Why I'm only doing two bookstore events

I had a reading at Barnes & Noble in my neighborhood last week. I am really grateful to all the friends, coworkers and neighbors who came out to see me. It's only easy - and maybe even only possible - to make these readings work when you can feel the love.

I only have one other reading - Feb. 24th out on Long Island at a great local bookstore called Book Revue in Huntington. It'll be Mardi Gras that night, and we'll have some fun stuff for a little party.

Couple people have asked why I am not doing more readings. Well, I did a lot of readings for my other books and realized that No. 1, you really don't sell many books at readings, even when you get a good crowd. No. 2, they are a lot of work to publicize, and they're best done where you have a built-in base, like your own hometown or nearby.

I also had two really awful experiences - one on Long Island at a senior citizens event where apparently many people had hearing problems and couldn't hear me. They kept interrupting my talk to say things like, "Speak up!" "We can't hear you!" "Can you talk louder, honey?" Afterwards many of them took the time to personally complain to me about the same thing.

The other awful memory was driving 300 miles to Rochester, N.Y., to talk at a bookstore, only to arrive just as a lake-effect blizzard began. Three people showed up. One was on crutches so I sent her home immediately. I later got completely lost in the snow, couldn't see out the car window, couldn't find my hotel, took the wrong exit on the highway ... etc. Kept thinking I would die in a blizzard in Rochester for nothing. So, that's why I'm only doing two bookstore appearances this time. But I'm hoping quality over quantity is a good thing.