The Perfect Book Signing

A warm evening, soft music, delicious food, a little wine, great friends and Evenings at the Argentine Club available for purchase all made for an enchanting launch last night.

Of course, not everything goes as planned one-hundred percent of the time. And in fact, I made myself a promise recently that I was not going to allow myself get upset and stressed out over things I had no control over. And as tends to happen when you make a deal with yourself, that promise was put to the test yesterday.

Having spent the day making sure I had everything perfect - not only my clothes and getting my hair done (since my favorite way to wear it is in a pony tail) but also having extra books in my car, pens, my large poster board of the book, and a full gas tank - I thought I was totally prepared.

And I was! I was even due to get to the restaurant an hour early. But 20 minutes down the freeway, I feel a pop and then my car begins to shake and I know I'm in trouble. Proud of myself for not spouting a string of curses, I turned to my mother who was riding with me, and told her I had a flat tire and preceded to pull out of the carpool lane and to the center of the freeway with cars flying 200 miles an hour past me.

I called AAA who promised to send a tow truck out soon, then my husband who happily supplied the curses I so wanted to say myself. Coming to my rescue in the dirty van whose air-conditioning died this week, we transferred my extra books to the van, and my big husband took my tiny car with the tiny temporary wheel back home. And I, with wind blown hair, feeling extremely hot and flustered (in a bad way) continued to the signing.


But I'm happy to say that when I got to Tango Baires Cafe, I found the Borders book seller looking very happy and relaxed beside a table full of my books, enjoying a cool drink and some snacks. I then walked inside and found friends and readers enjoying dinner, and the restaurant owners busily working to keep everyone happy.

The rest of the night was a beautifully relaxing time. People enjoyed their meals and time with their friends and family, and strolled out to the patio when they were ready to purchase a book. Unlike typical book signings where people get a few seconds to talk to the author then have to move a side, or feel awkward standing beside a signing table and leave, here we got a chance to sit together and chat.

A college student photographed the event and interviewed me at the end of the night, and I met some great new readers from Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico. Even the mom of 90210 star, Michael Steger stopped by to buy a book.


Thank you to all who promoted the event and attended, helping make this an unforgettable night! There was talk last night about expanding the evening and creating an Argentine restaurant tour - LOL - so you never know. We may be following this up in another city on another night!