Cornerstone Books, Salem MA
April 22nd, 2008
April 22, 2008:
I did a reading today at Cornerstone Books in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is often called “The Witch City” while my hometown of Waltham is known as “The Watch City”. What are the odds that these two would be located in the same state? Salem is also where my orange tabby cat, Pumpkin, was born on Halloween night in 1996. It’s a magical town, which made it the perfect place to read from The Penguins of Doom–except that the “readings” they’re used to in Salem more usually involve tarot cards, life-lines, or tea leaves.
My reading took place on a gorgeous day in the middle of Massachusetts public school Spring Vacation Week. This turned out to be a tactical mistake, as no kid wants to admit to spending any part of spring break in a bookstore. The dozen or so boys who did show up had all mistaken me for the author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid which, incidentally, has two out of three things in common with The Penguins of Doom. Both feature funny text paired with doodle-style illustrations. Both tell the story of misfit middle-graders. But Jeff Kinney’s book is going to become a franchise of movies and zillion-selling bestsellers while mine will probably always be just that one book.
Other audience members were children’s and YA authors with questions about the publishing process. We had fun talking about that and quite a few books were sold and signed in the process. It was a great day and I’m grateful to Cornerstone Books for hosting me and being such an anchor of literature and culture in the Salem community. Be sure to pop in and say hello if you’re in the neighborhood–this store will be there forever!
2010 Update: Cornerstone Books has closed its doors. It will be missed!
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