General musings

So, I went to my very first event as a bona fide author today — a local women’s expo.

It was a real eye-opening experience for me, and I thought I would share some of the things that I learned. This is probably all old hat for established authors, but maybe it can help some other newbies like me. 🙂

1) People love free goodies. I made over 100 goodie bags full of candy for this event. They lasted about 15 minutes. I could have made 1,000, and I still don’t think I would have had enough.

2) People are more interested in your freebies than they are in hearing about your book. They tend to grab the bags and move on, avoiding eye contact at all times.

3) People are more interested in freebies than buying anything at the expo — including your book.

4) People think because you are sitting behind a table that you are somehow know what time they’re handing out door prizes in another booth.

5) If you leave your booth for a few minutes, no one’s going to notice or complain. They’ve already gotten your goodies and moved on.

So, these are the top 5 things I learned today. Despite the lack of goodies on my part, I still had a good time. It was a lot of fun talking to folks and the other authors there.

See ya there next year …

I can’t believe they gave it to Jeff. He should have been kicked off the show half a dozen times. The very first outfit … the Mom challenge … the cocktail dress …

Uli was totally robbed. ‘Nuff said.

We all have our pet peeves. I’ve got more than a few. But there is one that I seem to run into more than others these days.

People who talk on their cell phones while they’re in the bathroom.

Argh! It drives me nuts.

I saw not one, not two, but three people do it. And that was just today. In about the space of an hour.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to go to the bathroom when there are other people in there — much less a third party that can hear all the flushing action via cell phone.

Not to mention that it’s rude to the person on the other end of the line. I’m sure they don’t want to hear you do your business anymore than I want them to hear me doing mine.

So, I’m going to start a trend. The next time I see someone talking on their cell phone in the bathroom, I’m going to ask them to go outside and finish their call. If that doesn’t work … well, maybe I’ll buy a bullhorn to stuff in my purse. 🙂

What about you? What pet peeves make you crazy? Inquiring minds want to know …

First of all, I have to give a shout-out to Ruth for inspiring this post. Thanks, Ruth!

Now, onto the ramblings. It’s been raining where I live all weekend long. But I don’t mind.

Because rainy days are my absolute favorites. Everything is gray and silver and quiet. The air is so humid that I can feel the moisture gather on my skin. Everything smells wet and fresh and clean (except for dogs, they just smell like wet dogs).

It’s raining now. I can hear it pounding against my roof. Ahhh …. I think I’ll go curl up on the couch with a blankie and a good book.

What about you? Do you like rainy days? Or do you prefer clear skies and sunshine? Inquiring minds want to know …