This
year, however, the Friends were able to line up a shimmering, glowing superstar in the
literary firmament: Dean
Koontz. He's a genre writer instead of a literary author, and one of the most popular novelists EVER. And that’s why the Bottom Shelf
sold almost no books at the luncheon.
It
wasn’t Dean Koontz’s fault. Much. It was we at the Bottom Shelf who failed to
realize that such an author would attract a large number of luncheon attendees
who couldn’t care less about art or recipes or children’s books, let alone Civil War battles or some pro golfer’s advice on how to improve your
swing. We know our community, but we
didn’t reckon on the impact the Dean Koontz fanship from outside the community
would have.
Also,
it was very crowded and no one could see our tables, even if they had been
interested in our books. But that’s
okay. It was an opportunity for us to
learn a lesson: bring more books by the
celebrated author and not so much of anything else.
The crowded venue
Our little nook full of unwanted books
From
the point of view of selling books, we did not do so well, but from the point
of view of choosing an excellent guest author, our luncheon was a huge
success. Dean Koontz was a very
entertaining and hilarious speaker, and was generous with his time in making
sure that everyone got their books signed, even if it meant going to a less
secure location out on the veranda after the luncheon ended because the venue
managers had to start setting up for the next function (a wedding).
Dean Koontz signs books for all and sundry
And
when I say less secure, I’m not joking.
Because of Koontz’s fame and because of the kind of books he writes,
several fanatics have been attracted to him and have either 1) tried to adopt
themselves into his family, 2) written creepy letters to him, or 3) threatened
his life.
I
can understand some fan behavior. I regularly
get books signed by my favorite authors.
I have a little more trouble with the concept of the fan letter,
though. Maybe it’s because I’m naturally
shy, but it seems kind of weird to write someone – an actor, for instance – what
is essentially a love letter based on your familiarity with a character they
were only pretending to be, or, in the case of an author, based on a fictitious
work. I did write a fan letter to Nancy
Kwan after seeing her in Disney’s film “Lt Robin Crusoe, USN” (with Dick Van
Dyke) when I was ten years old. She sent
me an autographed picture postcard of herself in reply, and I have cherished it
ever since. (Except I don’t know where
it is. I cherish it in absentia, I
guess.) But I never told Nancy Kwan she was
my mother.
Anyway,
circumstances being what they are, Dean Koontz brought his own security to the
luncheon, and they were much in evidence, particularly after he moved out of
the dining area and onto the veranda. It was the first time we'd experienced anything like that at a FOFL luncheon.
I
hope the Friends will continue to invite the occasional genre author to future luncheons. Doing so appeals to a much broader audience – and the Bottom Shelf
managers will, I hope, now be prepared for such an audience and adjust
their luncheon book offerings accordingly.
3 comments:
Looks like a grand time (get it get it?)! I hope next time you guys can acquire a ton of author-related books before the luncheon so you can go out with a bang (but keep Dean Koontz out of the way).
Did you guys sell tickets to the luncheon? It does look like a lot of people came, so that's cool. Sorry you didn't sell many books though!
I know you often (always?) use quotes for blog titles... So I'm curious - is this blog title from something?!
We did sell tickets, and even though it was at a slightly higher price than usual (because of the change of venue), we sold way more tickets than we normally do. We could have sold even more if we'd had the space.
You're right, I always use quotes -- usually from films but sometimes from books or tv shows -- and this one is from Scent of a Woman, which I have never seen and do not plan to see.
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