I had a really good time at my booksigning at the Cokato Public Library. It turned out to be the perfect timing, as everyone was in town for the annual Corn Carnival. Here is my setup. I brought the cover painting from Cheeper, as well as a folder with the original charcoal drawings that illustrated the book.
My new posters came just in time! I had just gotten all set up when I got an email from the printer (located just down the street) saying that I could come by and pick them up! I really like how they turned out!
Here are the three books…
And the three bookmarks, one for each book. (I love how the new Cheeper bookmarks turned out!)
Though I had plenty of bookmarks for The Prodigal Pup and Learning Lessons…, my Cheeper bookmarks came in at the same time as the posters, with just enough time for me to run over to the printer’s and pick them up before I started. God’s timing is so wonderful!
It also worked out perfectly, because Cokato’s annual book sale was going on in the next room, and everyone who was coming in for that had to walk right past my table. The book sale in the other room didn’t have too much for kids, so my table was the perfect stopping place for families.
All in all, I had a wonderful time, met scores of very interesting people, sold quite a number of copies of all three of my books, and gave away hundreds of bookmarks. Each day when I returned for my next signing timeslot, I would find that the liberal stacks of bookmarks that I had placed out the day before were almost completely cleared out.
Here I am on Wednesday, still smiling despite the terrible migraine headache I got from so much smiling. I am naturally an introvert, so around my 5th hour on Wednesday, my interaction “battery life” was completely drained (all you other introverts know what I’m talking about).
My favorite part was those few impacting interactions with precious people, even when it sometimes didn’t result in a sale: The thought that maybe I or my books might have touched someone’s life is reward in and of itself…. Those two girls who pored over my artwork and seemed so intrigued by what I had done whom I was able to encourage to not let their young age stop them from pursuing their dreams…. That stooped over lady with Parkinson’s who turned out to not only be an animal-lover, but also to have a background in art, who asked me to keep her in my prayers…. The grandfather who picked out my books for his grandkids simply because of the spiritual messages incorporated into each book, who sadly explained to me that his grandchildren weren’t being given a godly upbringing that he knew they needed…. The 6-to-7-year-old girl (whose mother confided to me that they had an extremely difficult time getting her to read) whose eyes lit up at the sight of my books and who eagerly picked out Learning Lessons From Furry Friends without any coaxing from her parents….. It’s these experiences that I will remember the most from my Cokato Library Booksigning.
Sarah E. Brown 