Best Seller!

April 17, 2012
Hi, all!
Shell Games has taken off like a rocket! I know that book rankings are fleeting at best (and a writer can't let his/her head get too big about such things), but last weekend Shell Games hit #5 on the on-line retailers list, officially making it a Best Seller. It is already dropping in the rankings, as happens to most, but for that time period I was on Cloud 9 -- and I'll never forget the feeling of waking up and seeing one of my books on the list. Ah, this was a dream come true for me.
The initial responses to the book have also been beyond my wildest dreams. The reviews on Amazon.com have been wonderful, and comments on other review sources have all been very complimentary. A writer never knows what the reaction will be to a book, so hearing these kind words is especially wonderful. I've also been doing quite a few book events and signings, and in most places the book has sold out completely. I did a presentation about the book and a signing last weekend, and 95 copies sold in the blink of an eye - -and everyone wanted me to sign the books for them, so my hand was plenty sore near the end, which is a beautiful woe to have. Also, it's a good thing I can write with both hands! I'll attach a picture of the event last weekend to this post. I had a wonderful time.
The presentations I'm doing for this book are quite different from what I have done with my other books. I'm trying to delve more into *how* the story came about -- and *how* I chose to write it (literary nonfiction). I have been giving a short powerpoint presentation to show as much visual detail as possible about the birth of the book. Then, I've chosen a couple of passages to read to give a flavor for the book. I have then had "audience participation." That is, I have been bringing "whizbangs" to the events and have been passing them out to those in the crowds. For those of you who don't know about these devices, a whizbang is a button on a string that can be wound up so that the button spins around and around on the string as one pulls the string back and forth. These whizbangs were used by workers in the button factories described in the book to help keep finger and wrist injuries at bay; so this is part of the "history" described in the story. The folks attending the presentations have had a great time with this. I'll try to post directions for making a whizbang in an upcoming post.
I'd like to take this time to thank all my readers for their support and kindness as Shell Games was released. I'm glad so many of you are enjoying the story, and I look forward to hearing from you. Also, if I'm in your area, please come to the book event -- and I'll teach you how to use a whizbang!
I'll write more soon. Take care -- and Happy Reading!

Jeff