Chain Reactions

I really enjoyed Anne's post about Christmas advertising yesterday and I started thinking about gifts and my OWN little list...that I've yet to write, btw. It's hard coming up with just the right thing and I was remembering how thrilled Anne was when her husband got her the Sony e-reader for her birthday. So while I mulled that over, I hopped over to Fictionwise to check the status of my September release and lo and behold, I noticed the ebookwise reader is on SALE for $120.

Coincidence. Hm. I immediately thought of friends who might like this little goodie. I have this reader and I love it. It's inexpensive and works like a jewel. This incident marked what turned out to be a chain reaction of interesting things and I can't help but think it's funny how that happens sometimes.

With thoughts of the ereader being on sale at Fictionwise fresh in my mind, I got ready for my hair appointment and tucked my e-reader in my purse and headed out thinking....hm, my Hair Goddess loves to read. Bet she'd like this thing. And oh yes, yes, yes, she did. So while I sat with a classy looking plastic drape around my neck and foil in my hair, a steady stream of women came in and out of the beauty shop, all oohing and ahhing over my cool device. Another chain reaction.

Hair Goddess' college age son arrived in the middle of it all. He needed to get money from his mom, of course, and he was mesmerized by my reader. Talk turned to how cool it would be if college kids could download their textbooks and no longer have a need to carry heavy backpacks every day and, oh wow, just think of how much cheaper textbooks could be!

The crowd got excited because most of us have college aged kids.

Funny how conversation can turn at the drop of a hat when you get a group together, isn't it? After the young man went on his way, talk turned to just what kind of books I HAD on this nifty little machine. I got a little nervous at this point because, as I've said here before, I live in a very conservative town and very few people actually KNOW what I write. But Hair Goddess wasn't shy and spoke right up. "Oh, I just read her book Killer Curves," she says with an eye roll and a grin. Pretty soon the group was enraptured. Enthralled. Shocked me to DEATH. I had to laugh.
They were downright fascinated.

Before everything was said and done, I'd been invited to an upcoming "TOY PARTY" in someone's home. I'm not talking 'Tickle Me Elmo" toys either! Lots of gossip, laughter, alcoholic beverages and they've asked me to bring my print books to sell along with the neat little e-book reader.

Like I said. Chain Reaction.