As you know Dale and I were privileged to hold a book signing this past Saturday at Books-A-Million in Gastonia, and we had a blast. The folks at BAM were incredibly nice (and even gave us free beverages from Joe Muggs!) we met a lot of folks, and even sold some books. All in all a successful day. And we always learn something from a signing, or at least get things we already knew reinforced.
For instance, we will never again put the word "cook" into the title of a book. Yes, we agree that Wanna Cook? is a really cool title, and we're proud of coming up with it, but you would not believe the number of people who come up to us and wind up saying something like "Oh. I thought it was a cookbook." Of these it's generally an even split between those who are disappointed and those who are relieved. Another lesson learned on Saturday was how little attention we tend to pay when going about out day. We were set up just inside and to the left of the only entrance to the store. Directly in front of the entrance was a display of best-sellers, new releases, and staff picks. To the right was a display of Harry Potter books and merchandise (including two really cool Hats of Sorting which provided some serious entertainment and cuteness as all these kids kept trying them on). So there was a lot of stuff right there as you walk in.
And about 60% of people just breezed right by all of it - and us. Seriously, I don't think they even saw any of it except as obstacles to maneuver around on their way to the cafe, or whatever section they were interested in. It was both weird and funny to watch. We generally said hello to anyone who made even glancing eye-contact, but again, that was only about 40% of the people who came through the door. And I began to realize that I tend to do the same thing. I love bookstores, and browsing, and it was really weird to spend several hours in a bookstore without browsing, but I too tend to make a b-line to whatever section of the store it is that I want to start looking around in: science fiction, graphic novels, bargains, whatever. Many days I am a part of that 60% who completely tune out all of the stuff that is right there when I walk into a bookstore - or any retail joint, for that matter. So now I think I'm going to try and slow down and see what I'm missing.
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| Here's a picture of Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman - just because! |
So, some lessons learned and a fun day spent meeting new people and signing books. If you couldn't make it to the signing in Gastonia, but still want a signed copy, we left a few at the store, but you'd better hurry, we didn't leave all that many! Otherwise, you can come see us in Winston-Salem, NC at Barnes & Noble at 1925 Hampton Inn Court on Saturday, 9 August, starting at 3pm! We'll be signing copies of Wanna Cook? as part of Barnes & Noble's "Get Pop Cultured" event, so it should be a blast. As always, you can count on more details as we get closer to the event date both here, on social media, and over on Dale's blog.
Coming up next week (Wednesday 6 August) though, look for us on CultureSmash.tv's weekly webcast where we'll be talking about Wanna Cook, the week in pop-culture, and various and sundry other things that might come up. It's a fun and snarky group of folks at CultureSmash, so it should be a blast. Dale and I will also be returning to Gobbledygeek Podcast (probably available the first full week of August) in order to trade insults with Paul and AJ and to take part in Gobbledygeek's ongoing revisiting of Neil Gaiman's Sandman. This week, we'll be talking about Volume 5 "A Game of You."
So that's what we've got coming up for the moment, and we're always working on new ways to get out and about and talk Breaking Bad and Wanna Cook? So stay tuned here, on our various social media channels (see buttons to the upper right on this blog), and to Unfettered Brilliance for all the latest news, reviews and doings. See you next time!
Keep Cookin'!
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