Lyn's Licks & Laughs...with alter egos Bobbie Cole & Sunny

I had the best time this weekend. A neighbor had asked me to speak to her group, the Daughters of the American Revolution. I asked what I'd speak on, and she said YOUR BOOKS. Ack. Never thought of myself as much of a speaker, but sure. Why not?

Those women were so gracious. I'd inadvertently given my neighbor (who introduced me) a bio that held info about Lyn Cash and Cash Cole. My face flushed - I could feel the heat from roots of my hair to my throat - and I mumbled "Did I give you that?" Everyone laughed, which made me feel better. I mean, I wouldn't have offended them for the world, and the DAR meeting was inside a church, and we’re in the Buckle of the Bible Belt!

So I gave the talk on La Bella Luna by acting the part of my 4 main characters. I began as Ann, moved to Leta Lou and Merry, and finished as Easy, revealing the first of each character’s secrets as I shifted from one protagonist to another. This seemed to work well - got lots of cheers at the end of it, and I had ladies rushing to my table to pick up the postcard with the book's cover and ISBN. I gave away a couple of copies of my books and was on my way out when a sweet little lady (who was considerably older than I'd suspect an erotic romance reader to be) asked my erotic pen name again.

I leaned over and whispered, trying to discourage her from buying one of my books, "Ma'am, they're nasty – really, really, disgustingly raunchy."

Not to rely too heavily on cliché, but you could have heard a pin drop. And she looked at me and said in a voice as clear as a bell, "Honey, I HOPE so!" Of course, that brought howls of laughter - even giggles. Some of her friends were shocked, most were delighted to have found out her secret pleasure.

Many of the ladies wanted to know what my mother thought of my writing, so I told them how I'd broken the news to her about my erotic fiction, my pen name, things like that. Told them Mom was the one who'd given me the idea for Who's Your Daddy - she just didn't expect me to make an erotic tale of it.

Later that afternoon, I had a booksigning at Borders for the mainstream books. Think I sold a little over half of what they’d ordered. I learned something, though. Those who stopped and read the blurbs bought the books. Sure, the covers helped, but the reasons folks stopped were varied.

One woman said she’d never met a ‘real’ author. Told her not to be too impressed, because I couldn’t do much else, which seemed to put her at ease. Come to find out, she was someone who’d always wanted to write, so I gave her my email address and told her I’d put her in touch with what she’d need to get started.

Another woman came up to me and asked which book I thought she might like best! Seems her 12-yr-old daughter had stopped by, and I’d taken the time to talk to the child about writing, about her own wish to write, her shyness, just different things. Anyway, this girl went back to her mother (who was at a knitting meeting in the coffee shop) and told her about me, so Mom wanted to support ME for supporting her daughter. There was just an unexpected yet pleasant symmetry to the whole experience.

As for Borders, they were GREAT! Even the coffee shop personnel came over to say hello and tell me that they hoped I had a great afternoon there. *blink* They offered to make me a shake, anything I wanted. (I’d taken a soft drink in with me.) I had managers from different departments dropping by and chatting. (Big wave to Jodi and Chuck) My display was set up beautifully, and I had a nice linen table cloth, a comfortable chair – I wasn’t positioned in front of the bathrooms – LOL – as I’d heard many authors complain of during their signings. I had a marvelous time and would go back to that store ANY time they asked. Nice, nice people.

So to the various people who made my weekend so special, THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Just a few were…Carolyn, Pat, Heather, Cathy, Katherine, Barbara, Marilyn, Chuck, Jodi, Meredith, Stephanie, and that guy at Borders who handled the intercom. He should have been a radio DJ – what a great voice – and I’d just melt every time I heard him make the announcement and call my name that I was signing my latest book at the front of the store.

A special thank you and hug for the little girl who wants to be a writer. Follow your dream, kid. Thanks for making my day so special and for introducing me to your mother. I hope she enjoys Leaving Mama.

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Now. For those who have been wondering, since I wrote about YOU (many of you writers), I did hear from Cosmopolitan magazine a few days ago regarding the article I submitted to them. Still no definite "yes or no", but I was told that both the North American and international editors are considering the piece. So...hang in there. That's all I know at this point.