Publication Day, and Books At the Bank!
Futurespan is now officially published! On the publication day, the 6th of May, I went along to my bank - Barclays in Harrogate. I shakily set up my stall, got mistaken for a 'Barclays girl', and tried to look calm and smiley.
It was an interesting few hours - who knew how fascinating it is to observe the goings-on of a bank. There was such a diverse range of people, including a very well behaved German Shepherd at one point! Apparently a regular.
A lot of people were busy, obviously doing their banking. Some were rather puzzled about seeing an author in the bank, or did not feel a fantasy novel was for them. I had a lot of eye-contact avoidance, and people making excuses as they went past, and some unfortunately who were just rude (even if it's not for you, you could at least say hello! I won't bite... just as well behaved as the German Shepherd, honestly! But nevermind). I totally get that it's not for everyone, but I'm glad I went out there and tried to connect with people.
The bank staff looked after me and were curious about my book. They even bought four copies! Another lovely lady bought the fifth. So it wasn't bad for a few hours all in all. I had a few takers of entry into the raffle to win a free book, and a few leaflets given out. The bookworms didn't go down so well.
I'm very glad I went, and I'm very grateful to Barclays for giving me the opportunity, especially Clare who first suggested it, and sorted it out for me. It was good to get experience of being out there as an Author! And to do something outside of my comfort zone, and I sold some books which is great. I don't think a bank is the best platform for this sort of thing, as people are busy, and don't expect to see an author of all things in the bank, but I guess it also depends on the day.
