Grouchy Authors Not Welcome Here

I have the pleasure of attending numerous book fairs. In fact, I attended three such events just within the last three weeks. Here’s my rant for the day: It never ceases to amaze me how disagreeable and unapproachable some authors appear! At one of my recent events, I was tempted to grab my camera and take a few pictures to demonstrate the “don’ts” of author behavior; however, I must admit that it was the fear of a lawsuit kept me sane. Why do so many authors stack their books in neat piles on the table, and then sit behind the piles wearing deep frowns upon their faces? Their expressions say loud and clear, “Don’t you dare speak to me!” I recently witnessed one author who was reading a book (behind his stack), another one playing a game on his cell phone and another – in my opinion the worst one of all – typing away on his laptop. All this while supposedly introducing their books to the public. Is this really the image you wish to portray?

There are many books on body language and it might help if exhibiting authors (or for that matter, anyone who deals with people) took the time to read them. Uncross your arms, put down that book, put a smile on your face and open yourself up to people. You will be amazed at the results.

C’mon people, believe in your book. Believe in yourself. Believe in the power of a smile!

Thanks for listening to my rant! :)

Bobbie Hinman :)
http://bestfairybooks.com

I Heart New York

I just returned home from a fun- and business-filled weekend in New York and all I can say is “Wow!” No matter how many times I have visited the Big Apple, I am always in awe of the hugeness (is that a word?) of everything. From the numbers of people on the streets to the giant portions of food in the restaurants, everything in New York is done in a very big way.

On Friday I was the “guest fairy” at a Fairy Gathering held at Barnes & Noble on Broadway. It was attended by lots of little “fairies in training”. Some wore wings and sparkly dresses, while others wore mismatched socks in honor of The Sock Fairy. There were quite a few little fairies with tangled hair, however I don’t think this was intentional. I don’t think they realized that they were the spitting image of The Knot Fairy. It does, however, prove that “art imitates life.”

On Saturday, the Brooklyn Public Library hosted an author’s reception where I was thrilled to meet Marty Markowitz, the president of Brooklyn Borough. What a treat! He is like everyone’s Uncle Marty.

The Brooklyn Book Festival was the highlight of the weekend. Twenty thousand or so enthusiastic book buyers braved the heat and humidity to see what was new in the literary world. This is one of my favorite book fairs, drawing people from all over the east coast.
The best news for me was that fairies are still very popular! It was really heartwarming to hear the words that so many authors long to hear: “I loved your first book. Now I must have the second one.”

I arrived home tired, yet happy. Thank you, New Yorkers, for a wonderful weekend.