Sallisaw book signing

Here I am at Sallisaw. Just me, a bunch of books, and an empty room. That's right. No one has shown up. Nada. I thought I'd be more upset because I do have a lot of books to sell -- I'm in the hole about $900 at this point -- but I'm rather calm, all things considered. I only sold six here last year, and apparently those six aren't back for seconds.

I was actually born in the hospital in this town. Just a few blocks from where I'm typing this is where I entered the world at. Of course, I was raised in Muldrow, which about eight or nine miles farther down the road.

One of my dad's lady friends stopped by just then to see me. She hugged me, asked how I was doing, flipped through a book, wished me luck, and was gone. After my mom passed away, my dad dated a few women; she was the first. Unfortunately, we children weren't kind to her. I've always regretted that. I might regret it more if she had bought a book.

Now it's just me again. They have a coffee maker in the room that makes a terrible noise every now and then. It's sort of comforting. Now a train is going by. The library at Sallisaw is the old railroad depot building. The train is making the whole building tremble. The building has a lot of character and charm, but it needs some repairs done as well as some maintenance.

Lots of books, of course. Nothing has quite the aroma of old books. It's musty with the overscent of old glue and paper. New books have a scent all their own.

The Ada librarian told me about a few people who had poorly attended book signings. Apparently they took it badly. I'm doing okay other than the occasional suicidal impulse. The Sallisaw librarian just bought a book -- a pity sale, but hey, pity money spends just like regular money. It's going on the library shelves so maybe someone will read it here. Or not. You can only let your baby go into the world. You have to have faith in the story and your talent.

At this moment, I still have faith. I know the book is better. I know the story is stronger, the characters better defined, the dialogue sharper and funnier. That's all I ultimately am responsible for. Well, I guess the publicity, too, but I did all I could do within the limits of my budget. That has to be enough. Or not.

My roomie came down here with me. He's concerned about how I'm taking this, which I appreciate. I have had enough losses in my life, however, to not let this one do more than ... well ... depress me a little. This is my life, and I have lots of blessings. Apparently not book sale blessings, but blessing nonetheless. Tomorrow I'll have another signing. Another day.

*

Mary Ann, a good friend of mine, stopped by. She bought two books, and we had a wonderful conversation. We hadn't had a chance to really talk in years. She redeemed the book signing for me. An unexpected and appreciated blessing.

I hope things are going well for you. Talk to you tomorrow!