Welcome to My Monday Morning. Some of you might be enjoying a nice President's Day off. I am at work trying to catch up on a day that the phone doesn't ring off the hook and 200 emails don't pour in. You know what I have often wondered about President's Day? -- I know you probably don't care, but I have you here, so keep reading -- How does a truck and car sale, or any sale for that matter help us celebrate two of our presidents? There is a new commercial for one of the car companies and its Annual President's Day sale. It shows a series of their trucks and cars with images of presidents in the background while a hip-hop beat plays. Eventually, you notice that the beat is also playing out Hail to the Chief. This came on last night and all I could think was "Huh?". How in the heck does buying cars, trucks or whatever celebrate American leaders? I know the knee jerk response is, by participating in capitalism, we are supporting the American Way.

I could go on and bash the whole idea but I will just ask this question: Do you think it works? Do you really think that people get out of bed on Monday and say, "Well honey, you know we don't have to go to work today. The government office we work in is closed today so I think we should go out and buy us a new car and maybe some jumbo-sized packages of corn chips from the warehouse store. You know, the president did say if we don't go shop, the terrorists might win. I have no idea what they win, maybe it is a life time supply of Turtle Wax. That would be a wonderful prize.

Enough about President's Day. I have been told recently that maybe you guys don't click on my blog link from the newsletter because I blab too much about things that don't have anything to do with Events. Personally, I wonder how you would know I wasn't talking about events if you didn't click on my link and start reading. Once you click and start reading, I get credit for the click and it is too late even if you change your mind. I have no clue if that is true or not. I just write the words and have no clue what happens after the fact.

So, there is an event coming up -- you know what? I know I just said that I was going to talk about events more than what I am having for lunch, the weather or things that just drive me nuts, I thought I might actually tell you about what I do every day. Would that be mildly interesting or would you all rather I just tell you about an author that is coming? Should I wait? Okay, I will do both. I will tell you about the things I do everyday and then I will tell you about my cool new event coming up. Deal?

Here is what I do on any given day: I get into work and find a cup of coffee. Sometimes, I steal whatever coffee is left in the pot then make a fresh one, sometimes I am early enough that I get to make the first pot. Coffee in hand, I settle into my desk and check the voicemails that came in from last night. Sometimes they are important, sometimes they are from the flatworm author checking back in to make sure I got the last 32 messages he left me and the 205 that his publicist sent. For a given event, I have to update our in-house event calendar, send out emails to get books ordered, receive the books that come in for the events, make certain that the books I ordered are at the right store, make sure the store knows they are having an event, and that they have everything they need for it. Sometimes what the store needs most for an event is an extra body to be in the store during the event. If that is the case, then I have to be out of the office and down in the store before it all gets started. If the store in question is in Virginia, like most of our stores, then I have to be through the District before rush hour hits otherwise I will never get there. Once in the store I get to act like a clown and entertain the customers while they wait for the author to show up. I actually like this part. I enjoy talking to customers and finding out what they like to come out to events for, how they found out about the event and what else they would like to see. On occasion, this backfires because this is how the flatworm author gets my information and starts his campaign.

Once an event starts, it just sort of runs. Authors know what they are doing, customers know that they are supposed to be quiet and listen, and I get to be the mediator that makes sure things runs smooth. When the author has stopped talking, the questions have stopped being asked and the books have all been signed, there are still chairs to be put away, books to be transfered around to other stores, stickers to be stuck on books, and sometimes authors to be driven to the train station. You would think that a massive corporate conglomerate like Olsson's would have an unlimited number of staff that would do all these things for us but we are smaller than you think and have a very limited number of staff members. Our staff wear lots of hats.

After the event has finished up, a wrap-up has to be sent off to publicists about how their author did, we like to keep a version in our system as well just so we know how the author did when then are in town again. Books have to be sent back to the publishers from events that didn't do as well as I had hoped. In a perfect world, I would order the exact amount of books that sell at each event. Too bad the world isn't perfect. The world is full of things like weather, traffic, absent minded customers and my favorite malady, apathy. Some people just aren't interested in the events that are booked. A book could be great, the subject could be fantastic and still not a soul is going to come out to an in-store event.

That sort of thing happens for one event, now imagine that multiplied by forty-five or more each month. I also set up and sometimes have to go out to and work off-site events. These off-site events are just like an in-store event, but they happen at an office, someone's house, a bar, or who knows. I have a small staff that does nothing but work these events, and I do my best to keep them busy. On occasion we get so many off-sites that everyone is out on a given night, including myself or Alicia trying to cover them all. I am not complaining about work. Work pays my bills. Work keeps me from spending my day at the gym and going into professional wrestling. I am just planting the seed that if you count up all the things I have to do on any given day not including the occasional things like writing a blog once a week, assisting in the grand opening of a new store, sorting out the accounting of a client that does events on consignment, picking out touring authors from catalogs or eating lunch, the days are pretty full. Full to the point that I am lucky to get out of the office with less than 50 hours a week.

That is the junk I have to do every day. Like I said, I am not complaining just talking about events. Speaking of events, we are having some this week. We are also having some nest week. I told you about the Jon Clinch event at Crystal City (See the blog entry if that makes no sense). I am lucky enough to host another good author the day after the Finn event. This book is called The Tailor's Daughter by Janice Graham. Janice is a lovely woman who resides in the middle of Middle America in a mythical town called Kansas City. Kansas City is probably the most famous city named after a state it is not in. I have never figured out how you get a city named after another state. I grew up in Idaho, I am pretty sure there is no town called Colorado Hills there, but I digres.

Janice Graham wrote a lovely book set in Victorian London about a young girl who looses her hearing at age sixteen from a fever and follows her father's footsteps into the world of tailoring on famed Saville Row. I have yet to read this book but it is working it's way up my "To Read" list. I have only read blurbs about the book but I have spent a good amount of time on the telephone with Ms. Graham. She is a lovely woman. We had a nice long chat one afternoon about playing Clue and most of our emails get signed off with a speculation as to who committed the crime. She is a very engaging speaker and if her personality in real life is a fraction of what it is on the phone, Tuesday the 27th should be the best night to get out of the house and come listen to an author. Don't take my word for it, I am only an overworked event coordinator. Read the following reviews:

"The Tailor's Daughter is a Victorian novel in both style and length, and a great pleasure for both of those reasons…. A feisty heroine meets a cold-hearted aristocrat and wins him despite himself, his villainous father and conspiring relations. It is a rich dance of a novel with every ingredient of the popular romance: near-death illness, adoring older suitor, wonderful clothes, great romantic love, hope, despair and disgrace…, a stolen child and a happy ending. It has everything but a Maharajah -- oh, I forgot: there is even a Maharajah." —Philippa Gregory, author of the New York Times bestseller The Virgin's Lover

The Tailor's Daughter is an engaging story about a strong and gifted young deaf woman… it is also a testimony to the value of sign language in the education of deaf people everywhere… Like Veda Grenfell, I became deaf at a young age, and like her coming to terms with my deafness was a slow and sometimes challenging process. But I also share with her the exhilarating and empowering experience of learning to communicate in sign language…there are no limits on what a deaf person can achieve.—I. King Jordan, President, Gallaudet University

A good time will be had by all, come on out to Dupont Circle. There is a Krispy Kreme right there. Nothing like a hot donut and a good chat with a feisty and fun loving author. I am going to do my best to get out there for the event. You know how my days start out. I tried to give you a glimpse as to what sorts of things happen over the course of the day. They are sometimes different, but they are quite often just like I described, and to give you one last idea about how the day ends up, it is now after 11pm. I am at home on my laptop. I started out today around 9 am and had a couple hours out to eat and to drive between one place and the other. So I may not make it, but I will do my best to get there.

Goodnight.