WatzaComputer generation. So is my sis-in-law, bless her heart.
gayle, is there any way to communicate to you how often your book has been requested and checked out? I would think you could get monthly numbers from the library if you asked.
Steve Tremp
Gayle, if you'll be in Decatur between Oct. 7 and Oct. 12, let me know. I'll be in Champaign-Urbana before I head for Indy for a SinC workshop followed by Bouchercon. If you're having a signing or author event while I'm there, I'll try to drive over.
Steve - I don't know, but I can always ask!
Patricia - As soon as I can get my son's choir schedule (the director already has it), I'll know when I can go to Decatur. Sonny Boy's B-Day is Oct 12, but if I have to miss it, it'll be okay.
Wow Gayle! Sounds like things are definitely wonderful in your world! That is so exciting when someone who doesn't really read your genre have such glowing things to say about your book! Congrats on the other book events - wonderful to hear so many good things happening!
Nancy, from Realms of Thought…
That has to be one of the best compliments I ever heard!Congratualtions!
Wonderful -- that's the kind of thing that you need to keep close to hand for those inevitable days of doubt. Works wonders on the bruised ego.
That IS cool! I hope someone says that about my book someday!
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