I shoulda been a hand model!

Your local bookstore is great for a lot of reasons, but surely one of them is that it is hosting one of my readings.

Now check this out.  The amazing singer-songwriter Cynthia Lin has made an extremely limited number (200) of these really cool letter-pressed bookmarks and they will only be available to people who buy books at my upcoming readings.

I came up with the idea for these after I went to see a friend’s reading.  This woman in the audience sitting next to me nudged me and said she was going to buy her book online.  I pointed out that she should support the store for hosting the reading (which like most readings, was free), but she waved it off.  She also didn’t care about not having the author autographing her book.

I would like to say that she didn’t know that I was a writer — but she did!  She was Chinese, too, so that probably explained the complete lack of tact.

Sure, there are always outlets online that sell books at a major discount.  But think about it.  You may save a few bucks by buying online but you are paying for the gas that powers the bulldozers that knock over your local bookstore.  Bookstores are kind enough to allow authors to read on their premises, creating local events that make your community more fun and interesting.

I can’t remember the last time Amazon sponsored a reading.

But anyway, if I’m not coming near you, I strongly suggest you try IndieBound to support your local store.