Alex and The Other and some serious crayons ...

My new book in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series, Alex and The Other, had a day out on Saturday at Indigo Yonge and Eglinton (Toronto). Thanks for having me!

I handed out bookmarks, talked to people, sold a lot of books. Kids enjoyed the colouring sheets that I made using illustrations from the book, thanks to the talents of series illustrator Shawna Daigle.

There was some serious colouring going on!

It's always interesting for an author to sell books at a busy bookstore. I had an old friend pop in, totally unexpectedly. A teacher who has been a huge supporter was there too, just passing through, someone who I always bump into in bookstores. We laughed. I met a filmmaker who then friended me on Facebook. Our one mutual FB friend is also the only other person I've ever friended after meeting them in a bookstore, which is weird. Maybe it's a film industry thing?

I met lots of sweet kids. 

And I had a signing first: a young woman had been sitting reading near the book table. When I was alone, she came up to me and said "I heard you talking about a gargoyle book for kids set in Toronto and I just wanted to tell you that you were my favourite author when I was kid." (FYI, my first series was called The Lost Gargoyle series.)

I was really touched ... and also a little shocked to realize that the first readers of my books are now old enough to say things like "when I was a kid." But I guess I HAVE been doing this for 9 years now. She might have been 11 or 12 maybe when she first read my books. I told her that she was the first person to say that to me, and she said, "I never would have expected to meet you. Your books meant a lot to me." I told her that I think I should write some more gargoyle books!

It was a very sweet moment for both of us.

I enjoy bookstore events like this, but I had a good teacher. I grew up next to a lovely lady who was also a gifted potter. When I was about 12, she hired me on weekends to help her sell her pottery at art shows all over southern Ontario. I loved it. And I also learned the fine art of direct sales to the public. How to be pleasant, chatty but not too chatty, excited about your product but not annoying, how to display your wares, how to make people feel comfortable purchasing without pressure, the delivery of the straightforward spiel ... most importantly how to take "no thanks" for an answer.

She taught me well! I think she'd be proud that all those mugs and vases and beautiful plates that I sold at her side as a child, helped me as an author later in life. Thanks Dorothy!

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