My first signing for Kiss & Tell!
Me and Marie, originally uploaded by marinaomi.
On Friday I did my first signing for my upcoming graphic memoir, "Kiss & Tell." I accompanied my editor to an NCIBA event (Northern California Independent Booksellers Association), where they plied me with wine, set me up at a table full of galleys, and gave me an escort (an awesome volunteer named Marie, who handed me open books to sign throughout the evening).
There were thirty authors there, each with their own table and escort set up in a giant circle around the large banquet hall. In the middle of the room was some catered food and tables to sit at. Local booksellers milled about, jovially chatting among themselves and with authors. They went up to the tables and received free galleys, signed by the authors. Everyone seemed friendly, literate and had a great sense of humor (Oh how I adore book people!), and it was a very positive experience.
The kinds of books in the room varied widely. I believe I was the only graphic novelist there. There were also children's books, mysteries, fiction that takes place in the 1800's, and on and on. The best part, for me, was at the end of it, when the authors got to go around and get books for ourselves! I acquired more than a dozen galleys, resulting in a lovely pile of newer-than-brand-new books to read, all stacked enticingly in my bedroom.
One of my favorite moments of the evening was when a woman came up to me and requested a signed galley, and I asked about her bookstore. It seems she retired from a long career in the medical field and opened up her own bookstore. "Oh, that's always been a fantasy of mine!" I cooed enviously, envisioning my own antiquarian bookstore, populated with various felines and the antique typewriters I've been collecting for years. When I snapped out of my reverie, I noticed that she and a few others were looking at me like I was nuts, and they commenced to inform me that being a published author is far more romantic than my bookstore ideal. But I will not be swayed! My fantasy remains.
