Romancing the Genres: #Indiebookstores

Showing posts with label #Indiebookstores. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Bookstore Finds by Eleri Grace

For me, the appeal of shopping very much depends on what I'm shopping for and who I'm with. Where I once happily spent hours at the mall shopping for clothes -- by myself, with my mom and sister, with friends -- I rarely find any joy in clothes shopping for myself. I'm still happy to take my daughter shopping, but it's much more about the time with her rather than the additions to my own wardrobe that might result.

But bookstore shopping? I will never not enjoy browsing the shelves of bookstores.

My best bookstore find ever was in Baldwin's Book Barn in West Chester, Pennsylvania. While visiting a friend who had relocated to the Philadelphia area from Texas, my group of BFFs decided to spend the afternoon at an indie bookstore our friend had already found. It is a book-lover's paradise -- our pictures don't really do it justice. It's a large old barn dating back to 1822, and has been operating as a bookstore for decades. It requires climbing up some narrow and questionably-safe ladders and staircases to reach all the floors that are brimming with old and new books, including a large selection of original and collectible editions.

It was in this collectibles section where I made my find -- on the first level not long after we entered the store. I wish one of my friends would have thought to snap a photo of me when I first spotted it -- I recall squealing out loud (not my usual demeanor at all!). What caused this reaction you might ask? A Folio Society boxed set of Paul Scott's "The Raj Quartet." Before my children were born, I had belonged to the Folio Society and bought a few editions from them each year. But since I discontinued my membership long before, I'd had no idea that Folio issued one of my favorite series in their beautiful illustrated editions in 2009.

My friends did take a photo of me on one of the upper levels still clutching my find -- the lighting is poor but possibly you can see my huge smile. I refused to leave it at the downstairs checkout and instead carried this heavy four-volume hardback boxed set up and down all the rickety ladders and narrow staircases.

I'm not sure whether to classify my most recent excursion to a indie bookstore as a "best" or "worst" shopping experience. It too was surreal in that the first book I picked up at Austin's Book People was a recently-published historical fiction novel about a trio of Red Cross Girls in WWII. I had no idea it had been published, and while I'm delighted to see other authors exploring the stories of my beloved WWII Red Cross Girls, it was a bit jolting to realize I've been missing out on some marketing opportunities over the last several months. Whether I can find the time to familiarize myself once again with the technicalities and strategy of Amazon and/or Facebook ads remains to be seen. But I certainly should try! I'm not quite finished with this novel, but I'm fascinated by the author's personal connection to the Red Cross Girls. His mother was Phyllis (McLaughlin) de Urrea, and she served on a Clubmobile crew with Jill (Pitts) Knappenberger, whose WWII story was documented so nicely by Illinois Public Media.

Bookstores -- you'll never know what you might find!

You can learn more about me and my Red Cross Girls novels at my website or on my Amazon page.

Saturday, August 12, 2023

August 19th Celebrate Indie Bookstore Romance Day

Join Jan's for the 5th Annual Bookstore Romance Day!

Bookstore Romance Day is a day designed to give independent bookstores an opportunity to celebrate Romance fiction—its books, readers, and writers—and to strengthen the relationships between bookstores and the Romance community.

On August 19th bookstores around the country will celebrate the romance genre.

At Jan's will be featuring a lineup of diverse romance authors to cover all your reading wishes. Of course, no celebration is complete without raffles and prizes!

Make sure to mark your calendars for August 19th to visit Jan's at 12320 SW 1st St, Beaverton, OR 97005. Authors from 11am to 2pm, but raffles and prizes will go all day!

If you aren’t local to Jan’s, make sure to check your area for a participating bookstore! Find a Bookstore | Bookstore Romance Day

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Who Knew BOOKSIGNINGS Could be So Much Fun … Delsora Lowe

Being an author is not for the feint of heart, especially when you consider yourself an introvert. I have always considered myself an extrovert. Over the years, I worked in outward facing occupations, in food service, hospitality, event planning, and non-profits. In all those positions I had to be the friendly, outgoing person ALL THE TIME. And truthfully, I love interacting with people. But it takes energy to always be “ON” and outgoing.

But between getting older, no longer in the workforce per se, if you don’t count the desk I am glued to more hours than not, writing the next bestseller (OK – exaggeration alert,) and Covid isolation, I seemed to have moved closer to being an introvert. In other words, it seems to take a lot more energy for me to gear up to be in social, out-facing situations. But once I am in the midst – watch out.

Case in point. Recently my state romance writers’ group had a book signing at a library about forty miles away. Now another thing I don’t do much of anymore is travel. After commuting one-hundred and fifty miles daily for six years, the thought of getting on the highway is…UGH! But who can resist getting together with other authors to talk about our books, with an audience,

Of course, I signed up. And once I commit, I feel terrible if I don’t complete my obligation. Plus, now that I am bordering on introvert status, doing a book signing by myself seemed overwhelming. With this adventure, I knew I would be in good company.

So, as usual, I had everything packed days ahead of time, and trucked out to the car the day prior (a habit from my event planning days,) since I had to leave early. I set off the next morning—early. All the way up the lightly traveled highway, I wondered why I was putting myself through this. But when I arrived and finally found the right building and adjacent parking, I was joined by the three authors who would be signing with me.

The morning was frigid as we lugged boxes and bags into the library. We had a jolly time unpacking and setting up our space, and yacking with the librarians.

Then we sat and waited. Soon, people started wandering in. With a sigh of relief we knew we would have interested romance readers in the audience. A friend, who lived a few towns away showed up. YAY! A friendly face. Then her daughter, who lived in town, and her friend showed. YAY! More friendly faces. Strangers arrived and they had smiles on their faces. YAY! You know where I’m going with this. More friendly faces, and an audience that was there of their own free will because they love reading romance.

The librarian, along with our romance writers chapter program director had put together great questions. And soon we were off and running.

The audience, from their body language, laughter, and questions, were engaged. Phew! Wiping my brow. I had a blast. And I think the three authors signing with me, did as well. We ended our Q & A session, and we all waited with baited breath, hoping, praying to the goddess of romance writers, that at least one person would buy a book.

Well, lo and behold, they all bought books, not only from me, but from all the other authors. The librarian bought one of each of our books for the library—WOW! We chatted and laughed and answered more questions. And as they used to say when I was growing up (yes, in the 60s) – we were all on a high from the interaction and the adventure.

A week later, as I write this, I am still excited.

I’ve only done one other book signing. And again, I did it with another author in a local bookstore. We had fun then too. And when our designated hour and a half was finished, as we packed up, the bookstore clerks commented on how much fun it was to have a double author signing. With two of us, we were able to banter with people walking into the store, without making any customer feel as though they had to stop. The clerk said the vibe was fun for the entire shopping and working experience.

When I lived in Washington, D.C. where they had so many bookstores, both big box and indie, I went to tons of book signings. Many of them for my position as the school alumni director, so I could pick up signed books written by alumni for our alumni lounge bookcase.

Will I be nervous for the next book signing? You bet! Will I have a blast? I am sure I will. Especially when my extrovert personality decides to break free. It was an unforgettable experience, and I can’t wait to do it again. Plus…I sold books! What fun!

Do you enjoy going to book signings?
Do you enjoy hearing authors talk about their books, writing process, and how they got their book topic ideas?

The Love Left Behind: Hartford Estate