Selling Isn't Everything by Chester Campbell

I’m a sucker for any invitation to “come up here and sell your books.” That’s how I happened to wind up in the small town of Irvine, KY on the fourth Friday in May. If you happened to be tuned in then, May 22, to be exact, I blogged about heading that day for the Estill County Reading Celebration in the aforesaid Kentucky hamlet.

It proved an interesting evening. The celebration took place in the Estill Springs Elementary School. The classrooms were each decorated in the theme of a children’s book. A local bank had donated a large chunk of change to provide each child who attended with a free book and a free meal (hot dog, drink, cotton candy, and such). They streamed in and out of the place starting around 5:00 p.m.

A big tent set up in back featured storytellers and poets and other live performances. Brown T-shirts paraded around everywhere, sporting the legend “Oh the places you’ll go with reading.” The donor’s logo printed on the back said Carhartt Work Clothing, a large manufacturer whose administrative headquarters calls Irvine home. They had T-shirts for my wife and I as well.

It was a great event for the kids and their parents. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out so well for the invited authors. We were provided tables in the gym with nice book cover signs, but the adults who wandered about “Author’s Row” didn’t appear to be in a buying mood. I met some nice folks, handed out several promo folders and bookmarks, but sold few books. The others appeared to fare about the same.

They set up a feast for the authors in the cafeteria, which was probably the best part of the Celebration for us. Everyone was friendly and accommodating. They just weren’t buying.

The highlight of the trip for my wife and I was our stay with Tom and Francine Bonny later that evening. They were delightful hosts. Tom is the retired superintendent of the Estill County Schools and Francine is a member of the Arts Council. They live in a rural area a mile and a half off the main drag. Their large two-story white house with blue shutters was built by Tom’s grandfather well over 100 years ago. But it sparkled like new and was filled with comfortable furniture that had been passed down through the generations.

They owned several acres of land where they grew much of their own food, including corn they had ground into meal. The barn out back had unusual decorations on the side facing the road. This, we learned, came from one of Francine’s pet projects. She had organized a group of women who painted enlarged quilt squares on sheets of plywood, which were mounted on barns in the area. We saw several others on our way out the next morning. Some were quite intricate designs.

Before we left, Tom bought all five of my books. He said he planned to give them as gifts. I suspect he felt a bit embarrassed that our sales effort the night before had proved so fruitless. We wound up with enough to pay for our gas, and our food and lodging were free. The net result was an enjoyable trip to meet some new friends. I’ll probably go again the next time we get an invitation like this.

A Reading Celebration

By the time you read this, I should be en route to Irvine, KY or on the scene of an intriguing book signing experience. It’s a mystery how I came to be invited, located as I am some 250 miles away in Nashville, TN. I suspect someone involved must have stopped by my table at the Kentucky Book Fair last November.

The woman who sent my invitation, wife of the school superintendent, wrote “mysteries are my favorite.” She said we’d love the location. It’s on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains, next to the Daniel Boone National Forest, where “the mountains kiss the bluegrass.”

The Friday night event is billed as the Estill County Reading Celebration. It takes place at the Estill Springs Elementary School and features an ambitious program, including a tent behind the school where an Appalachian storyteller will hold forth and a past Kentucky Poet Laureate will perform poetry skits with students.

Various rooms in the school will be decorated with ideas from children’s books. Students will choose which rooms to visit during 20-minute periods.

Several authors have been invited to sign their books in “Author’s Row” from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. Among them are children’s authors, a weaver, a few poets, a novelist who writes about Kentucky’s Shaker communities of the past, and one mystery writer, me.

Irvine is a small town in a small county, but the organizers assure me the event has been extensively publicized and should draw a good crowd. The local newspapers have highlighted each author with a bio and book description. Large posters of our book covers have been made to display at the tables. The opening ceremony will feature Mrs. Jane Beshear, the First Lady of Kentucky.

Since the town has only one small motel, my wife and I have been invited to stay at the home of Tom and Francine Bonny. He’s the retired superintendent of schools.

I have no idea how this will turn out, but being the good Scout I am, I’ll be prepared. My trunk is loaded with all five of my mystery books. Regardless of the outcome, I’m sure we’ll meet lots of nice people with interesting stories to tell. I may even have a few to pass along myself.

Chester Campbell
www.chesterdcampbell.com
Mystery Mania blog