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