Hey! I'm an Arizona Author!

 

So says The Phoenix Public Library

A while ago I was meandering around the Phoenix Library website when I saw they were looking for homegrown authors to join their Arizona Authors program. Participation in events throughout the year were mentioned, with the biggie being a book fair on November 8th at the big, beautiful Burton Barr Main Library in downtown Phoenix.

    Well, I'm not only an Almost Native Arizonan, what with living here since 1960 and all, but most of the action in my books takes place right here in the Valley of the Sun. Besides, the library had purchased paperback copies of "Boomerang", "The Baer Boys" and "devil Went Down to Phoenix", so it kinda looked like they already saw my stuff in a favorable light, so you bet I applied.

    That was back in March, I think. I really should be better about keeping track of such things, but it was relatively early in the year anyway. The notice on the library website said authors who were accepted would be notified late July. And by golly, on July 23rd I got a nice email from Kelly at the library to let me know I was now an official Arizona Author.

    Very cool.

    A few days after that I noticed that not only did the library list my paperbacks as they had for the past year or so, but they also had acquired the ebook editions and those were already checked out! Not only that, but there were a couple of holds on "devil Went Down to Phoenix."

    Very, very cool.

    As of today all three are still checked out and there are now three holds on "devil." Take that, James Patterson!

    After the giddiness at being selected subsided I now had to confront the fact of certain obligations attached to being an Official AZ Author. Firstly, Kelly requested a photo, a bit of biographical info, and book cover art. The author photo I have on the backs of all my books is about, oh, let's just say several years old. I know it's not unusual for authors to use a nice pic from an age before a bit of Photoshopping is the charitable thing to do, but I figured now was as good a time as any to get an honest to goodness recent photo out there. Thank goodness for a bit of photo skill and a great little camera in my Samsung phone. As you can see, the decades have done their work, but that's okay. The young guy didn't have a nifty linen cap.

    Photo and bio stuff done, the much bigger task of preparing for the November book fair remained. I haven't been out and about in public pushing my books for way too long. There was no promo material, little inventory, no ready warm and welcoming spiel to draw folks to my table and get them to linger.

    So that's what I'm working on now. A modest supply of books arrived the other day and this past weekend I ordered a table runner/drapey thing emblazoned with my name and the catchy Voltaire quote* that can be found at the front of "Boomerang" to hang over the front of the table I'll likely be sharing with another Official AZ Author, along with a 16"x20" tabletop foam core poster. My beloved volunteered to create some unique bookmarks that I think will be quite something.

    The next step is figuring out the whole How To Take Payment Stuff. Can't just show up with a pouch of small bills and rely on potential Dear Readers having a roll of hard currency in their pockets or pocketbooks, today one must be ready to accept touchless payments and such. We'll see how patient the good folks at Square are in dealing with this newly minted AZ Author and septuagenarian. Not that I don't enjoy learning new things, but my first exploration of the website over at Square got a little intimidating as I dove into the whole setup process. We'll get over that hump, I'm sure.

    If you're in downtown Phoenix by the Burton Barr Main Library this November 8, stop by and find a few genuine Arizona reads. I hope to have my sales pitch down by then.

*Doubt is not a very agreeable state

But certainty is a ridiculous one.

-Voltaire