Thursday 13: Virginia Festival of the Book Report

Saturday was the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, VA. It was a long day.



1. We got up at 7 a.m. (on a SATURDAY!) and drove an hour to the home of my alma mater, UVA. (Where the lacrosse team is #1! Congrats to them!)
2. We unloaded all the books, balloons, displays and computers and set up our half-table at 8:45.
3. My table was in the atrium of the Omni hotel, so I got to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and glorious inside garden area.
4. I managed to peddle 7 books! Should you like to purchase one of your very own, you can get it on Amazon. (Kindle as well! A good use of any Amazon gift cards, I think.)
5. One woman took me up on my festival special (2 books for $25) so she was my customer of the day! She also asked to take a picture with me, for when I got famous. Ha! It was kind of cool. It could go to my head.
6. The authors next to me were wonderful to talk to.
7. First, there was Don Payne. He has written a book called A Legacy of Rural Virginia. He was a selling fiend, I tell you! Check out Don's Website
8. On my other side was William Minor. His great, great uncle has a UVA building named after him (Minor Hall), so I was immediately in awe. :) He is a musician and a writer. He plays 4-string guitar, among other instruments. You can check out his Website as well. Buy a CD or a book.
9. Next to Don was a table that was giving away books, trying to get people to write that elusive review! Check out iBookDB to catalog, rate, review and win books.
10. I met a few of my Twitter Tweeple this weekend as well. I met @Idleubry - selling a book called Be Careful What You Wish For - the story of Gwendolyn the Great, Savoir of Idlebury.
11. I also met friend-of-a-friend and Tweep @thebookmaven, Bethanne. She writes a book blog for WETA in D.C.(where she often gives away books to commenters), as well as her own personal blog.
12. The cover of Jeffrey Harris's book caught my attention, since it was an illustration of two people sitting on the steps of UVA's Rotunda. It's a story about a man who proposes to his wife On The Steps (the name of his book). She dies of breast cancer, and it's a story of his healing and journey. You can check it out here.
13. Brad Meltzer came into the Atrium lobby after his lunch speaking engagement to sign books. I caught a glimpse of the back of his head. The line for his autograph went out the door. That's going to be me someday, I promise. :)

Home of the new Thursday 13