A Professional Writer

FIRST BOOK SIGNING
"PARENTAL CONTROLS"

It took place at Sisters' Gift Shop in San Marcos, California. They had ordered forty copies for the event and set up a section of the store for my book signing to take place. It made me very uncomfortable and awkward. They set up a table for me and placed a stack of my books for people to pick up after they've purchased one and I signed it. I did not see this coming! I had looked forward for weeks to the premiere of a book I spent years and months developing. (And, years later, when my play first premiered and I watched the first rehearsals, I got the same feelings of discomfort and awkwardness. Like I told one of the actors, when I built this "car", it never occurred to me that someone would actually drive it). And it was the same with my first book signing. Everyone was approaching me as if I were somehow "holding court" and it was so painful! Then I got an idea: what if they signed my "Author's Copy" then I'll sign their copy of the book. It made it so much better! And I did the same thing in subsequent book signings. The first one had the readers' signatures (those in attendance) in chapter one of my book. The second book signing had their signatures in chapter two, and so on. I highly recommend it to authors who have the same feelings of discomfort: it makes it so much more fun!

In subsequent book signings, I stayed with what had become an "author's tradition" for me. And, once again, those in attendance signed their names in the borders of my "author's copy" under the appropriate chapter number. And, like I did with my first book signing and every one since, I always sign it, "Because you ought to do right by your parents". Most recently, I have become a "Goodreads.com Author". Please see their website.