MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: DENVER

The middle grade fiction tour of Saltwater Taffy arrived in Denver today. This tour stop for Saltwater Taffy is super special because my wife Julie flew in for a weekend visit. We picked up the rent-a-car and hit the road for Denver area bookstores.

The first stop was the Tattered Cover Bookstore, which is an AWESOME indie store in downtown Denver. There was something amazing about this shop because it felt like walking into a piece of history. I mean, it had this awesome smell of paper….…which is something missing from the corporate chains, if you know what I mean. The wooden floors made it just feel like home. With a baby on the way, we got sidetracked talking to a nice couple about their baby stroller and the whole adventure of parenting. Of course, we handed them a few stickers and some information on Saltwater Taffy before heading to the main counter. Talking to the manager, I signed a book for the main buyer of the store, a woman named Judy.

Jumping into the car, we searched for the big box companies like Barnes & Nobles in the downtown area. Now, the great thing about walking into a Barnes & Noble store in a city I have never been to was finding a copy of Saltwater Taffy on the shelf. I asked the woman who ran the Children’s Department if I could sign the book and she got super excited that an author came in to sign copies all the way from Santa Monica, California. I signed the copy and then gave her a Promo copy of the book for her to read (key to marketing ya’ll).

When Julie and I stopped in the cafe to grab a coffee (SUPER COLD HERE), the Children’s Department Manager (a saweet woman named Biz) walked by and said she already sold the signed copy to a little girl and her parents. This is the third time on the tour where 5 minutes after signing a copy someone bought it. Love that. The next day we made a stop at the Mile Hi Church and a small indie store called THE BOOKIES. Bookies was awesome because their booksellers reminded me of my sweet Grandmother, Lila. I love that. Woman who not only LOVE books, but know titles by heart. We left a copy for the store’s owner. 🙂