The last month has been a busy one–four signings in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota with more to come. The number of books sold at each one has been steady, if not spectacular.  This results from a number of factors, primarily the vicissitudes of appealing to the summer vacation crowd.  Appear too early in the vacation season as I did at Book World in Hayward, Wisconsin, and you risk missing your targeted clientele who have yet to finalize their vacation (and reading) plans.  Appear at the height of the summer as I did in Brainerd, and you compete against the vacationers’ lure of kicking back and relaxing beside the pool or beach in 95 degree heat. And if you coordinate your appearance to coincide with a local event or attraction, such as the Artarama in Eagle River, you lose potential buyers to the attraction on which you attempted to piggy-back.

As much as any seller of books, particularly his own, must overcome these obstacles, the biggest one I faced was the economy.  At all three locations, Brainerd, Hayward, and Eagle River, the book-buying public appeared in droves, AND seemed interested my second book, Metadata Murders.  Regardless of how much they thumbed the pages and examined the cover and blurb on the back, or how much interest they expressed, many could not pull the trigger to buy. Not that I’m the smoothest or most experienced salesperson, but I’m sure some did so out of kindness–Minnesota Nice, you know. But, many seemed trapped in a quandary–do I spend my free cash on this book, some other publication, or on an ice cream at the soda parlor down the street?

My wife expressed their dilemma best: in practical terms the cost of my book at $18.95 is equivalent to half a tank of gas for most of these people, a not inconsequential amount in today’s petrophile economy. In light of that, thanks again to all of those intrepid readers who took  the plunge by purchasing a copy.  And my special thanks goes to the lady in Eagle River who purchased copies of Metadata Murders and Penal Fires.  A greater endorsement I could not ask.