3-12-10 Performing at the Kansas City Plaza Library

Friends:

After a very long, harrowing day of missed connections due to Continental Airline “maintenance” issues, I arrived in Kansas City safe and sound. My hostess, Children’s Book Author Christine Taylor-Butler, picked me up from the airport and brought me to my hotel in the Plaza area of Kansas City. I had time to freshen up, just in time to make it to the library for my storytelling concert and book signing.

It was so much fun! I began with The Cajun Cornbread Boy and then brought children on stage to be “roaches” for my story, Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach. They danced and had a blast.

3-12-10 Performing Madame Poulet with children as little roaches on stage

I even had special people in attendance! My editor from ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited, Sharon Coatney; her daughter, Rache; and her grandson, Will. My friend and fellow storyteller, Joyce Slater, also came to the show! Thank you so much!!

I finished with a spooky favorite, “The Ghost of Mabel Gable.” The kids and grown-ups loved it. It has such a funny ending. After the show, I signed books, posters, and bookmarks. I had the sweetest fans!

3-12-10 Signing books and posters after the show

Special thanks to Christine Taylor-Butler for coordinating the event, to April from the Kansas City Plaza Library for hosting the event, to the AV and security staff of the library, and to Sherry, the CRM of the local Barnes & Noble, who handled book sales. I appreciate the opportunity to perform in such a beautiful space in such a fabulous library!

3-12-10 Inside a circle of books at the Kansas City Plaza Library

12-11-09 Dianne de Las Casas, Marita Gentry & Alyson Guidry

Friends:

On Friday, right after my residency, I had to head to Baton Rouge for a book signing at Barnes & Noble Citiplace. Marita Gentry, the illustrator of my books, The Cajun Cornbread Boy and Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, sketched live while I performed the story from our latest book, Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach.

12-11-09 Marita Gentry draws Monsieur Roach pretending to be sick

We performed in the children’s section on the stage. I had children from the audience come to the stage and be roaches in the story, singing and dancing.

12-11-09 Monsieur Roach yells Laissez les bon temps rouler!

We had a great crowd. The children’s area was full of fans, big and little! Yay!

12-11-09 The audience at the performance of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach

We gave away Marita’s drawings and then signed books.

12-11-09 Dianne de Las Casas & Marita Gentry sign books

We had a lot of people patiently wait for us to autograph their books. Thank you!

12-11-09 The autograph line

We posed for pictures with our sweet little fans and had a wonderful time!

12-11-09 Dianne & Marita with a cutie pie fan

It was a great, successful event and we had a blast! Thank you, Barnes & Noble, for having us. We look forward to returning!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne de Las Casas

12-4-09 Performing at B&N Citiplace Baton Rouge, LA

Friends:

On Friday, I had a 7:00pm book signing scheduled in Baton Rouge at the Barnes & Noble Citiplace. Snow and sleet was in the weather forecast so I left New Orleans early, at 4:30pm. Nevertheless, with the weather and the traffic, I didn’t arrive at the bookstore until 7:05pm and I hate being late! By the time I arrived in Baton Rouge, it began to sleet and when I parked my car, you could see the accumulation of ice on the cars in the lot.

Because of the weather, the store was not very busy. My contact, Irina, greeted me and showed me to my signing table. I signed books for a little while while the staff gathered a group for my story time performance. I performed The Cajun Cornbread Boy and had a great time. I actually sold a nice amount of books for the amount of people in the store. People were in the mood to holiday shop.

12-4-09 Dianne with daughter, Eliana, and my little fan, Jonas

Near the end of my book signing, it began to snow outside. Little flurries fell and began accumulating on the ground and on the cars. My 9 year old daughter, Eliana, dashed outside yelling, “It’s snowing!” Snow just doesn’t happen very often in South Louisiana. We grabbed a snack in the cafe while it was open, thinking restaurants might close because of the weather. We Southerners just don’t know how to handle the snow! After picking up my college daughter, Soleil, we headed to Zachary, Louisiana, to stay with my friend, Holly, and her family. Holly is the illustrator for my next book, Mama’s Bayou.

12-4-09 Dirty the Snowman

The snow fall didn’t last long but Holly lives on a golf course and the snow had accumulated in their yard. The kids, Soleil and Eliana, and Holly’s children, Stephen and Ella, played in the snow and created a surprise for us – Dirty the Snowman! I can’t believe they were able to gather enough snow to create a snowman as tall as my 4 ft. 3 inch daughter! Wow!

12-4-09 Eliana with Dirty the Snowman

It was a team effort and the kids had a blast. We ended the night with hot cocoa topped with marshmallows and cookies. The kids truly made it a magical Winter Wonderland!

12-4-09 All the kids with Dirty the Snowman

Maybe we’ll get lucky and see more snow in South Louisiana! Here’s hoping…

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

11-21-09 Signing at Barnes & Noble, Harvey, LA

Friends:

This past weekend I had 5 book signings! It’s the holiday season and it’s a busy time! My first signing was on Saturday morning at 10am at Sam’s Club in Harvey, Louisiana. Fortunately, I live in Harvey so I didn’t have far to drive. Yay! I was positioned by the front entrance and they had a nice table set up for me, with a table covering and plants on either side. Sales were good and I moved a lot of books.

11-21-09 Signing at Sam's Club in Harvey, LA

A big thank you to my 9 year old daughter, Eliana, for taking all the photos! Eliana was my helper extraordinaire, especially since I am still recovering from a sprained ankle. After a quick lunch at Sam’s Club, Eliana and a stop at Office Depot for more Sharpies to autograph with, Eliana and I headed to Maple Street Book Shop for a 2pm book signing. Marita Gentry, my illustrator, met me there. Thought we didn’t have the crowd we expected (it was raining and there was an LSU game), we still had fun.

11-21-09 Signing at Maple Street Book Shop in New Orleans, LA

Eliana and I headed home to rest a little bit and freshen up. My next book signing was at 7pm at Barnes & Noble in Harvey. Again, I didn’t have to drive far! Unfortunately, Marita was unable to join me. I had a marvelous crowd. It was packed!! I had fans come too! I performed Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, telling the story with the help of children on stage and in the audience. We had a blast!

11-21-09 Sharing stories at Barnes & Noble in Harvey, LA

I sold a bunch of books. One parent said to me, “That was the best story time we have ever seen at Barnes & Noble!” Another girl, Brianna, told me that she came to my last book signing of The Cajun Cornbread Boy and she was going to come to the next one too! Brianna said she was a “fan for life.”

11-21-09 Telling story of Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach at Barnes & Noble in Harvey, LA

On Sunday, I had two book signings scheduled. The first one was at 10am at Sam’s Club in Metairie, Louisiana on Airline Highway. At first, sales were slow. People were rushing through, trying to get their shopping done before the New Orleans Saints game at 12pm. But in the second hour, sales were phenomenal. I even had a woman who loved my books so much she called me later and asked me to come to her son’s school. She’s going to come to my next book signing this upcoming Saturday after Thanksgiving!

11-22-09 Signing at Sam's Club in Metairie, LA (Yes, Wolfgang Puck is behind me. LOL)

Eliana had a big fan too! A little boy named RJ fell in love with her and didn’t want to leave her side! He was the cutest thing! He wouldn’t stop staring at her!

11-22-09 The little boy who fell in love with Eliana

My next signing was in Kenner, a hefty drive from my house so Eliana and I decided to kill time in Metairie (next to Kenner) by shopping at Lakeside Mall. The mall was filled with shopper bees, buzzing around from store to store, spending all their “honey.” The mall was, of course, decorated for Christmas and it was hard not to be in a holiday mood, especially since we saw (on a TV in the Food Court) the Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and become a 10-0 undefeated team! Go Saints!

11-22-09 Eliana at Lakeside Mall in Metairie, LA

My last signing was at Sam’s Club in Kenner from 4pm to 6pm. Shoppers were in a good mood, partly due to the Saint’s nice win. Here, I had the best sales of the weekend. My books went like hotcakes and I had to ask the manager to bring out more books. Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach sold out and I thought some ladies were going to fight over the copies! Fortunately, I had enough for everyone. One lady bought 12 books as Christmas gifts! Thank you to the Hezeau family!

11-22-09 Signing at Sam's Club in Kenner, LA

It was a good weekend and I met some fantastic people. Thank you to my new fans and friends!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne