Hey Adriana

I started blogging about a year ago as part of my store's, Booknotes book store of Pikeville, Kentucky, website.  After a few months, I realized I wanted write about some things not book store related, so I started this blog.  Since then, I have tried to keep the subjects separate.  This week I cross a line, or at least blur it a little.  Best-selling author Adriana Trigiani will be appearing at Booknotes on Sunday, July 30, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm, possibly to 6:00 pm.  This will be her only scheduled appearance in Kentucky in support of her new novel Kiss Carlo, due out June 20.  The last time Adriana came to our store, in 2006, we sold out of all of her books and had to order more in the following weeks to fulfill all of the orders.  Adriana sent our personalized book plate labels for people to apply in their books afterwards.  This time around, especially since we will be having a greater reach in media coverage and the only event in the region, we might be having an even bigger turn out.  Her last visit was the single best day the store has ever had.  While Kiss Carlo and other titles will be available at the store for the signing, we highly encourage customers to pre-order the titles they want to ensure they get them.  Orders can be placed either in store or over the phone.  Once Kiss Carlo comes out, limited numbers of it and a selection of her backlist might be available for purchase on the store's website, probably via PayPal or other means.  However, my financial and technical skills might not be up to the challenge, so plan accordingly.  This event could be a make-or-break moment for the store. Adriana's last visit had people come as far away as Richmond, Kentucky to Richmond, Virginia.  This time around, we might be able to score other major authors to show up as well, if we do even half a well as last time.  There have been a few well-know authors to show up, most notably Robert Morgan multiple times, but not as many as expected.  I know that this is blatant self-promotion posting all of this here, and not just on the store's blog page, but I need all the free publicity I can get before the big roll out starts next week.  I am hoping I haven't been too off-topic this week, but this signing has been on my mind a lot lately.  The initial book orders are about to go out, and I need a rough estimate of how many to order.  These first forays were therefore necessary to get an accurate picture of what might happen.  My next few blogs here will not be as store related, I promise you that.  So, good-bye until next week.