As y’all probably noticed, I haven’t blogged in a few weeks. Sorry about that. I’ve been in Dallas for a couple book signings. The traveling and planning took up all my time (along with writing book two, woot!), but here’s a bit about the trip:
In short, Dallas was amazing. I haven’t lived there in three years, so I was worried I might go back to zero support. If that were the case, I wouldn’t blame anyone. Let me tell you, I’m the worst at keeping in touch with people outside my immediate circle. Still, I was like “What if I go back and three people who show up to my events? And what if I pay all this money to ship books and then have to take them back to Phoenix? And what if they weigh my suitcase down and I go over that 50-pound limit and have to pay six-thousand dollars?”
Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about.
Lots of people came out. I got to see soooo many old friends. (Wait…I’m not saying they’re not old. I’m just saying we’ve just been friends for a long time. I swear! In fact, everyone looked youthful and amazing. I think they’re actually getting younger. Don’t hate me.) On top of that, they brought “The Support” (TM) with them. I couldn’t believe how many people had either read my book or grabbed a copy of it.
And I also got to hear peoples’ awesome stories involving my novel. This was one of my favorites:
The Story
Halfway through the first event, I realized I wouldn’t have enough books for both days. It’s a good problem to have, but I panicked. Consequently, I reached out to my closest friends, saying “If you have a new/pristine novel, can I please have it?” Yes I was going to sell my friends’ books. Don’t judge. OK you can judge a little.
Anyway, one of my friends agreed and showed up to my second signing with his copy. Doing a quick quality inspection, I noticed a piece of tattered cloth sticking out of one of the pages.
“What’s this?” I flicked the cloth.
“My boyfriend is reading it and that’s his bookmark.”
Curious, I reached out and tugged the “bookmark”. It was like a foot long! And so janky!
I had to know more. Holding it up, I said, “What kind of bookmark is this??”
My friend shrugged. “Well, he was reading last night and didn’t have a bookmark. So he tore that and used it.”
“What?! Where did he tear it from?”
This was my friend’s response (wait for it): “From my grandmother’s quilt that was on the bed.”
That’s right. He tore Grammy’s quilt to use as a bookmark.
OMG!! DEAD!! That is so amazing and funny!! Hearing the story, I insisted on taking the piece of cloth (I’m keeping it forever!). And I immediately knew I’d do a blog post.
Why is that amazing and funny?
You shouldn’t even have to ask, but….
First off, to state the obvious, it’s Grandma’s quilt! I’d think that a receipt or pen or even another book (Using a book as a bookmark…how Inception!) had to have been around. But what did he do? He ripped off a piece of Granny’s heirloom that she made – with great love – for her grandson. Or maybe Granny herself used the quilt as a child and it saved her life during the great Mammoth ice age.
Second, and just as important, the bookmark nods to an entire post I wrote around this pic:
Talk about coming full circle 🙂 And it proves my point about laziness.
Please don’t think I’m knocking the quilt bookmark. I love it! It’s so relatable. When you’re comfy in bed, getting up is the absolute worst. If Grandma herself were actually there, I’d cut off her hair to use as a bookmark if it meant not having to get up. Wait… If I did that, it would mean she was in bed with me. OK I’m retracting that statement and leaving. Good bye!