BuYou can go home again

 

Trying to go home

I think I was being selfish. But it worked out. I discovered that you can go home again, provided you are paying attention.

I had been trying for months to get a book signing and selling event in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio. It was one of my first intentions made when I decided to take my novel The Trier on its book launch tour. The tour has covered two states, been staged at libraries, bookstores, coffeehouses, and even a Coffee festival.

However, I had not been able to get an event in Dayton, Ohio which is, not surprisingly, where the novel is set. I really wanted to bring the book to Dayton and better yet, to a coffeehouse in the Oregon Historic District. That older, quirky neighborhood bordering downtown Dayton is where the actual coffeehouse that I based the Trier was located. Perfect spot for a book event. Yet nothing turned up.

Made it

I kept trying, and eventually I found a host for a book signing and selling event with Ghostlight coffee. Boom. Ghostlight was as close to the Oregon District as I was going to get. The event was set for Black Friday, and I was even featured in local media on Dayton.com.

I had been to Ghostlight two times on recon and planning missions and liked the coffeehouse right away and felt like it had the feel of what the Trier would be like if it were real.  I was given a corner spot near the front at the window. It looked out on Wayne Avenue. Just up Wayne is where Jay lives in the Trier, and where yours truly once lived. The spot for my table came with a classic coffeehouse beat-up wooden couch to use, the day outside was sunny, the place busy, and I sold a book right away. I was off to a good start.

My approach to selling in a coffeehouse it to stay out of the way overall. I figure a strange person sitting at a table behind a rack of books will passively draw attention. But I have my promo signing postcard piece to use. I use my years of experience behind the bar and when I see that the line of customers is long, I offer the promo card to those waiting. It distracts them from the wait for a minute or two for as they look it over. Some scan the QR code, others just read it, some take it with them and some folks toss it on the counter.

Really enjoyed being back home

In between the lines and sales, I sat in my window seat, read a little, made entries in my journal and looked at the window. I began to really enjoy being in a coffeehouse. It had been a long time since I sat in a coffeehouse in Dayton soaking in the music, the talk, the sound of the steam wand kicking on and off.

 

The corner I looked out on was busy enough to bear watching. Two women waited forever to cross at the light. About half an hour later they went the way they came with a new broom and a bag of cleaning supplies. Another guy picked up something on the sidewalk and put it in his own plastic bag.  More than a few folks tried to come into the front door of Ghostlight. The door sits right on Wayne Avenue, but it is locked and can’t be opened even during business hours. No sign was there to let them know, so they walked around to the side door. I thought of asking the crew why there was no sign on the door.

Then it occurred to me that would be boring, too corporate coffee.  That’s when it occurred to me that I was paying attention.  An entry door that doesn’t open would be a great detail to use if I were to write a novel set in a funky old coffeehouse in Dayton, Ohio.

Oh, wait, I already have. I was back home.