Here is a picture of Olympia informing me that my author’s copies of Die and Stay Dead are now hers. Ah, well. I enjoyed owning them for a short time, anyway.
In other news, today is your last chance to win a free copy of Die and Stay Dead. But you can’t win if you don’t enter the giveaway, so head on over to Goodreads and get in there! St. Martin’s Press is giving away five (5) copies, so your chances of winning one are actually pretty good!
I hit two more Barnes & Noble stores today to sign copies of Die and Stay Dead, one on the Upper East Side at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue, and the other clear across town on 82nd Street and Broadway (with a lovely walk through Central Park in between). The picture above is from the Broadway store, where they actually had the book displayed on the New in Fiction table upstairs instead of just on the Fiction & Literature shelf.
But something remarkable happened while I was there. The bookseller working in the Fiction section recognized me from when I worked at that same B&N back in 1999! He even remembered that I used to own my own bookstore, and that I liked science fiction and fantasy! I was flabbergasted. Not just that he remembered me so well, but also that he was still there after fifteen years considering B&N’s normal turnover rate. It was one of those incredible small-world moments, on par with the time someone in college recognized me because we used to carpool together to kindergarten. Hand to God, that one really happened!
I must just have one of those faces that never changes.
The author’s copies of Die and Stay Dead have arrived! (I’ve already given one to my mother. I’m such a good Jewish son.) This is always an exciting time for an author, to have actual printed copies of their book to hold and smell and try to keep the cats from rubbing their faces all over.
I’m hitting the road today to sign stock at a few more bookstores around NYC. We’ll see if any of them ask me for ID first, which is what happened at the Union Square Barnes & Noble yesterday. (Despite my picture being on the back of the book!) But it’s unusual to be asked for ID when signing stock — it’s only happened to me once before — so I asked the clerk why he was carding. He replied, “Weird things have happened.” I want to know what that story is so badly, but he was too busy with other customers for me to ask.
Don’t forget, you only have two days left to win a free copy of Die and Stay Dead over at Goodreads! Enter today!
Last night’s launch at WORD was amazing! L.A. Kornetsky (a.k.a. Laura Anne Gilman) and Laird Barron joined me to read in front of a packed house. Lots of copies of Die and Stay Dead were sold and signed for readers, as were several copies of Dying Is My Business. (It’s always nice to see a previous title get some sales love.)
Here I am reading from Die and Stay Dead. The audience laughed at all the funny parts. You can’t ask for more than that.
This is Laura Anne Gilman, Laird Barron, and myself during the audience Q&A. Three of the nicest, friendliest people you’ll ever meet, and yet we look distinctly unfriendly here for some reason. Well, Laird and I do. Laura Anne, at least, is smiling.
After our readings and the Q&A, we signed copies of our books until it was time for the store to close. Lots more pictures were taken, too. You can see them all here. Many thanks again to Laura Anne Gilman, Laird Barron, and the fine folks at WORD, especially Jenn Northington and Jaye Bartell. Big, big thanks also to everyone who schlepped out to Greenpoint, Brooklyn to see us! As writers, that kind of support means the world to us. We couldn’t do it without you!
And now, some reminders!
My next reading will be on Sunday, October 26th at 6 PM, in conjunction with the Writers Read NYC series. This one will be in lower Manhattan, at the The Sidewalk Café on Avenue A and 6th Street. Copies of Die and Stay Dead will be on hand for sale and signing. There will be a full bar and food available, too, but unfortunately I believe there is a $5 cover charge. Click here to see my full reading and signing schedule for the fall.
There’s an excerpt of Die and Stay Dead that you can read online at The Qwillery. Consider it a sneak peek for those of you who haven’t bought the novel yet.
Lastly, there are only three days left in the Die and Stay Dead Goodreads giveaway. St. Martin’s Press is giving away five (5) copies to the lucky winners. Enter to win today!
