Snow and Book Signing at Barnes & Noble

December 13, 2008, the impossible happened: It snowed in Winter Garden, Florida. True! No matter this snow was trucked in and laid in place to form a marvelous slide for kids to play on. The snow was part of a Reading Reindeer book event, and I was invited to sign at Barnes & Noble at Winter Garden Village at Fowler Groves.

Look at what the good people at Barnes & Noble did for me! I know this photo is a little blurry, but can I tell you that happiness and awe rushed through me when I saw this display.
Inside, I spoke with Kathy Aber, of The West Orange Times, who helped arrange my appearance at B&N.

I met a lot of great girls and a lot of moms too!


And one thing I learned from reading JA Konrath's blog is that you don't have to stay behind your table. I circulated the store, passing out my bookmarks and chatting with people. I even helped one lady find Twilight.

I did a short reading and discussion bit, and most of the girls I met are also budding writers. They had good questions and they were just so interested, it made me want to give them as much as I could.


I could give you some tips on book signings, but if you've been good enough to read this far, I am going to tell you the Super Secret to Selling Books. The casual reader will look at the photo below and assume I don't know how to use red-eye reduction in Photoshop. Not so, my writerly fiends, I mean friends. Look closely. I am using my gamma ray powers to sell a book. Notice how I waited till the mother looked away. Mwahaha.

17 comments:

Travis Erwin said...

Looks like a very cool signing.

Mary Witzl said...

That last part cracked me up! I am truly the Queen of Red Eye, so if I ever get there, my evil eye will be an awesome tool.

You look so nice, Danette! Getting to meet kids and talk about their writing projects has to be one of the best perks for a writer.

Jessica Burkhart said...

You look so pretty! :) And JA Konrath is so the man, isn't he? I want to meet that guy. Awesome advice.

Your pics make me feel a lot less nervous...I just scheduled my first signing at Books-a-Million next month. And I'm quite terrified, LOL.

Kimbra Kasch said...

I love that - SW should be on your teeshirt for SuperWriter ;-)

It looks like soooo much fun.

Charles Gramlich said...

Very nice. That's a great display. And you already look like a famous writer.

Stephen Parrish said...

You don't need gamma rays. Just your smile.

Christina Farley said...

Snow in Winter Garden? Crazy!

You've got some great pictures here. You must be so estatic!

Anonymous said...

Niiice!

Note to self: Work hard to acquire Danette's stellar gamma rays technique.

KateMessner said...

Great book signing pictures, Danette! I'm so glad it was a fun day. And I loved seeing how excited everyone was to see the snow! Where I live, we take it for granted too often, even though it makes for a beautiful winter!

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

Danette, you look beautiful and I can tell you Summer would have been SO excited to have been there! She listed you as one of the authors she would love to meet in person!

And your red eye comment is awesome! Maybe you can teach a seminar on it! ;o)

Erica Orloff said...

I notice when I speak to kids and at schools . . . they are so genuine. The best events.

Looks like that bookstore did SUCH a fabulous job for you. Congrats!

Danette Haworth said...

Very cool, Travis. Good to hear from you.

Thanks, Mary! It is fun meeting kids who want to talk about reading and writing. Like I said, most of the girls I met that night were budding writers--some wrote in journals, one wrote short stories at home, and another was interested in writing because her mother is trying to write a book.

Well, Jessica, thank you! And yes, I have gleaned a lot from his blog.

Kim, I would have to have a cape too.

Charles, I also come with my own paparazzi--my mother!

Stephen, thank you. :)

Christina, I know! How ironic, right, that it "snowed" in Winter Garden. We also have a town called Winter Park.

Tamarak, I use my power only for good.

Thanks, Kate! It really did turn out to be a fun day. The shopping village was decked out in Christmas lights, decorations, and Christmas carols sang out from the loudspeakers. It was a wonderful setting. The bookstore was crowded that night! Everything turned out so well.

Ello, thank you! (What a boost, as I sit here in my baggy sweatshirt.) Summer is so articulate, I would have enjoyed speaking with her.

Gamma ray red-eye power: Powerful tool. Use cautiously.

Erica, They are so genuine! They just seem so open, they already believe in you. It's a great feeling.

Angela Ackerman said...

Sounds like it was agreat success--congrats!

Brenda said...

Looks like a lot of fun (the snow and the book signing)...

Kelly Polark said...

What a fabulous set up! I loved looking through the pictures of your signing. You look beautiful, and the kids look like they are taking in everything you say.

Chris Eldin said...

LOL @ your gamma ray power!!! You can shut off those rays, yanno. The books are flying off the shelves without them!
:-)

Looks like sooo much fun!! Congratulations!!!

Rena Jones said...

Oh wow! Sorry I missed this. You need to add "followers" to your blog because I just suck at going through my list in my favorites. This looked like an awesome event and look at that window display. WOW!