My hometown indie bookstore closing

I was saddened to learn of the decision to close The Alphabet Garden, a children's bookstore in Cheshire, Connecticut where I had an amazing event for my first book, LOVE, MEG (newly-released as an e-book titled, JENNIFER ANISTON IS MY BEST FRIEND).  Back in the summer of 2007, Karlene Rearick, the store's owner, held an event for my friends and family at her small store which was in the Watch Factory Shoppes at the time.  We had cupcakes and cake and I read from the book and signed lots of copies. I was incredibly nervous but it was a ton of fun. Not long after I returned to LA, I posted some photos from that signing.  It reminds me of a very special time in my life, one that I know not every author has a chance to enjoy.

A book signing for a debut author is really not for the masses, unless you're a celebrity and your first book is a juicy memoir.  Typically, the signing event is for the author and her friends and family.  They are excited for you and want to share in your book's release and since they were planning to buy the book anyway, they might as well do it as part of an event. It's fun to choose a theme that ties into the book - whether it's food or music or other entertainment - and it can be a great way for a bookstore owner to introduce her store to new customers.  So it's win-win-win for everyone.

But not all authors can do this.  First of all, the number of indie bookstores is dwindling and there's really only one chain left, B&N.  Then too, not all books are released as paper or hardcover so there may not be an actual book to sign.  And finally, they don't draw the numbers of people they used to. If you're a friend of the owner, that might be incentive enough to hold a signing.  If you're a good customer, that's another reason.  But let's be honest: with fewer stores and more e-books, chances are not good that you're a frequent customer at any store.  In fact, when I mentioned to my husband that The Alphabet Garden was closing, he said, "When was the last time you were in a bookstore?"

I don't know.  I don't have much money to spend on books, frankly, so I rely on free classics and other low-priced books from Amazon for my Kindle. I buy friends' books at their signings, of course, or as a download for my Kindle, but no, I don't go to bookstores often.  I used to love Borders but they're all gone and I never did care for B&N because they rarely stocked my books. Truth, okay?

People bemoan the demise of bookstores, and I agree with them to a certain extent.  There is a charm to stores and to physical books.  I have always loved libraries, even more than bookstores, because I could spend hours in the stacks, uninterrupted by someone asking if they could help me find something ("Yes, help me find an author I've never heard of who I will love instantly"). I discovered more authors that way.  And the thrill of seeing my own book on the stacks is indescribable.  One of the most amazing things to me in the world was seeing my titles shelved in the local library, and knowing they're available all over the world in other libraries.

A really big part of me wishes I could have continued to publish with Penguin.  I had major plans for my books and they did too - until the books didn't sell as fast as they wanted them to. But I still have plans and I still have stories to tell and I want to share them with readers.  What am I  supposed to do now that publishing isn't what it used to be?  Now that bookstores are tanking and the only books published by major publishers are high concept series, am I supposed to simply stop writing?

Here we are: five summers after my first novel was published and I held that awesome signing at The Alphabet Garden, the store is closing - and I just released the same novel as an e-book.  I'm very disappointed the store couldn't make it through this terrible economy and I wish Karlene Rearick the best of luck in whatever she does next.  I will forever be grateful for that signing in her store, for her support of me as a local(ish) author, and for all the friends and family who made it there to celebrate with me.
Adapt or perish, right?  It took me a while to accept e-books as real books and even longer to accept self-publishing as a viable alternative to traditional publishing. But I want to continue to write and to sell and to make a literary connection with other people.  So you do what you have to do.

Here's a link to the article about The Alphabet Garden's closing.  Thank you, Karlene!

Guest blog: Sean McCartney

Hi everyone! Sean McCartney is a debut novelist whose book, "The Treasure Hunters Club: Secrets of the Magical Medallions" released July 6. He's on a blog tour to promote the novel and to introduce himself to the blogging/reading world. His website, by the way, is terrific so do check that out! And be sure to take a look at his book's trailer which is at the bottom of this post! Looks like fun...

Without further ado, here is Sean to tell us all about himself and his book:

First off I would like to thank Leigh for allowing me to talk with all of you. This is my first blog so it is quite exciting for me.

My name is Sean McCartney and I’m currently on a blog tour to promote my new young adult action adventure novel entitled THE TREASURE HUNTERS CLUB: SECRETS OF THE MAGICAL MEDALLIONS. It’s being released on July 6^th, 2010 from Mountainland Publishing.

The story is about Tommy Reed and his treasure hunting friends Shannon McDougal, Jackson Miller and Chris Henderson. One day Tommy receives a rather ordinary looking medallion from his very famous treasure-hunting uncle “Diamond” Jack Reed and finds himself the object of an evil treasure collector named Manuel de la Ernesto. Now Tommy and his friends must find the secret behind the medallion before Manuel can get to them and the medallion.

When I set out to write The Treasure Hunters Club: Secrets of the Magical Medallions I wanted to pull together all the things from books and movies that I liked. The mystery of the Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown, the adventure of Percy Jackson, a little magic from Harry Potter and the action and history of the movies Indiana Jones and National Treasure.

Though this is the first book in the Treasure Hunters Club series, with your help to make it a success, the next books will follow. I have planned six treasure hunting books as they follow the club through the 8^th grade and into high school. Of course, as they get older their treasure hunts get more dangerous and more exciting.

I have been asked why I created a series around treasure hunting. The truth is I believe treasure hunting is something everyone can do. You don’t need super powers just a desire to do research and find where to look. Also treasure hunting touches on the sidebars of history, the stuff not in the textbooks. That is usually the most interesting and provides a solid building block for the series.

My goal has always been to be published and have a series that kids can enjoy and have a lot of fun reading. I was lucky to find a publisher who believes in the series as much as I do. What I was surprised to find out was how much the publishing world has changed since I started this journey toward “being published.” The emergence of ebooks has shaken the publishing world like never before and I believe we have only scratched the surface of what this new technology can do to help promote reading.

In the meantime, I hope you take a moment to check out my website www.treasurehuntersclubbook.com and learn more about the series and read some short stories about the characters.

Thank you again for this opportunity and allowing me to be here and I hope you enjoy the book and the series.

Thanks,

Sean

And thank you, Sean! I am a huge fan of the National Treasure movies so this sounds right up my alley. I hope you all enjoyed reading a bit about Sean and his book and that you'll jump right over to his website to learn more. And check out the trailer below to inspire you to read (or hunt for some treasure yourself!):

My old friend's new book!

HUGE congrats to my former co-worker, Michael Ferrari, who used to sit next to me in our cubes at The WB in Burbank when we were both standards editors. His new book, BORN TO FLY, is in stores now! Check it out:

I read a very early draft of the book years ago when we were trading material. Michael read the first draft of my very first novel too. It was called FAT GIRLS IN LA and eventually became ALL ABOUT VEE. He was the one who read it and pronounced me a real writer which gave me a huge boost of self-confidence.

Eventually, Michael left the network, moved back to Ohio with his lovely family and entered the manuscript in the Delacorte Yearling prize for middle grade books and won! I was so thrilled for him! And now, it's published! Yay!

Here's Michael's very cool website - love the design of his book cover! So retro and yet still very modern. He's gotten some great reviews from Booklist and Kirkus - yes, Kirkus likes him! And who wouldn't? The story's hero is an 11 year old girl named Bird McGill and it takes place during World War II. I love that his hero is a girl - that's awesome! I'm sure both girls and boys are gonna love it.

Many, many good wishes to you, Michael!! Wish I could be in Ohio for your first signing but I'm sure it will be just the first of many!