What Would You Do...

Lately there have been many inspiring stories about what a community would do to save their independent bookstore. I am wondering how far you would go to save yours. I don’t mean by pledging to purchase five more books this year , although in reality that is a great idea! I’m thinking more along the lines of the Klondike Bar commercials, only book or bookstore related.

So, let's see how creative you can be! 

Include the name of your favorite independent bookstore and/or book.

Fresh Start

In the final quarter of 2010 I slipped a bit on keeping up with the blog.  Now it is a new year with a chance to start fresh.  So, for 2011 my goal is to write humorous and witty blog posts about the things that interest you the most each and every Friday.  They will be so brilliant you will eagerly anticipate each new post and share with all of your friends.

Not today, of course.  Today I have piles of books to enter and displays to change, phone calls to make and customers to help.  Just too much to do today, but next Friday for sure.  Unless next Friday is the same as today and I just can’t find the time.  But the Friday after that for sure!

(Not so)Scientific Findings

This morning I came across this recent Harris Pole showing that mystery, crime and thriller novels are the genre most read. No surprise here. This did cause me to wonder how BayShore Books LLC
resembled what this pole reflects, so I thought I’d spend a few minutes looking at what sells here.

Granted, I will have to accept quite a large margin for error. For instance, the poll includes those who say they read at least one book in an average year while mine will include every book purchased in a year, although I did eliminate all local, event, and bulk order titles which would skew the results. Only the genres of the pole were included but that even leaves room for debate. Stephenie Meyer and Harry Potter are classified as young adult in my system, although I have sold just as many (if not more) to adult readers. We don’t have a separate “chick lit” category, so we just used a “fiction” category. Literature for us includes only classics, the rest are included in fiction.

By now you have probably figured out that my pole in no way, shape, or form reflects the Harris Pole.

Types of books read in the past year

Fiction

Notice just for fun we used our totals and then broke it down based on new or used

Total                       New                      Used

Mystery                  Fiction                    Mystery

Romance                Mystery                  Romance

Fiction                    Romance                Western

Science Fiction       Science Fiction        Fiction

Western                 Literature               Science Fiction

Graphic Novels      Graphic Novels       Graphic Novels

Literature               Westerns                 Literature

 

Mystery was no surprise. Romance is more popular here than reflected on the Harris Pole while Science Fiction is not. Could they have counted the young adult titles?

Probably the largest variable not yet mentioned is availability. If we do not have a certain author, title, or genre, we will order it for our customers. Most likely we would sell more of a title on the shelf, though. Of course we order what we sell so maybe that variable isn’t as great as first presumed. Moving on…

For non-fiction we just eliminated “other non-fiction”. What is “other non-fiction” exactly? Did they include cooking, gardening, pets, parenting, reference books, sports, travel? Who knows. Easier to just dump it.

Non-fiction

Total                     New                         Used
History                 History                     History
Biographies          Biographies               Biographies
Religion                Self Help                  Religion
Self Help              Religion                    Self Help
True Crime           Political                    True Crime
Business               True Crime               Business
Political                Business                   Political

What I found interesting is that in their poll the number of people who read fiction and those who read non-fiction are pretty even. Here it’s not even close. We sell a lot more fiction. Do we sell more fiction because we stock more fiction or do we stock more fiction because we sell more fiction? The number of non-fiction titles stocked has been reduced over the years based on sales so that answers that question.

The number one author on their poll is Stephen King, followed by James Patterson, John Grisham, Nora Roberts, and Tom Clancy. Remember, this is based on them asking “who is your favorite author” with no regard to what was picked up at a garage sale or borrowed from a friend. Once again taking out local favorites, bulk orders, special events, and my personal opinion; our list isn’t that different. Stephen King didn’t rate quite as high, but James Patterson and Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb did along with Fern Michaels, Nicholas Sparks, and Debbie Macomber.

So there you have it, my not so scientific findings thrown together in a few minutes for no other purpose other than my amusement. Enjoy!

Guest Blogger

Today we have a special treat. We asked the author who will be visiting us tomorrow, Deb Baker aka Hannah Reed, if she would like to be a guest blogger .
Q. I haven't started my blog yet for today so if you have something written that you would like to send I would be happy to have you on as a "guest blogger".

A. I don't have time to do a guest post. I'm signing today in Oshkosh and doing store drop-ins.

So there you have it, our first ever guest blogger!

Maybe I should have given her more than a twenty minute notice.

Plan B – here is the press release for her visit tomorrow:

Meet Hannah Reed. Hannah Reed is the pen name Deb Baker uses to write her just released Queen Bee mystery series. Deb was born in Escanaba, moved to Wisconsin in the 60s, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in English at the age of 45, but she imagines Hannah younger, sassier, and much more daring.

BayShore Books LLC in Oconto will be hosting a visit with Deb Baker aka Hannah Reed on Saturday September 11th from noon until 2pm. Her first novel, Murder Passes the Buck, earned her the Authorlink International First Novelist Award. She went on to write two others in the same series, which is set in Michigan. The first in her newest series, Buzz Off, has just been released with a 4 star review:

"... a rollicking good time. The colorful family members and townspeople provide plenty of relationship drama and entertainment. The mystery is well plotted and this series promises to keep readers buzzing." ~ Romantic Times

It’s September—National Honey Month—in Moraine, Wisconsin, and things are looking up for Story Fischer. Her messy divorce is final; the honey from her beekeeping business has been harvested; and the Wild Clover, the market she owns, is thriving. Life seems pretty sweet until her mentor in the honey business is found stung to death in his apiary.

Story is still trying to explain to the panicked locals that Manny was killed by wasps, not honey bees, when another body is found floating in the Oconomowoc River. This time the evidence points to Story’s ex. Sure, Clay’s a womanizer and a buzz kill—but a murderer?
With the townsfolk stirred up against her honeybees, and a handsome cop—who also happens to be Story’s former high school sweetheart—putting Clay in cuffs, it’s up to Story to get them both out of a very sticky situation.

Find out how this story ends by stopping in at BayShore Books LLC 302 Collins Avenue in Oconto, meet the author and have your copy signed from noon-2pm on Saturday September 11th. For more information or to reserve your copy, call 920-834-3220 or visit online at http://www.bayshorebooksllc.com/.

Lights, Camera, Action!

We had an exciting week at BayShore Books! Let me tell you about how this all got started first. Months ago I received a phone call from Roger Rapoport, who published a book called Waterwalk by Steven Faulkner. He found my blog about the book and the author’s visit to BayShore Books about two years ago and wanted to know if he could use the information to market the movie version he was producing. I gave him permission and then went back to find the blog. To my horror it was this smart a** piece more about my parenting skills, or lack thereof, than about the book!

Months later Roger called to ask if they could film a scene outside the bookstore. Who am I to say no?? Weeks later he made a surprise visit to check out the store and we discussed what would be needed. He said filming would begin in the end of August and would take a total of 28 days throughout Michigan and Wisconsin. Tuesday he called to let me know they would be here the next day.

The cast and crew arrived around 7pm and there was a bustle of activity. This case needed to be moved, more books here, bring a chair out, print up a sign, everyone moving and talking at once, thanking us while barking out orders. Suddenly they were all gone. One minute the lot was filled with people, the next it was completely empty. It turns out the moon was in a perfect position for the river shots, so they quickly packed up and headed toward the city docks. The female extra from Milwaukee returned to the store a number of times for costume changes, other than that we just waited.

Shortly after 10pm the activity resumed and it was definitely worth the wait. It’s very interesting to be a spectator on the set, watching the actors run through their lines while the director makes suggestions, one camera man needs more light, the other needs less, sound is perfect, QUIET ON THE SET! Action! Of course that’s the moment a car speeds by and the process needs to start all over again. The scene, which will probably be about five minutes in the completed film, wrapped up just after 1am.

The beautiful woman on the left was browsing the bookstore after hours. They operate on the honor system, just choose a book and put the money in the slot. It is perfect for addicts like her; she actually met her husband in the fiction section. The gentleman in the white shirt is the sound guy getting ready for the shot. The man in the shorts is the talented Robert Cicchini playing Steven Faulkner and the one behind him is absolutely adorable eighteen year old Chase Maser playing Faulkner's son.

The entire cast and crew helped haul books, cases, and furniture back into the store even after working since 7am that morning. They were amazing! They signed autographs, thanked us, shook hands or gave out hugs and were on their way. A dark independent bookstore on a quiet street in a small town once again by 2am.

*Find out more about the movie at waterwalkthemovie.com

A Little Help Please

Looking around the store I can’t help noticing all the reviews haphazardly taped on shelf edges. These little slips of paper seem to really help customers make their selections, but they are also a big help to me.

I can’t tell you how many people have asked if I read every book in the store. I wish! I love to read or I wouldn’t be in this business. New books come out every week so there is no way I can keep up. More often than not the books I am most excited about sharing with my customers will not be published for months. So, what’s an overworked bookseller suppose to do?

Reviews help me decide if certain books will appeal to my customers. Those, along with blogs, articles, past sales and catalogs help me make buying decisions. They also help with recommendations.

This is why The BayShore Bookworms was created. Customers can help by reading and reviewing books. The program is geared toward new releases, but if you read something you can’t wait to talk about, write us a sentence or two about the book. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. These kids had no problem sharing their opinions. Grade school students and teens, how cool would it be to send your friends into the local bookstore for them to see your review displayed beneath your favorite book?

Join The BayShore Bookworms or just drop off any reviews you have written on your own. If you don’t know what to read next, stop in and let’s chat. Or read about why your friends and neighbors loved a book. This is a community bookstore, so your input is invaluable to us.

IOU

Those of you who receive our monthly newsletter have probably stopped in by now to pick up your free copy of IOU: New Writing on Money. If you don’t receive the newsletter, What are you waiting for? Sign up on this blog or on our website.

Concord Free Press is experimenting with “generosity based publishing” and they are taking us, along with other independent bookstores, along for the ride. They have supplied us with copies of their fourth book to give away to all those interested in participating. The concept is simple: pick up a copy of the book, make a voluntary donation to a charity or person in need, chart your donation on their website, and then pass the book along to someone else so the giving keeps going.

The donations are posted online so it’s exciting to chart the progress of the books. It’s fascinating to see what causes are important to our customers and who they choose to donate to. If you like this idea, you can make a donation to this small publisher so they can keep the idea going. They also have t-shirts and posters for sale on their website. If you live outside of Wisconsin, you can find a participating bookstore near you.

Let’s help Concord Free Press connect reading and giving like never before!

Summer Camp

Memorial Day is the kickoff to the long awaited summer! Finally many of us can put away the textbooks and required reading and choose books just for fun. During the summer no excuse is needed to pick up some light reading. Now there is no need to read Moby Dick when you would much rather read the latest James Patterson mystery or Debbie Macomber romance.

This is a difficult time to be a bookstore owner. Each day as I wander the shop my must read list grows longer and longer. I imagine myself lounging on the deck this weekend with a cool drink and a copy of No Time to Wave Goodbye, written by a Wisconsin gal who knows how surviving a long Wisconsin winter should be considered an accomplishment worth celebrating. Or Coop written by another Wisconsin author who knows what it means to work hard and understands the need to relax.

Running my hand over these titles gives me something to look forward to each day. Is it any wonder that I feel a little sad each time one leaves the store? I realize my job is to share my excitement with other readers and I should feel pride when one of my favorites is chosen to be enjoyed, but some small part of me feels like saying goodbye to a child off to summer camp. This summer when you stop in to discover your perfect beach read, please take care of my child and if you loved it as much as I did, let me know. Let’s discuss it, share a tear, maybe a picture or two.

What are you reading?

“What are you reading?”

Sometimes what should be such a simple question is so difficult to answer. More often than not what I am reading has absolutely nothing to do with what I would like to be reading.

There is a pile of books by authors and publishers that I offered to read and review, foolishly thinking I could fit this into my schedule. There is another pile customers have been inquiring about. How can I give an honest assessment on a book I haven’t read? Reviews by others do make this task a little simpler, which is why the BayShore Bookworms began. Members choose one book a month, supplied by BayShore Books, to read and review. This benefits all of us since I can’t possibly read every new book set to be released and the members can choose subjects they have an interest in without paying hardcover prices.

My last book tower is new titles by authors I already know and love. Unfortunately these must be viewed as the lowest priority. I can recommend the latest installment based on my knowledge of the author and his or her previous work. This is the reality that is hardest to handle, though.

So, what am I reading right now? A book that must be completed and reviewed by the end of the month. I don’t remember the author or title, but I will by time I’m done with it. After that? This month’s book club pick, which I have been anxious to read since its release in hardcover – a year ago. What do I wish I were reading?

Family Reading Night

Each year our local elementary school held a family fun night. This year the parent teacher organization has decided to put the focus on reading, so it has become Family Reading Night. This is a welcome change, especially after reading this article about how less than half of children aged nine to 14 read fiction more than once a month.

The goal is to focus on award winning titles such as Caldecott Medal winner The Lion & the Mouse, Geisel Award winner Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!, Newbery Medal winner,When You Reach Me, and books by the Wilder Award winner, Ashley Bryan .

During this year’s Family Reading Night, the school will also announce the winner of the 2010 Family Reading Night Kids’ Choice Award. Entry boxes were placed in the school library, public library, and here at BayShore Books. The choices are:

Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type(Cronin)
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Archambault/Martin)
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Numeroff)
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (Scieszka/Smith)
How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? (Yolen)

Tough choices! Which would you choose? Or is there a favorite not on the list?

It would be great to see this idea spread to the middle school and high school, too. Even the entire city. Many communities, including Brown County, have One Book, One Community which is an initiative that brings communities together to read and discuss the same book. This is a partnership between the schools, libraries, and independent bookstores. What a great concept!

Not in Stock?

“I can’t believe you don’t have it in stock!”

When I hear that phrase a little piece of me curls into a ball. Knowing what is popular and what customers are looking for is my job and I do it to the best of my ability, but the sad truth is, I am human and sometimes mistakes are made. Or are they?

Each time someone complains about having to order a title they were hoping to pick up today, I have to step back and look at the larger picture. Is this a regular customer? Someone from one of the communities I serve? I say “communities” because, although the shop exists in one community, I serve a number of different communities who all have very different needs.

For instance, I sell to school districts in twenty six states. I’ve found products I believe in, locked in the best possible prices, and have begun to know these schools and what they are looking for. They in turn, share their knowledge of what is needed in the school market and guide me in the best practices for that market. It’s a win/win situation.

I also have a community of retailers who count on me to find the products their customers are interested in. They know that since I am also a retailer I will find a way for them to be profitable while making their jobs as easy as possible. I can find them many products from many sources, hand deliver them and give them the convenience of one simple invoice. They open my eyes to different trends in different areas and share great ideas for my own retail location.

There is an entire community of online shoppers who know me and trust that they will receive what they order. They know that if they are not fully satisfied, I will do whatever I can to change that. This was a huge learning curve and I am grateful to all of these patient customers who have shared their knowledge of the best ways to package and ship as well as how to describe the items for sale. Each morning is a thrill to come into work to discover what sales occurred while I slept.

These different communities all make up what I do and who I am, but a customer that walks into the store doesn’t know or care about that. Why should they? They care about their experience and the service they receive. When I don’t have something they are looking for I feel like I have failed them. Like I made a mistake. Not all of these instances are mistakes, but I do learn from them.

If a regular customer is looking for something I currently don’t have in the store many times they order it. By doing this they are telling me what authors or subjects they enjoy. Next time that author has a new book out or there is a new addition to that series, you can bet that I will have one in stock waiting for that particular customer. The entire store selection is built around the customers. I may not have every “bestseller” in the store at all times, but I do my very best to have just what my bookstore community is looking for. Each book is ordered with a customer in mind. If you walk through the door and find exactly what you are looking for, just know I was thinking of you when I ordered it. Thank you for selecting the perfect books to place on the shelves of your community bookstore!

Role of an Independent Bookstore

This week the area’s park and recreation director and I have been discussing how we can team up to offer more programs in the community. In a community of this size, this is no easy feat. Businesses and organizations need to work together, not compete against one another. We do not want to offer more book clubs or story times that may draw away from the great programs the library offers. Card parties or bingo nights may be enjoyable, but how many of the area’s churches already implement these ideas? Does it even make sense for us to work together? What role does an independent bookstore play in a community?

Praveen Madan and Christin Evans addressed this question in The Huffington Post article titled Why All the Fuss About “Independent” Bookstores? In the article they explain how independent bookstores are in the business of building a community. “You can buy a book anywhere, but you can’t buy community. If you want community, you have to become part of one.”

Our goal is to be this community’s gathering place - the perfect place for sharing ideas and organizing activities. So, yes, it does make sense to team up with the park and rec, or any other local organization with the same goals including libraries, schools, and non-profit organizations. You may have supported one of these organizations by attending one of our fundraisers or maybe you have donated a book here for NEWCAP’s Christmas Toy Program . These events are so important to us as a way to give back to the community that has given us so much.

Now the question remains, how can we team up with the park and rec? What new classes or services would you like to see? Do you have a special talent, whether it’s a foreign language, knitting, dance, or music that you would be willing to share? Together we can bring this community together and support one another. Isn’t that what the holiday season is about?

Perfect Partnership

In January, Borders will be closing 200 Waldenbooks, including the one located in Bay Park Square Mall in Green Bay. Luckily, there are still great independent bookstores located in and around the area. If you aren’t sure where your closest independent bookstore is located, this IndieBound link can help.

Tomorrow would be the perfect time to discover these local treasures during National Bookstore Day. There is a list of participating stores listed by state, but here at BayShore Books LLC we are offering a discount on purchases as well as a chance to win a book bag filled with best selling titles.

If you are looking for some great book choices, check out Buy Books for the Holidays. They offer great ideas throughout the season, including this list of mystery authors you may like.

Better yet, while in your favorite independent, find the Indie Best Seller Lists which will be prominently displayed. Four of these lists will be published by NPR beginning on November 13th. The book info pages on IndieBound now feature audio content from NPR's book coverage.

Perfect partnership!

The Decision Makers

By now I’m sure you have all heard about the book price wars. I decided to leave it alone. These mass merchandisers are gaining more than enough publicity and I have no desire to help them out.

However, after a customer recently asked why she couldn’t purchase a book online and then bring it in to be signed by the author, I felt the need to speak up. I refuse to mention the names of the retailers in question, you know who they are. I refuse to mention the price they are offering; those of you who drive thirty minutes to save a nickel or pay $3.99 shipping to save a dollar have already tracked down what you believe to be the best deal.

Whatever I say you may say to yourself, “she is just saying that so she can stay in business”. Why would you believe me? So, don’t listen to me.

How about John Grisham's literary agent, David Gernert: “If readers come to believe that the value of a new book is $10, publishing as we know it is over..I think we underestimate the effect to which extremely discounted bestsellers take the consumer's attention away from emerging writers.”

Or how about Stephen King: “It’s time to give the smaller bookstores a little breathing room.”

David Young, chief executive of Hachette Book Group, publisher of James Patterson's I, Alex Cross, said that he would like the U.S. to follow France's prohibition of selling books for less than the cover price. "I do think this massive devaluation of the industry's crown jewels could very quickly be extremely harmful...And I would not be alone in thinking that."


Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson said the price wars "will prove damaging to publishers, authors, booksellers, mass retailers, and ultimately consumers." Because these online retailers are “systematically conditioning consumers to expect these lower prices,” Although consumers may appreciate lower prices in the short run, "they are not good in the long run if authors and publishers are no longer willing to assume the risk of creating and producing the kind of quality and selection consumers currently enjoy."

The American Booksellers Association sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice requesting that it investigate practices by the retailers in question that it believes constitute illegal predatory pricing that is damaging to the book industry and harmful to consumers. “If left unchecked, these predatory pricing policies will devastate not only the book industry, but our collective ability to maintain a society where the widest range of ideas are always made available to the public, and will allow the few remaining mega booksellers to raise prices to consumers unchecked.”

Bill Petrocelli, co-owner of Book Passage in San Francisco and Corte Madera, California explains, “Predatory pricing is a means of driving other booksellers out of business. When this happens, the choice of books is one of the first things to suffer. Some readers think that if their favorite store closes they can always buy the book they want somewhere else. But that's a dangerous delusion -- the books they want may not be there at all. In fact, these types of disruptions in how books are sold or distributed have a profound effect on what publishers decide to publish in the first place.”

Now it’s time for you to make a decision. What is best for you, your reading habits, and your community? Isn’t it bad enough that these online retailers divert sales from your local businesses and wipe out the sales tax your community so desperately needs? Do you really want them deciding what you can and can not read in the future?

My Life in Video

I missed posting last week and for this I apologize, although, given the choice, I would do it all over again. For years my sister attended the Women of Faith Conference in St. Paul, MN. This year she wanted to share the experience with me. Two days away from the store and my family! This was a big step for me, but one I reluctantly took. And I’m thankful I did!

There was a terrific lineup of speakers and musicians including Steven Curtis Chapman , Patsy Clairmont , Lisa Harper , and Marilyn Meberg. My sister especially enjoyed Sheila Walsh as she discussed letting go and is currently reading the book.

I admit, after hearing Lisa Whelchel, The Facts of Life theme song swam through my head the rest of the weekend, but the performance I most enjoyed would have to be by Anita Renfroe. She really hit home. In fact, the way she described her life, it could have been my life. You’ll just have to watch and see what I’m talking about.

Library Community

The Concord Public Library, like many other libraries, couldn’t afford to purchase all the books they wanted due to budget cuts. So they began thinking outside the box and came up with a creative idea. Why not post a wish list so that patrons could purchase books to be donated to the library? It would be convenient for the customers and the library would receive the exact books they needed.

Great idea! If only they would have spent a little more time thinking about how to implement it. According to the owner of Gibson's Bookstore, Michael Herrmann, “The reason they had the problem was budget cuts, which are due to less revenue coming into the city…" Kind of a no-brainer, right? Apparently not.

The library director chose to post their wish list, not at the local independent bookstore, not even at the nearest chain bookstore, but online at the biggest competitor of these locals. “Their strategy to combat (the budget cuts) was basically to send money out of town. There seemed to be a real disconnect there…” Herrmann sent in a message to the people on his store's e-mail list, “In requesting donations through a national retailer, the city had neglected its traditional community partners while promoting a rival who neither pays city taxes nor employs city workers… In short, if you try to support the library by buying books from (online retailer), you are actually harming the library in small but significant ways."

Herrmann found another solution. He included links to the list of desired books in the e-mail and asked for potential donors to choose the titles they would like to buy. The list, which was posted online for a month and sold four books, was completely filled within 24 hours through Gibson’s. Herrmann then sent out a list of books requested for the Penacook branch and those were sold as well. Not too surprising since the customers of the local independent bookstores and the patrons of the local libraries are most likely one and the same. As librarian Brian Herzog points out, “Library communities are not just the people who come through the door, and certainly not just the people who visit the website. When libraries reach out to the community, we have to go to where the community is, and not just wait for them to come to us.”

After the feedback the library received over their decision, they now include the local bookstores when posting their wish lists.

Have a Little Faith

It's finally here!

Mitch Albom’s first non-fiction since Tuesdays with Morrie was released this week and it does not disappoint. Have a Little Faith begins with a request from his childhood rabbi that Albom deliver his Eulogy. Needing a deeper understanding of the man behind the mission, he is brought back to the world of faith he left behind years ago. Albom also meets a convict turned pastor and soon realizes there are more similarities between Christian and Jewish faith than he thought possible. This is not a book about religion, but about the comfort of finding something to believe in. I am a fan of all this author's work, and this one is no different.

"That's why I do this!"

Tracy Ertl, publisher and owner of TitleTown Publishing, hand delivered my order of Torture at the Back Forty and Bodyguard to the Packers for the Mike Dauplaise’s book signing next month. Now that’s what I call customer service! One independent business taking care of another.

We had a very informational and enjoyable conversation about publishing, selling, and the book business in general. I was curious how Tracy, a former police reporter and current public safety dispatcher, began her career in publishing – especially specializing in the true crime genre. I must admit, I have never been a fan of true crime. How can authors exploit the victims and their families in that way? Boy, did I have a lot to learn! Tracy, a survivor herself, has made it her goal to educate about crime and the survival of it. Her purpose, and that of the authors she publishes, is to help readers come to a deeper understanding of the victims and make sure they are never forgotten.

The true story of the pool table rape and murder of Margaret Anderson. Left for dead, practically beheaded in a manure pile, Margaret fights for life. But in the end the single mother leaves behind a son. Author Dauplaise practically makes Margaret blow a breath at readers as he recreates the night she was killed. He then takes readers to the place she was trying to escape back to, her home state of Montana and finally on the investigative hunt of a lifetime as this America's Most Wanted drama ends with the capture of her killer five years later.
From the back of Torture at the Back Forty


What did you think of the inside cover of Torture at the Back Forty? Tracy wondered. Sheepishly I admitted not even opening the book. I had a few copies pass in and out of the store, but really had no desire to more than glance at them. Without reproach she slit the carton in front of us, placed a copy in my hand and expectantly watched as I read the short blurb. “That’s why I do this!” she exclaimed with pride as the goose bumps ran up my arms, “Isn’t it amazing that a book can have that kind of impact?”

No, I am not going to tell you what the single sentence said, you’ll have to pick up the book, but I will tell you that I just got the same reaction reading it again.

Shh...

I’m currently engrossed in a book that has captured my attention so completely that I came into work an hour late twice this week. Well, late for me, still an hour before we actually open. It’s a book I’m psyched about discussing and sharing. So, what’s the title? I can’t tell you. . . or I may have to kill you.

Not really, but sometimes it feels that way. You see, the book hasn’t been released yet. Many publishers send booksellers advance reading copies to generate excitement. Once in awhile a single book will arrive in the mail that I feel honored to have in my possession before anyone else. More often than not they include a note from the publisher or wonder of all wonders, the author himself! Unfortunately, they always misspell my name. My name is spelled with a C. Many acquaintances spell it with a K. You would think book people would be able to get my name right, but they never come close. Dear Reader or Bookseller isn’t even close to Dear Cathy! My excitement over the coveted title allows me to forgive easily enough.

The question I struggle with is whether or not to review a book before the release date. Who does that really benefit? Possibly the evil A, but not likely independent bookstores. Other than the Harry Potter and Twilight set, not many orders come before publication. Is it possible that customers don’t realize they can order from independent bookstores and receive that highly anticipated book on the release date without paying shipping? No! It can’t be! Not with all the promoting we do – signs in the store, blurbs in our newsletters, offers to order anything we don’t have in stock. There must be some other mysterious reason.

For now, I will keep my latest and greatest find to myself. At least until I finish the book to make sure the ending lives up to my extremely high standards. However, if you happen to guess the title of the November release, I may reveal the truth...

Hire Me, Please!

I'm off to apply for a job with HarperCollins Children’s Books!