After five years, my book finally emerged into the world! I was fortunate to have a an event at Warwick’s in La Jolla on the eve of my pub date. Warwick’s was founded in 1896 and is the country’s oldest family-owned and operated bookstore.
The store does an outstanding job hosting events for local and big-name authors, sponsoring book festivals, and fostering a literary community. Warwick’s hosts after-hours events at its store in the heart of La Jolla and hosts larger-scale appearances at places like the University of San Diego and Coronado. During the pandemic, Warwick’s hosted online events and continues to do so. It’s a great option for authors who don’t want to incur traveling expenses and for booklovers who have difficulty making it to physical locations.
Solo book events are nerve-wracking for authors, though. Even for friends and family, it’s asking a lot for people to drive out to a bookstore on a weeknight. Work demands, family obligations, needing rest — so much can get in the way. There’s always that fear that no one will show up, and it’ll be just you and the bookseller. Fortunately, I had a great crowd of family, friends, and current and former colleagues — many I haven’t seen in person in several years. Plus, there were a few people I didn’t know!
I had an event at Warwick’s nearly five years ago for my first book, so I already knew the events manager and one of the booksellers. They are so gracious and easy to work with. One of the booksellers said she started reading “Soul Winners” and felt the style of writing was similar to a book that won a Pulitzer Prize recently, which is very high praise indeed. Another bookseller remarked on the quality of the book’s production values. I felt like I had plenty of time to make my presentation, answer questions from the audience, sign books, and take pictures.