My First Book Signing
From the Diary….
At 10.30am on Saturday 24th September, armed with plenty of books, handouts, and materials (pictured below) I made my way through the blustery gales to Okehampton Library, ready for my first ever book signing… (The box of books and materials was a lot heavier than I’d realised, and I felt pretty victorious having made it to the library from the car without stopping once–also, it was about to rain and I wasn’t sure how sturdy my box was…)
Upon arriving at the library it was eerily quiet as I set up my table and sat there… the kind of quietness that indicates that something dramatic is about to happen in a film. So there I sat, waiting, watching the door… and soon readers arrived! (But nothing overly dramatic, like in a film!)
Okehampton library is the library that I checked books out from as a young teenager. Many a time after school, myself and a friend or two would head there and pick out books for each other. The first historical romance I read was picked out by my friend Rhiannon for me on one of these occasions! So, in short, it was lovely to be back at this library–especially to see the changes, such as how all the books are now checked in and out electronically.
It was also pretty awesome seeing a copy of Untamed on the library’s shelves!
Signing a copy of Untamed for a fan!
Anyway, back to my signing:
Originally the plan had been that I would sign copies of both of my novels during my hour’s signing, but there’d been a slight delay with the printing and distribution of the Fragmented paperbacks (which had only released a few days ago), so I only had copies of Untamed available… But I took orders for signed copies of Fragmented which could be posted to readers, and I had plenty of Fragmented postcards and handouts about. And it was these that attracted quite a few people within the first ten minutes of my signing as many wanted to find out about the books. And the postcards were a huge hit. One man in particular, who introduced himself to me as “A Pensioner” was fascinated by my postcards for Untamed and Fragmented, and was delighted to take one away with him.
Me, trying to look authorly…
And I had some great chats. One of these was with Emma, a student who wanted my advice on how to get inspiration for creative writing. I told her about my writing process for Untamed (my debut novel), and what inspired me, then we talked about the kinds of things she loves to write and what inspires her.
Another memorable moment was near the beginning of my signing when a man didn’t seem to believe that I was the author of Untamed… perhaps because I look so young? Who knows. But it certainly made for an interesting conversation! And he was pretty incredulous when he found out that my book was with a traditional publisher and available via Waterstones.
I also met another local author at my signing–he was just popping into the library to return some books, when he saw my signing–which was great. I chatted to him and the lady he was with for a few minutes. It’s always interesting talking to other writers!
Chatting about Mary Berry while signing…
And two of my old school friends, Rhiannon and Alicen, showed up for my signing too! It was lovely to see both of them again–especially as I hadn’t seen one of them in about four years–and it felt just like old times as we chatted about books, writing, and what we were doing now. (And the news about Bake Off, of course.).
Plus, we took the obligatory selfie.
My parents and Nana also visited and supported me, which was lovely. And, in typical Madeline style, I’d packed up at the end only to realise that my dad wanted to take some photos. So, in record time, we set up the display again! And here it is: copies of Untamed, waiting to be signed, info sheets about Untamed and Fragmented, and postcards! Plus, there are also bookmarks there from two of the writers in one of my writing groups, the YA Story Sisters. 
After my signing, my parents, Nana, and I went out for a meal which was the perfect finish to a session of signing books, chatting books, and being around books!
