Catching up from the book tour

So, back from the micro-mini book tour!

It was lovely to see so many happy faces, to have a chance to chat, to read, and, of course, to sign books.

We want to thank Maria Perry, Patty Cryan, and Brian for hosting us.  You guys rock!

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Frequent auditors of this journal will recall that I have long had a love affair with socks.

When packing for the overnight in Wocester, I forgot to pack socks, which I’ve never done before (my default being to pack too many socks); I briefly panicked; and Steve offered to lend his spare pair to the cause.  Fortunately, there was a strip mall right across the street from our hotel, where we paused to eat a very pleasant lunch at Jasmine, then proceeded to the end of the mall and the TJ Maxx.

Where I found socks!  Even, dare I say it, socks that coincided with my Sock Ethic.  One pair was black with white splotches; the other pair had block prints of purple, yellow, and blue-and-white stripe on the foot part, and skinny yellow, pink, red, blue, green strips running up the calf.  I purchased these with glee; the cashier agreed that they were very spiffy socks and!

When I got back to the hotel and actually looked at my receipt, I find that the socks were “men’s furnishings”.  Really?  The label says they are Happy Socks, created in Finland, so if anyone reading here is suffering from Sock Ennui, you might want to check them out.

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Thanks to everyone who replied to the Buy My Book post in the various venues, and in email.  Many notes were supportive;  a few folks, naturally enough, want to argue, which is kind of too bad, and I wish them a long life.

Which brings up another topic.

You will perhaps recall that, back in March, Belle and I had a bet about eArc sales for Alliance of Equals.  I said we could sell more than 500; Belle took leave to doubt it.  On the other paw, Sprite was of the opinion that we could earn out our advance on eArc sales.

I am pleased to announce that I won both of those bets.  We hear that we sold more than three times that 500 copies Belle thought we couldn’t manage, but!  we didn’t earn out the advance.

It’s always gratifying to win a bet, of course, but both Belle and Sprite pay in kibble.

To those who bought eArcs — thank you so much!

Which brings up another idea — possibly half-baked.

I’m told that benefit accrues to titles on Amazon that gain certain numbers of reader reviews.  At the moment, the various levels escape me (maybe someone who has Google-fu and a couple minutes can find that information…).  The last couple Liaden books received 106, 88, and 163 reader reviews, respectively.  It would be Very Cool if Alliance could hit 200 reader reviews.  Note: These are honest reviews, not just one-liner, filler reviews, like “I really like this book.”

Do you think we can do it?  We beat Belle, after all, and she’s Pretty Shrewd.

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For those who missed the news, Steve and I did an interview on the Baen Free Radio Hour.  It aired Friday.  Here’s your link.

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Today, now that we’re home, I have accounts to do, and laundry to wash.  Steve and I need to go over the story notes I made before we headed off into the world.  And so on.

What did y’all do while we were away?

Many thanks to William Kilmer for the photograph from our signing at Annie’s Book Stop, Friday, July 9, 2016.

Steve Sharon Annie Book Stop July 9 2016

7 thoughts on “Catching up from the book tour”

  1. I would have thought that Cats paid in Purrs and healing sleep rays, (Hoarding kibble) but I have never been staff to a Cat so…

    I have never written a review for a book. I may try my hand at it, just for the thrill of helping you overcome the nay-saying Overlords.

    Over the last few days, I have accomplished nearly nothing; which, I am told is completely appropriate, given my circumstances. I pine away after the lakes and rivers, which waters I may not enjoy until this hole in my chest is healed. It has been a LOOONG hot summer already with no real closure in sight.
    Today we will visit the Nassau County Museum and the gardens of the old Frick estate. Yippee! no really, hurrah!

  2. I am preparing to sell my condo (Salem, MA), and will be cleaning it today in advance of the photo shoot at 8 a.m. Tomorrow. I have taken “stuff” to a tiny storage locker (4’x5′ is bigger than one would think, actually) so that the place will be adequately staged for the hordes of buyers looking to plunk down money. I do not, however, have a place to move TO yet, which is making me some nervous. Not much on the market here that I can afford (willing to live in), so I may soon be on an extended road trip visiting friends and relatives or volunteering somewhere that gives room and board to volunteers. Anyway, my writing has been suffering a bit, but with the staging now done, I think I will have more time. And that is more than you wanted to know. I am loving Alliance of Equals, by the way, which is really what you wanted to know. 🙂

  3. That sounds scary enough to put anybody off writing. Good luck — with the sale, and with finding a Perfect Place to Live.

  4. Socks. I have WAY too many – 2 drawers (well, 1 1/2) in my dresser filled with socks. But I welcome your post; DH found some colorful socks in Copenhagen a few years ago and we’ve been looking for the equivalent here in the USA ever since. So perhaps we’ll take a trip to the local TJ Maxx. He’s very interested.

    I have been reading. It’s been too hot here in MD to do anything outdoors IMHO, so I’ve been immersed in Donna Leon’s Comissario Brunetti mysteries set in Venice. The sense of place in her books makes me want badly to visit Venice, but not in the summer. The one I just finished was set in August and apparently AC is rare there.

    Tomorrow I’ll pay bills and do other adult-type activities.

  5. Glad that your sock stock has been topped up. Finished reading Alliance of Equals. What a finish. My rating certainly will be in the book’s favor. My sincere thanks to you and Steve for your very good authorship.

  6. Posted an AoE review on Amazon today.

    Socks make me happy too. And cats. And books. 🙂

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