Pookie and I had such high hopes for Saturday morning. We were going to get up early, go out for a gourmet breakfast, enjoy the sunrise…or celebrate that the sun was already up and then part ways for several hours. He was off to do some shopping, eat some nibbles, take in some sightseeing, mingle with friends and I was off to be charming and work my trade at the Rainbow Book Fair. I walked 15 blocks. He took the subway. Little shit.
I arrived at the center a little after 10 and grabbed a table for myself and one for my mentor/friend/fellow author, Milt Ford. I had the inside corner on the far side of the room, so at least it had potential for some decent foot traffic and foot traffic we got! Tons of people came by our tables. Unfortunately, almost nobody bought a bloody thing. In fact, I only sold two copies of Gaylias and Milt didn’t sell any copies of Philip until the last hour of the fair, between 4 and 5pm.
We did ask ourselves why sales were so low and what we could have done different. Honestly, there wasn’t much we could have done unless we’d gotten there earlier. A table closer to the door would have been better since we kept hearing people say how overwhelmed they were. The more overwhelmed they were, the less likely they were to buy anything.
On a plus note, Milt and I did get asked quite frequently if our books were available on e-book. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Sexual Orientation and Andy Stevenson Vs. the Lord of the Loins has since shot back up to the top on Fictionwise and Gaylias rose a bit on Amazon in the Kindle version. So, really, no complaints. And folks who took our business cards? They actually e-mailed and friended us on Facebook. How cool is that?
So, we packed up and headed out a little after 5. Pookie called and said he was on his way. I thought he meant the hotel. He thought I understood the center. I walked 15 blocks. He took the subway. Little shit.
A bit of growling later and my acquiescing like a good, well-trained gweilo, and we were off and walking towards where we’d had dinner the previous evening. On the menu now? Asian Fusion Sushi Cuisine. Yum! Pookie’s temper was soon quelled with a shrimp roll, king crab roll, a shrimp appetizer and then a lobster roll. And if I didn’t think things could get any better, they did. He saw a chocolate shop and decided to indulge in some gourmet hot chocolate and a dessert crepe with strawberries, bananas and chocolate syrup! Double yum!
Now, whenever we go to another city, my hubby, the naysayer of my nads, loves to spend as much time as humanly possible walking around and exploring. And while it may be Hot in Cleveland, it was frigid on 42 Street and that was all it took to make sure we were back to the hotel by 10pm.
What did we do then? The only thing a half Asian and his white novel-writing sidekick can do; we took a hot shower and watched two hours of the Golden Girls before falling off to a semi-blissful slumber. I say semi because New Yorkers apparently feel the need to honk and yell at each other at all hours of the day and night. What is so wrong that you need to wake the tourists up a 3am???
Pookie and I parted ways the next morning and I took another cab ride to the airport. I wish the adventure ended there, but it doesn’t. There’s one more thing.
If you ever happen to go to Laguardia, AVOID eating at the Taste of Prime located in the Delta terminal. There’s nothing prime about it. The couple next to me ordered eggs benedict and asked the server if they could have some Hollandaise sauce since their food was lacking it. They were told the restaurant was out. Hello? Somebody couldn’t say anything before the food was served? I never received my glass of water and, I’m sorry, when you order toast, it’s generally served with butter, not left dry. And when I asked for cream for my tea, the server poured it for me and promptly left with it again, so I didn’t even have some for the rest of the pot. Grrr…
The manager on duty also proceeded to berate my server in front of everybody. Yeah, lovely place.
Ahhh…
Okay, what? That was it. I flew home afterwards. Geez…I said “one more thing.” You are free to go read another blog now. Shoo!
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Kage Alan is the Stand By Me movie watching, composer Edwin Wendler listening author of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Sexual Orientation,” “Andy Stevenson Vs. the Lord of the Loins” and the first book in a new series, “Gaylias: Operation Thunderspell.” He is slowly writing the second book in the Gaylias series because that’s what time allows for. Lots of inspiration, but only so many hours in the day.
Sounds like a beautiful trip. Pumpkin can’t sleep unless the golden girls are on. I am affraid of what would happen if they ever stop running marathons all night.
If it helps, everyone I spoke with who was there said that it was far less about the buying and more about seeing/being seen/name recognition. Sounds like you accomplished that quite well. Thanks for the enjoyable post on the event.
@Jeff I bought all the seasons on DVD for my guy.
@Chrissy I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of follow-up from the event. Totally wasn’t expecting that. =)
Sounds like you guys had a good time, despite a couple of bumps.
Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend.