Saturday, January 14, 2012

My January 14.2012 Signing


January 14, 2012

Stories from my signing at Mostly Books in Gig Harbor

I’ve decided I like signings.  I had a good turnout for today’s signing despite football on TV and nasty weather.  It is going to snow any minute.

Of course I like it when people buy my books, but the best part was getting to visit with people.  Two of my grade school friends came.  It was good to connect with them.  It was interesting that my two school friends fit right in with the people I work with and my extended family. 

We discussed a new monitoring system for children with autism that a colleague, Vicki McKinney helped coordinate with the local police.  My cousin commented on the value of the system while she was sign interpreting for a friend she brought along.  My childhood friend, Melyn told how valuable the system will be for seniors with dementia.

The topic of my next book, M’TK Sewer Rat, came up.  I told one story from President Jake’s childhood when he lived in a slum.  His first job was trapping rats in a shrimp trap his uncle gave him.  He sold the rats to Mr. Wu.  At this point in my description of my new book, the bookstore was deadly silent while everybody took in the meaning of what I just said.  It was Vicki, who burst out with, “Delinda! Only you!”

The next topic of discussion was the details of my research into eating rats. I explained that I knew the basics of butchering rats and that they would be best if boiled first.  My childhood friend Melyn, who once horrified me by trying to treat my scratched leg with spider webs, insisted that I needed to personally test my understanding of butchering and cooking rats.

After my horror over the discussion about me butchering rats, I redirected the conversation to my research in Victoria BC.  Some of the scenes in Lies That Bind are set in beautiful Victoria BC.  I explained that Victoria represents my preferences in research topics.  Everybody got a kick out of me finding a real estate company named Pemberton-Holmes.  I assured them that I did not make up such a perfect name for my book and that the agent I talked to was extremely helpful in telling me the most likely places for my teenage characters to visit.  She was able to direct me to an area of small farms right where I needed one.

I further explained that my research for Lies That Bind included visiting every dress shop in Victoria until I found the perfect dress for my heroine to wear to a dinner party.  Of course I had to buy the dress.  I may need to visit Connie’s Petites frequently during my research for my third book about Jake and Celia.

I am thankful for the opportunity to connect with some old friends and meet some new friends while being able to talk about books.

1 comment:

  1. I feel sure that butchering a rat (or "track rabbit" as the homeless in the New York underground call it) is very to similar to butchering a small rabbit or (dare I say it) a guinea pig (which I have never done). It is therefore a common occurrence and need not be investigated any further. Although I'm sure you could find a video on youtube.

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