Bookseller of the Year!
Morning everyone. I'm still a week away from finishing my book, so my very, very, VERY good friend, Linda Keller, is filling in. She was recently honored by RWA, so I thought the timing was perfect.
Linda and I go way back. Long before I'd ever told anyone that I wanted to be published, we met at the first local writers conference in our area. I can't remember the exact year (although Linda might) but we were immediate friends, and over the years, we've shared so much that I could muse on it for hours.
She's the best of friends, but she's also a fabulous Barnes and Noble community relations manager. Linda does some of the greatest book signing events around, and she's the bookfair coordinator for my and Dianne Castell's June event, which usually hosts over 50 authors.
But that's only a very small part of all that she does to support the writing community.
And so I give you... LINDA KELLER!
Good morning, everyone!
Thank you, Lori, for inviting me to blog.
Saturday, July 14th in Dallas, I was honored to receive Romance Writers of America's 2007 Steffie Walker Bookseller of the Year Award at their national conference. The award is given based on letters of nomination from the organization's 9500-plus membership. To say I was humbled and thrilled is an understatement.
I've always been a reader and my mother set an excellent example. We were always in the library and I remember the days Mom received her box of books from Doubleday Book Club. Nothing was done at home except meals. As long as there were unread books, we dedicated every precious minute to being lost in the pages. Whether Mickey Mouse or the Grimm Brothers' classics, Frank Yerby or Phyllis Whitney, at that time, in that moment, it was all about the book.
I joined Romance Writers of America in 1990. In 2000, I began my bookselling career. I'm in a position to honor the memories of those who delight us, warm our hearts, set our pulses to racing, and our tears to flowing with words from their hearts. I have the opportunity to encourage new readers and a responsibility to do my share in helping the careers of those who thrill and delight us today.
I've seen both sides of the bookshelf. Through RWA, I'm well aware of the artist and craftsperson in the writer. The wellspring of creativity welling up in that tiny secret place is priceless and goes beyond entertaining. It's the permission, the final nod of approval, we give to authors to join us in the midst of our own hopes and dreams.
Standing Saturday before 1800 fellow readers and several hundred published authors, I realized every book I'd ever read, every author who puts pen to paper, and every person who lovingly holds a book in his or her hand, grants permission for the story to encircle them like a close friend. We open a book and let the world fall at our feet. In that moment, it's all about the book.
So... as a bookseller, I want to know:
What does your favorite bookseller do that you like?
What doesn’t she/he do?
What was your favorite booksigning and why?
What do you think makes a booksigning successful? More fun? More appealing?
Other than a must-see author, what would entice to stop by a booksigning?
Linda
www.authormba.com
Linda and I go way back. Long before I'd ever told anyone that I wanted to be published, we met at the first local writers conference in our area. I can't remember the exact year (although Linda might) but we were immediate friends, and over the years, we've shared so much that I could muse on it for hours.
She's the best of friends, but she's also a fabulous Barnes and Noble community relations manager. Linda does some of the greatest book signing events around, and she's the bookfair coordinator for my and Dianne Castell's June event, which usually hosts over 50 authors.
But that's only a very small part of all that she does to support the writing community.
And so I give you... LINDA KELLER!
Good morning, everyone!
Thank you, Lori, for inviting me to blog.
Saturday, July 14th in Dallas, I was honored to receive Romance Writers of America's 2007 Steffie Walker Bookseller of the Year Award at their national conference. The award is given based on letters of nomination from the organization's 9500-plus membership. To say I was humbled and thrilled is an understatement.
I've always been a reader and my mother set an excellent example. We were always in the library and I remember the days Mom received her box of books from Doubleday Book Club. Nothing was done at home except meals. As long as there were unread books, we dedicated every precious minute to being lost in the pages. Whether Mickey Mouse or the Grimm Brothers' classics, Frank Yerby or Phyllis Whitney, at that time, in that moment, it was all about the book.
I joined Romance Writers of America in 1990. In 2000, I began my bookselling career. I'm in a position to honor the memories of those who delight us, warm our hearts, set our pulses to racing, and our tears to flowing with words from their hearts. I have the opportunity to encourage new readers and a responsibility to do my share in helping the careers of those who thrill and delight us today.
I've seen both sides of the bookshelf. Through RWA, I'm well aware of the artist and craftsperson in the writer. The wellspring of creativity welling up in that tiny secret place is priceless and goes beyond entertaining. It's the permission, the final nod of approval, we give to authors to join us in the midst of our own hopes and dreams.
Standing Saturday before 1800 fellow readers and several hundred published authors, I realized every book I'd ever read, every author who puts pen to paper, and every person who lovingly holds a book in his or her hand, grants permission for the story to encircle them like a close friend. We open a book and let the world fall at our feet. In that moment, it's all about the book.
So... as a bookseller, I want to know:
What does your favorite bookseller do that you like?
What doesn’t she/he do?
What was your favorite booksigning and why?
What do you think makes a booksigning successful? More fun? More appealing?
Other than a must-see author, what would entice to stop by a booksigning?
Linda
www.authormba.com
posted at 9:21 AM
