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November
2006
November
11 * Book
Vendor- 25th Annual Kentucky Book Fair, Frankfort, KY
The calm before the storm. The 25th Annual Kentucky
Book Fair before the doors open
This
is a long entry because I have a lot to say about this
world class event. First, I would like to sincerely
compliment Connie Crow and the Kentucky Book Fair Committee
for putting on the premier book event in Kentucky, and
probably the premier book event in the Midwest. Let me
start with the fabulous reception given for the authors the
evening before the event. The reception was at the Buffalo
Trace Distillery and was designed to let the authors mingle
and meet each other. It was a terrific experience. I don't
mind telling you that I was a bit intimidated to be in the
company of such esteemed authors. I envy professional
historians. They have spent so much of their lives
dedicated to a subject I love- history. One author who was
a professor at Ohio State University had spent 14 years
producing her latest book- amazing!
Author Sharon Thompson and Flavors of
Kentucky
I
met tons of interesting people at the author reception and
at the fair the next day. Among them was the
Lexington
Herald-Leader food
writer, Sharon Thompson. She was perhaps the most charming
young lady in Kentucky. She was there promoting her new
book
Flavors of
Kentucky
Dr. John Cimprich,
author of Fort
Pillow: A Civil War Massacre, and Public Memory
(in the forground at right)
and Bryan S. Bush,
author of Lloyd
Tilghman: Confederate General in the Western Theatre
(in the
dark sweater at upper left)
Next
morning I got myself together and went over to the
Frankfort Convention Center which was just a few steps from
the Capital Plaza Hotel. A storm had swept through the
night before the fair and it had gotten bitter and rainy
that morning. I went in not knowing what to expect. It was
a very, very large, well organized book fair. I found my
location and started to set up my stuff. I shared a table
with author Janice Law. She was a lawyer! Destiny, I guess.
Anyway, we had a good time talking together and scheming
how we were going to attack the day. Now comes the part
that separates this fair from other events in the Midwest.
By 10 AM the place was jammed with customers browsing the
author stalls. I attended the Indianapolis Holiday Author
Fair last year, and it was a supremely organized event- but
it is relatively young, so there wasn't all that much
traffic. I worked hard all day and sold half the books that
I sold in two hours at the Kentucky Book Fair. This was the
25th Anniversary for the Kentucky Book Fair and it has
garnered a reputation as being a happening place for book
buyers looking for gifts and good reads. I sold 35 books in
two hours. I could have sold 35 more. After I polished off
my stack, I took the opportunity to browse the fair. I
bought a book from Dr. Cimprich and I purchased Kenneth
Hafendorfer's new book Battle of Richmond
Kentucky. I had
Mr. Hafendorfer sign my personal copy of
Perryville, Battle for
Kentucky
Kenneth A. Hafendorfer, author of Battle of Richmond,
Kentucky, with yours
truly
After
browsing the fair I ate the lunch that the organizers
provided (delicious chicken salad sandwich and treats) and
packed my things. I checked out my book purchases and was
on my way home by 12:30 PM. What a whirlwind. Again, the
Kentucky Book Fair is a must-attend event as a buyer and a
delight to savor as an author and book seller. It is
absolutely simple to get to from Indiana using Interstate
64. To Connie Crow, thank you so much for giving me this
wonderful experience.
November
29 * Guest
Speaker- Green River Kiwanis Club, Evansville, IN
Yours truly receiving a memento from the Green River
Kiwanis
When
Bryan Trible first invited me to speak at the Kiwanis Club
in Evansville I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to
make it happen in 2006, but I squeezed the date in and I'm
glad I did. I arrived at the front parking lot at the
Crescent Room of the old Cullen Avenue Church and I'm
waiting for folks to show up. I'm supposed to go on at 7:30
AM and by 7:15 AM I'm pretty much sitting alone in the
parking lot. I notice a note on the door that says to go to
the rear parking lot for the Kiwanis meeting. I'm glad I
saw that note or I would still be sitting there in the
parking lot waiting for everyone. I pull around back and
the parking lot is nearly full. The Green River Kiwanis is
a large club. I walk in the door to the meeting room and
almost the first person I meet is Thornton Patberg, the man
who in 1991 sold my wife and I the homestead that we still
live on today. It was great to see him again.
Bryan helped
introduce me around but it wasn't long until I was
announced and started talking. Speaking without a script
and without any particular program can be like balancing on
a high wire. Luckily for me an inspiration came in the last
few seconds before I went up to the microphone. I decided
to focus on my personal journey with
Thunder from a Clear Sky:
Stovepipe Johnson's Confederate Raid on Newburgh,
Indiana
