“We were about two miles outside Palmyra, when the caffeine started to kick in…”
One of those days, when you find yourself traveling about, and then you have the time to think while you are doing it. Concept.
Today is/was International Indie Bookstore Day, and so I set out with a dual plan. I needed to get copies of my new book, “The Legend of the Black Swan,” (on Sunbury Press Books, click on the link there, hint, hint). Now that the book has been out for a couple of weeks, it is still a little early to tell where we are with that. More on the book later.
Anyway, with no podcasts to record and dark, dreary, rainy weather (which I prefer), I set out to the hinterlands of Lebanon County. The Book Bar is in Palmyra, one of the many communities that has a connection to the rural past and the present day. The store is also a cafe, with good coffee, specialty drinks, and mocktails. There’s places to sit, and they play cool old jazz and stuff in the store.
I met Rachel Lyne, a fellow author whom I will see at the PennWriters event in Lancaster next month, and dropped off my book. I also did a buy, “Before the Coffee Gets Cold,” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. You know you have a good one when a fellow customer says it’s been heard to be good.
It is soon to say, but a really good story about a cafe, the people who come to it, and…time travel? Hmm…
So I hung for a bit and decided to travel to one more spot, Storykeeper LLC in Marietta. This is where the caffeine, espresso, Monster, and whatever else kicked in. I’m driving down two-lane roads out through farm country. Not a lot on the roads with the rain, but these roads through Lebanon and Lancaster Counties are like wagon and cowpaths. They turn, bend, twist, and you need to watch yourself. No “Dukes of Hazzard” driving through here; you need to watch out.
At the same time, looking over these old farms, the houses and barns have unique architecture. “The Big House” you would see on some of these properties got me thinking back. Then you see the industrial creep, but still a slower life out here.
Marietta is a small, quiet town. If you look on Instagram or TikTok (blech), what do you see? Lots of vignettes of quiet towns, streets with little traffic, and hole-in-the-wall places. Well, the town was indeed quiet when I got to Storykeeper.
Another little place, off the main drag, brightly painted and colored. New and used books…and…yarn.
That’s two of these now—The Underground Yarn and Books in Hershey is another. I have a copy of my book there, too, hint, hint. A lovely little place I’ll be at on May 30th. At StoryKeeper, I met Nancy Basile, a mystery author, and did a trade grenade for her novel, “Bright Girl.” I also bought my friend Sandy Nork’s “Flood Risk,” the second of her series.
Nancy also recorded me for a brief interview and a “question.” Interesting idea.
On the way back, and getting there, all of it—I’m talking to myself again, amped up on the caffeine. These are the things we do, discussing “Legend…” and why Arisa does what she does, who these people are around her. I don’t have to explain it all away—I just have to know what I’m talking about.
One thing we all noticed: books are back, reading is back, and it’s not just the popular stuff. Readers will always love certain genres, certain authors, but today is the day to help the local places, discover a new home, new authors, and the indies. Stores are popping up, and they are making it. Not just the first year, but more; they’re making enough.
Doesn’t mean our books all get on the shelf, not at all. They stock what they can sell and what they want in their store. Most of us are an acquired taste, but the fact that anyone is willing to put my work on the shelf, that means a lot to me.
I’m also feeling that I have done this for the right reasons. This is another avenue for my art, and the madness within. I’m talking to myself, the pitch, what do I do next, what book will be next, all the stuff.
I don’t need drugs, not when I have caffeine. And lots of it.
I also had to wind my way back to 283 to get home. Had to do errands, and since the Senators did not have a game tonight due to the monsoon, I have the chance to put things away, and I have even more books to read now! And to think about promoting Legend, and the next one, and…
…there’s always more. Always an “and.” I’m feeling myself, and confident that I have a good book, a good story, and it is a step forward.
More to do.
Peace, Out.