On Saturday, I had a book signing at The Book House in Maplewood along with five other authors from Rocking Horse Publishing. I’ve blogged about The Book House before. This was the first time I’ve visited their new location since it was still under construction back in December. I only sold 2 copies of my book, Dickinstein, to customers but those 2 copies really made the whole experience worth it because I spoke with each of those buyers for about 30 minutes on various topics.

The first was an older gentleman who shared my interest in local ghost stories. He once lived across the street from the infamous Lemp Mansion, so we had a good long conversation about it. The second copy went home with a young couple who shared my love for Emily Dickinson. We both suggested other authors to each other and even shared our favorite Emily poem.

It’s opportunities like this that really remind me why I love to write. It’s the art of story telling, plain and simple, and everyone has a story to tell. The young girl of the couple told me about how she lived in New Jersey when 9/11 happened. She was still very emotional about it, but I could tell she appreciated my sincerity in listening to her. And it was sincere. Connections like this with readers don’t happen often.

I left three signed copies of Dickinstein at the bookstore. If you are in Maplewood, stop by to see the store and pick up a copy. Oh, and we’ll be back at The Book House in late October for an evening of ghost stories! More details to follow.