An Invitation

I’ve been invited to sign my book at All Booked Up.  It’s a bookstore in The Villages.  They invite four local authors to sell their books in the store over a two-month period. Mine will be on sale during September and October. I’ve also been asked to sign my book on September 17th.  I’m excited about the opportunity.

I was talking about this with my friend, Gary, aka The Fox, the other day.   I’ve never been to a book signing before so I was seeking his advice.  At some point during our exchange, he asked if I was going to smoke a pipe during the signing. I’ve never smoked, but during our sophomore year at Western, Gary and his roommate, John, did.

I don’t recall if they had one rocking chair in their room, or two, but just about every evening that I was on hand, one or the other was sitting in the chair rocking away and smoking a pipe.  The biggest challenge for this dynamic duo was getting the thing lit.  They had a heck of a time.  I never saw so much work done to accomplish so little. But I digress.

Gary wanted to know if I would consider having a pipe at the signing.  He thought it might make me look more distinguished. The challenge is deciding what style to use.  My first thought was a plastic bubble blower, but we discarded that immediately.  I’ll have to opt for something more sophisticated.

I really don’t know much so I’ve done some online research.  My primary goal is to select something that suits my style.  I’ll never lite it but I need to look good holding it while rocking.  It can’t’ be too large because I’ll need to have one hand free for signing while I brandish the pipe in the other.  It has to be stable in case I set it down.  It can’t be wobbling about.  That would be too much of a distraction.

I found this chart online.  There are literally hundreds of options, but since my selection is merely for show, I’ve decided to go with the Billard – the top pipe in the third column, but the Bent Apple -the fifth pipe in the first column – suits my personality better.  More stylish.  I’m worried about its possible propensity to wobble if I set it down, so I’m passing on the temptation to make such a purchase.

I left a voicemail message for the folks at All Booked Up.  I need to confirm that there’s enough room for a rocking chair in the store.  If so, I’ll have to buy one. There’d be no problem at Barnes and Noble, but they didn’t ask me to sign.

I’m also concerned that the pipe and chair might focus all the attention on me, and after all, there’s going to be a second signer that day and that wouldn’t be fair to them.

I’ll let you know what the folks at the store say and post a picture of me with my pipe somewhere down the line.