Let’s just say up front, as everybody probably wants to know, that at the Tucson Festival of Books, I did

not

sell

ONE

book.

Not one copy of Cookie Encounter was sold. Sigh. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, I can say though, that because I had a good friend to stay and visit with, I had a great time!

Even though the TFoB, is the third largest book festival in the nation, it may not be a good fit for authors. Our author booth was buried in the middle of a huge array of booths. There were countless other activities going on at the same time and lots to see and get distracted by. When I thought about it afterward, I realized there were not more than 20 people who came to the author booth to see any of us. None of the authors there sold more than 3-4 books. I don’t think my tax accountant is going to be very happy with me next year 🙂 But, it is what it is and there isn’t a thing I can do about it.

As you can see from these pictures, you can get an idea of how big this thing is. There are tents everywhere. There were bookstore booths, publishing booths, newspaper booths, food booths, and all kinds of things not even related to books. It was massive. The first picture is a fountain on the University campus I thought was pretty. The last four photos were taken by Sarah.

I did pass out postcards of the cover and met some nice people. Maybe eventually they will buy a book, but who knows. I’m not sure I would participate in the festival again, at least not until I have 4-5 books out and somewhat of a following or fan base. Live and learn.

I did however enjoy eating at Red Lobster at two different locations with my friend, Sarah, (in the top picture). We also drove around the nearby Air Force Base, and I had to do a little shopping at the local thrift shop since I packed for the 70s and not the 90s it ended up being there.

All in all, it was a great trip. My flights back and forth on Southwest were great and smooth. The weather was warm during the day and cool enough to sit on Sarah’s patio in the evenings with a blanket to watch the stars come out. Will it be an annual event like Sarah suggested? Maybe for a vacation, but not an author event! We’ll see.

Always living and learning,

~~Michelle