The days are racing by

I have been preparing for a BIG book signing at a historic deli in downtown Baltimore for about a month. The lady who coordinates events there just informed me she sent out over 1100 email invitations to her customer list. When I was ready to publish my book, "Double Trouble on Corned Beef Row," I got permission to put the deli's picture on the front cover. It was only logical that the deli would want to promote the fact. The only trouble is the place where the event is to take place only holds forty-five people. Also, there is a parking problem in the area. I know there is supposed to be no such thing as bad publicity, but I don't want all of the guests griping about the situation in their columns. Did I mention the preponderance of them will be media people: food writers and such, and the deli is going to probably offer them freebies. My book is a novel, not a cookbook! However, one of the characters in it creates a spicy version of the corned beef sandwich, and the deli is going to make one that resembles it as part of the promotion. I can see this being a boon for the deli, but how it will impact sales of my book is questionable. If you are in Baltimore on November 10, 2010, you may want to avoid East Lombard Street from 5 to 7 PM. The traffic may be a problem.

Delivering the goods.

This weekend has been interesting. Judy, my darling better half, and I went into Baltimore to make a couple of deliveries. The first one was to our friend Joann's house to drop off a pair of earrings I made for her from one of her daughter Hilary's old necklaces. It was received with Jo's usual dramatic enthusiasm. If you give her anything, she makes you feel like it is the greatest gift ever from anyone. She is a warm and loving person who finds something to smile about in even the worst situations. I wish I had her upbeat outlook. Her oldest daughter, Maria, was visiting her mom, and as I had not seen her in a number of years was shocked when I did. She was definitely a woman, and not the child I remembered.
The next stop was in downtown Baltimore at Attman's Delicatessen. Judy and I had worked on signs for a book signing there on November 10. This is a really big deal with local media coverage coming in many forms. Having already had a couple of articles written about me, the media has been allerted that this will be a really special event. In my book, Double Trouble on Corned Beef Row, I describe a sandwich one of the main characters concocted to bring in new customers to his deli. As part of the book signing event, Attman's is going to produce a special sandwich that follows the formula in the book. In Baltimore, this is a big deal. Attman's is one of the original shops in what once was the heart of the Jewish section of the city: the area was called Corned Beef Row. The novel is not about the area, but it is set in it, and Attman's taking an active part in promoting the book will definitely draw attention. I guess I chose the right place as a setting for my story. I can't wait to get my hands on one of those sandwiches.