Harker Heights Library Book Signing

I had the opportunity to participate in another book signing, this time at the Harker Heights Public Library. Harker Heights, Texas is a part of the Kileen-Temple-Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area. The official population was 17,308 in 2000, but I saw a lot of growth there, including the library which appeared to be a new addition to the city facilities.

The staff treated us graciously, with coffee, juice and pastries when we got there, and lunch afterward. I didn’t get all the names of the other authors, but here a list of most of them: Emery Lee, Renae Brumbaugh, Alison Craven Roberts, Michael T. Leslie,  George I. Duhart, Malcolm  L. Dickinson, Sonia Simmons Wren, Barbara Youngblood Carr, Charles “Skeeta” Jenkins, and Phil Hewitt.

The authors’ tables were in the front hallway leading into the library proper on one side and a large conference room on the other side where a used book sale was going on. There was a constant flow of patrons while I was there between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

Around 11:30 a.m., the authors of children's books, went into the library and talked about their books. After they finished, the rest of the authors were invited to talk or read from their books. The audience in the reading section was surely increased due to the free sandwiches and snack foods available there.

We had a limit of five minutes. I had selected two excerpts and planned to check who was in attendance before deciding which one to read. The first one was the first half of the first scene in the book. It was a part of the book that wouldn’t require any back story. The second choice was the Great Chase scene near the end of the book. I scanned the audience and decided to read the chase scene. Since it was so far into the book, I took a minute or so to tell them about the characters.

I only sold one book, but it was fun. I met some interesting people and made contacts for the future. One of the authors there invited me to be on his TV show to talk about my book. Another author had some great books for tweens that I think my grandkids will enjoy. So, all in all, it was a successful event.