A book signing! In a bookshop!
Never done that before. But now I have. I was one of the six authors selected by Kemps of Malton in their local and new authors competition to be invited to meet the staff, chat to customers, sign – and hopefully sell – their books. All of which I did, on Saturday, 17th June.
And though I’d been very nervous about it, I had a really great time. The staff were so friendly and welcoming. Manager Alex gave me coffee and chatted with me between customers, and owner Liz took pictures. It wasn’t a busy afternoon but that meant I didn’t feel overwhelmed both by a new experience and a lot of people. It gave me a chance to talk with customers without any sort of pressure.
I already had an impression of Kemps as a shop with a traditional ethos of customer service and this was confirmed by Alex. She really knows her customers and the stock and is hugely enthusiastic. It was obvious from the start that Kemps is nothing like the big chains. It’s personal, with a belief in hand selling books – recommending what they know and have enjoyed. And Alex really enjoyed Llantathan. She told me that she read it in two days and, when she reached the end, she wanted more. I reassured her on that and she was delighted to know that Llanthathan is just the beginning ...