Books & Co. in Dayton, Ohio
One of the nicest things about having a book out is you get to visit bookstores, and sometimes revisit them. As you might have guessed from yesterday’s post, I’m just back from book tour for The Four Ms. Bradwells, and I want to thank the stores that hosted me by giving them shout outs here.
I’m going to start with Books & Co. in Dayton, Ohio, a store I have special affection for because …
Well, let me start by saying that pretty much every author I know who goes on book tour worries that no one will come to their events. I call it the terror of the empty seats, and if you don’t believe me about this one, read Ann Patchett’s very funny “My Life in Sales” about her early book tour experiences. So when I learned I was starting my book tour for The Wednesday Sisters in Dayton, Ohio–perhaps the one city in America where I knew precisely no one!–I went immediately into that terror.
Somehow I stumbled onto the fact that my friend Amanda Eyre Ward had some connection to a book group there, and long story short I was lined up to have tea before the reading with the Page Turners at the store.
Really, you have no idea what a relief it is to know you will have some audience.
It got even better: The minute I turned on my phone after I got off the plane, it rang: my publisher calling to tell me The Wednesday Sisters had just hit a national bestseller list!
And then the best: I arrived at the store to meet Sharon Kelly Roth, who was absolutely lovely and welcoming, an absolute peach.
So many things to love about this store. It’s pretty huge, for starters, so has an amazing selection of books. It has a comfortable cafe (where I met the Bookies). And the reading area has a fireplace!
Well, I got to read there again last week on tour for The Four Ms. Bradwells, and this time was nearly as memorable as the first. The Page Turners were there again. Martha Graham, a friend of Jane Schreier Jones (who is one of the Page Turners and is writing a novel!), read for Sarah Addison Allen, who was supposed to tour with me but is unable to for health reasons. Sharon had the bright idea to do these goofy photos of us with the book jacket. And … it snowed! Seriously, snow on March 28. Which was beautiful to this Midwesterner-turned-California-girl who doesn’t get to see it enough anymore.
If you’re in Dayton, do check out this terrific store! – Meg
Independent bookstores help new writers find an audience, and keep literature vibrant. If you don’t live near this one, please see the list of others in the sidebar under “Bookstores Worth Browsing.” Don’t see your favorite here yet? Please email me and I’ll do my best to have it featured here.
