What I Did On Saturday - Indies First!

I was so busy drooling over hand-selling books at Skylight Books on Small Business Saturday, that I forgot to take pictures.  Lucky for me the lovely Wendy Werris from Publishers Weekly was there!



(L to R) Kerry Slattery, owner of Skylight Books in Los Angeles, with three guest booksellers: novelist Attica Locke ("The Cutting Season"), YA author Sherri L. Smith ("Orleans"), and caterer/food writer Jenny Cook ("Who Wants Seconds?"). Skylight's Mary Williams stands at the far right. Photo by Wendy Werris

I love bookstores (I've said it before, and recently, too).  Skylight is one of the best of them.  Beautifully curated by people who know their stuff and want to share it with readers.  What more could an author ask for?  Oh, right, an Indies First bag.  I stuffed my with picture books for the little ones in my life.  Where else am I going to get a picture book bio of Toulouse-Lautrec?

Want to know which books I was recommending?  Here's a short list of favorites.  You might want to keep them in mind for your holiday shopping list:

1. For the young adventurer - Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge
2. For the history buff or young journalist - Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick
3. For the Francophile or fashionista - Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross 
4. For anyone too young for Lord of the Rings - The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
5. For myth lovers and Anglophiles- The Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper (start with Greenwich!)
6. For the indie, artsy girl - anything by Cecil Castellucci
7. For EVERYONE - Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
8. For teens who are too plugged in, or refuse to plug in - Feed by M.T. Anderson

I also recommended a few books for adults, including:

1. Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides (compelling)
2. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (fascinating)
3. The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo (Don't let the purple prose stop you-- it's a great true story!)
4. The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (gorgeously written)
5. Phryne Fisher Mysteries #1 - 19 by Kerry Greenwood (fun!)

I read a rule on family gift giving for the holidays on some wise blogger's site last year.  Everyone gets three gifts;  one you need, one to read, and one for fun.  I think books can fit the bill for all three!

Happy Holidays!

Giving Thanks

I'm doing it.  Twelve people, one deep fried turkey and a boatload of sides.  This year it's all about family, friends and two-- possibly three-- kinds of stuffing.  Four if you include the "your face" variety.

How are you spending your Thanksgiving?

I'm grateful for so many things this year.  Grateful I can walk without crutches or a giant leg brace.  Grateful I write things people want to read! And so very glad to have loved ones to share the day with me.  I hope you are equally blessed.

One other thing I'm doing, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  It's called:

Author Sherman Alexie said, "hey, let's help out independent bookstores by handselling books on Small Business Saturday."  (That's what they call the Saturday wedged between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  Sunday being a day of rest.)  And "Indies First" was born. 

Now, some authors do this sort of things all the time.  I know of at least one who haunts her local bookstore like a well-read, benevolent Miss Havisham-- but with fresh cupcakes instead of stale wedding cake.  (Hmmm.. maybe that sounds like an insult anyway, but that's the image that came to mind.  That or Edward Mulhare in "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," but I'm dating myself.)

I used to haunt my own bookstore, big box variety that it was.  Until it became an even bigger box drugstore.  Then I moved on to the next, slightly smaller big box store.  Until it became a discount clothing store.  Now I shop in airports and go to the library.  And, much worse, I download books on my secret love, the Kindle.  (Some decadent ladies lie in bed eating bonbons.  I lie in bed buying books!) 

Which is a shame, because I love bookstores.  I LOVE THEM.  As evidenced by my post about Mr. B's Emporium of Reading Delights (still gives me shivers, just typing it!).  I like to bury myself into corners with stacks of potential (read "inevitable") purchases.  I like to make eyes at the other shoppers in the SF/Fantasy section when they get close to picking up any of my favorite books.  It's an open invitation for a conversation, a recommendation, a connection in the tunnel-like aisles of Storyland.

So, I'm all for joining the Indies First! movement.  Lucky for me, Skylight Books, that gorgeous independent, well-lit, beautiful bookstore on the other side of town is willing to have me.  So, mark your calendars if you live in Los Angeles and its environs.  The details are below.  Join me.  I haven't lurked the aisle in a while.  This is going to be fun!

Sat., 11/30/13, Noon to 2PM – Indies First! – Skylight Books, Los Angeles

Meet the author and help put independent bookstores first.  Do your Small Business Saturday shopping with Sherri at Skylight Books.  I’ll be making recommendations for your holiday gift giving along with several other authors.  Join us!

Gosh!  That reminds me.  There's one other other thing I'm doing the weekend after that,.  Another shop local event, but this one is not book related.  Remember me talking about Tired Girl Collective, my craft booth with friends?  Well, we're at it again, this time we're back with
Unique LA, December 7th and 8th.  Won't you come by and see us?  We've got gingerbread men rings, and fascinators, and a more adorable stuff, I promise! 



Clearly 'tis the season to be thankful and busy.  Hope to see you out there.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!