Being a Big-Time Author

You know what's cool about staying in a Hilton instead of a cheap chain hotel? When your toilet won't flush because the flapper tore and the chain detached, they actually have someone working in engineering, even at 8:00 p.m., to come up and fix it.

Lovely setup at Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT
Signed copies are on hand there if you missed me tonight!

Last week, I stopped at my local bookstore and asked to sign the stock they had on hand for Heavy Metal. They said yes. It was cool. I felt a little bit like a big-time author, because when I asked and told her who I was, she was all, "Oh, yeah! That would be great!" You know, like she recognized my name.

I realized that maybe I need to start acting like a big-time author. You know, the whole self-fulfilling prophecy or whatever concept applies here.

So this weekend I'm in Connecticut for Fiction Fest. It's the first time I'm attending a conference without a friend also attending. I'm a little bit freaked by it, but no one will really notice if I go all wallflower. I'll hear the keynote by one of my author heroes and learn something in each workshop, and have dinner with one of my closest friends afterward.

I also had my publicist try to arrange booksignings while I'm up here, and she managed to get one scheduled tonight in Mystic. Which is SUPERcool, because the car chase in Heavy Metal starts in Mystic. I used that angle in the press release she sent to all the local newspapers and radio stations. I did a sponsored post on Facebook that over 9400 people supposedly saw, and even got a few "yeses" on Goodreads when I sent invitations.

I worked extra hours yesterday so I could leave early today, and things went well until about 3:00 when I hit Connecticut. We crawled up 95. 88 miles took me 3 hours, so even though I'd built in tons of extra time and didn't even stop to go to the bathroom for four hours, I barely made it by 7. I'd hoped to get there early, but I did at least get there on time. Barely.

And then I sold one book. I feel really bad about that. Not for myself, but for the bookstore. Good thing I'm up here for the conference anyway, because the $3.40 I spent on a candy bar in the store totally negated my royalty. But hey, maybe the copies I signed will sell over the next couple of days. That will be worth it.

In the meantime, I'm totally indulging myself. I didn't eat breakfast (just had coffee) or lunch (nibbled on sunflower seeds and M&Ms because that keeps me awake while I'm driving) so I ordered room service. I feel all big time now! :) See how lovely my meal was?  ----->

So tonight I'm being a layabout, watching season 3 of Veronica Mars on DVD and probably staying up too late, considering the 7:30 registration time tomorrow. If you happen to be attending Fiction Fest, too, and you see me, make sure you say hi! Then I won't feel like a wallflower. :)