Memorable moments at a book signing

• Terry Ambrose:

  My most memorable signing event happened during my first Tucson Festival of Books event. I was in a booth with two other authors for the three days of the event, Friday through Sunday. Sales were good for the first two days, but on Sunday, there was a freak snowstorm. (Tucson hardly ever gets snow in March!) Even though the temps were in the thirties and there was snow coming down, we still had people coming by to buy books. So there we were, sipping hot drinks and trying to keep our fingers warm enough to be able to process the sales. It was one of the most fun times I’ve ever had at a book event!

• Nancy J. Cohen:

  My most memorable signing event was the one where no one showed up. I got stuck at a table in the back of the independent bookstore, with no signage or other indications that I was there. I’d sent out notices to my fan lists, but nobody came by. This was an out-of-town event, and I’d driven a significant distance to get there. It was disappointing, to say the least, although I got to meet the bookstore clerks. 

• Debra H. Goldstein:

  I sat next to Lee Goldberg at a Bouchercon signing when he’d substituted on a panel at the last minute, so no one knew he was going to be at the signing table. The memorable incident was that I had the line, and he had none.

• Cheryl Hollon:

  The best book signing I’ve ever attended was the book launch for my very first traditionally published book, PANE AND SUFFERING, set in a stained-glass shop. For my launch, my local glass shop allowed me to host it in their shop after hours. It was a fabulous crowd made even more merry by my son’s home-brewed beer. 

• Diane A.S. Stuckart:

  My most memorable moment is pretty sad. I had just published my first novel (historical romance) and was hyped up for the one event that in my mind said I had made it – the huge public book signing at the annual Romance Writers of America conference. Unfortunately, my publisher sent my books to the conference hotel at the last minute. Since we’re talking about Bad Luck Diane here, that shipping date of course coincided with the one and only time UPS workers went on strike. This meant my (and a few other authors’) books never made it to the hotel. I spent the evening of the book signing wandering the aisles of the huge event room while watching a few hundred other authors happily signing their books. 

• Maggie Toussaint:

  Years ago, I paid for a booth at a three-day festival. The organizers were adamant that vendors had to stay the whole time. On Friday afternoon, I set up my tent. Festival hours were from 5-10 pm on Friday. Foot traffic was fine until the rain came. It rained and it rained. I sealed my books into waterproof containers and sat there until it became too dark to see in the tent. It was still pouring, I couldn’t see without a flashlight, and my wares were all packed up. Common sense told me to go home and rest up for tomorrow. The next day I was called on the carpet for leaving my tent before ten pm. It was stressful, but the woman fussing at me finally calmed down and left.

• Lois Winston

  Unfortunately, this is memorable for all the wrong reasons. My very first signing took place on the day my first book was released. A week before, the bookstore had emailed to say my books had arrived, but when I showed up, they didn’t have a single copy, and it wasn’t because they’d all sold out ahead of time. The store had no record of ever receiving them.