5 October

Rose’s secret reading – a hit

by Jon Katz
Rose's secret reading

Rose arriving at the bookstore

October 5, 2010- I very much wanted Rose to have her own reading in connection with “Rose In A Storm.” She doesn’t like crowds or bookstores, but she always figures things out and so I put up a message on FB last week saying I would be at Barnes & Noble in Saratoga when my book came out and repeated it yesterday and today. It is Rose’s only appearance regarding the novel she inspired. We had a great crowd, more than 30 people for an event that wasn’t publicized, official, or even really announced. The bookstore staff – this is a store whose workers know what a bookstore is about – had a table ready, and some coffee, and  we sold more than 30 books. In fact, the store sold out of the novel today.

I talked about Rose, the novel, and the wonder of the mind of a dog, which I tried to capture in this book. It is hot, I sense. I don’t really know, but I can sort of feel it. Rose was amazing, as she always is. Uncomfortable indoors and with crowds, she sat by my side, rushing over to Maria every few minutes, and then lay down and watched the crowd, curious about what she was supposed to do. It was a warm, wonderful debut to a book tour. It is also part of my guerrilla marketing campaign. On this book tour I am willing to appear spontaneously at libraries, bookstores, even private homes along the tour – in Dayton, Cincinnati, (no time in Lexington) and other stops along the tour. Facebook is a powerful communications tool, and so is this blog. My Ipad had troubles, so I couldn’t upload the photos from the stores. Before going to Barnes & Noble, we went to WAMC in Albany, Northeast Public Radio and the 30 books Random House donated were gone in a flash for $100 each. My notecards sold also – three packs for $100 each. They will be cheaper on the book tour ($16). But we raised more than $3,000 for the radio station.

I loved reading from Rose, and talking about the book, and there was great warmth and encouragement in the room. Great questions too. Thanks much to the great staff of Barnes & Noble for understanding what I was trying to do, and for helping me do it. Rose was a trooper, as always. She would rather have been anywhere else, but did her job. A great opener to a book tour.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email SignupFree Email Signup