Skip to main content

Waterstone's Carmarthen: Round Two!


‘And you’ve got Matthew Rhys in today too, haven’t you?’ I observe. ‘Er. No,’ says Lovely Tim, ‘that was a mistake on the website. But we do have a lady from The Coal House.’ Introduce myself to Lady From The Coal House who asks me how long I’ve worked in Waterstone’s. Wander back to my table and get asked (1) where the dictionaries are (2) if I would like to buy a CD (3) did I really write my book?

Despite stiff competition from Sleb biogs which seem to be high on customer Christmas lists, I do manage to sell some copies of Turning the Tide. In addition I meet some lovely people and one very cute dog (looking for a copy of ‘Scents and Sensibility’, no doubt. Or ‘The House at Poo Corner'.)

Thanks very much to the staff at Waterstone’s and everyone who stopped to chat.

Comments

ha ha at least you look like you had fun doing it
Frances said…
Chris, I am so glad that Waterstone's is inviting you back, and bet that the folks who bought your TTT will be recommending it to their friends. Wouldn't you say it's a perfect Christmas gift?

xo
Those that didn't buy a copy of TTT don't know what they're missing, but I'm sure they'll find out at some point.

Glad it all went well.
Pauline Barclay said…
Loved the bit when asked how long you had worked there...no homework done by 'From the Coalhouse.' I Can only repeat what Deb's said, they don't know what they are missing...I do I've read Turning the Tide and they should buy a copy!...hugs to you x
Fennie said…
Sorry we couldn't have come over to give you moral support again, but looks like you've become a fixture there. Do hope sales are going well.
her at home said…
Think what material you have stored away after your new experieinces with book signings! Well done!
Milla said…
well done you, you old hand!
Jane Lovering said…
Well done for putting your face back out there! And even those people who didn't buy a copy will remember your name next time - it's all about the image dahhhhhling...
Wish I'd been there! Brilliant that they invited you back a second time!
Anonymous said…
Well done Chris, keep going. TTT is the best!
Chris Stovell said…
Joanna,it's fun once you get over the nerves.

Frances, you have to tell all the people buying the Sleb biogs for their friends - I lost out to Katie Price!

Debs, aw, thank you!

Pauline, you too - thanks for the support.

Fennie, gosh, I didnt expect you to make that journey twice - it was lovely seeing you the first time. Sales? Still battling with being a newbie and unknown.

HaH, yes, lots there! Thank you!

Milla, hmmm, not quite an old hand so far as public in Carmarthen go, they knew The Lady From The Coal House though!

Jane, I can see I'll have to take some lessons from you! The nerves before going out there are terrible!

Christina, it would have been lovely to see you!

Nikki, shouldn't you be NaNo-ing? *taps foot*. Good to see you, hun, and thank you.
Lane Mathias said…
I hope you told the Lady from The Coalhouse what for. No, course you didn't - as unlike her, you're a pro.

Well done m'dear. You look very much at home behind that desk. And rightly so x

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Endings, New Beginnings

Blended families come with conflicting loyalties and at Christmas time nearly everyone has somewhere else they feel they ought to be. Throw partners into the equation and it gets even more complicated. Since Tom and I aren’t especially hung up about Christmas we’re happy to let our children go with the strongest flow, but I have to say it was a great delight to have the girls and their partners staying with us this year. When such moments are few and far between they become very precious. My stepsons weren’t far from our thoughts either, not least because we had the very happy news on Christmas Day that my elder stepson and his girlfriend had become engaged. Congratulations Dan and Gill, here’s wishing you every happiness together. Tom and I end a year that has seen the fruition of many years work, both of us crossing important thresholds within weeks of each other. I’m really looking forwards to seeing Turning the Tide published next year and it’s been so satisfying, after al

Reconnecting

I hadn't realised it until now , but it’s probably no coincidence that my last post was about our trip to Norwich, a city I’ve loved since studying at UEA. I wrote, then, that coming home was a hard landing, a feeling that took me completely by surprise as it’s been such a privilege to live in this beautiful, remote spot on the very edge of the west Wales coast. A trip to Skye at the end of October - Tom’s choice - with Ma, was a truly lovely holiday. The weather was kind, the colours of those breathtaking seascapes will stay with me, as will all the happy memories we made that week. And, because our small cottage had been so beautifully modernised and worked so well for the three of us, it was easy to imagine what it might be like to live somewhere different. If travel doesn’t broaden the mind, it certainly brings a new perspective. By the end of the year, Tom and I had decided that it was time for a change, time to move closer to a town (we are neither of us, as they say, getting

Fly Free, Dottie Do

‘How many days to my birthday?’ Ma asks. I do a quick calculation. ‘Eighteen,’ I reply. ‘Eighteen days until your ninetieth birthday.’ Ma pulls a face and shakes her head. Every sentence is hard work for her now, when each breath is a struggle. ‘You’ll have to write a book about this, you know,’ she says, with one of her quick, mischievous smiles. ‘“Carry On Dying”. Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry.’ The smile fades. ‘Who knew,’ she adds wearily, ‘that dying would be such a palaver?’  It’s only eleven days since Ma was diagnosed with a high-grade, aggressive lymphoma, four days since she was overwhelmed with pain and breathing difficulties and was admitted as an emergency to hospital. Until a few weeks ago, she lived completely independently; shopping, cooking, cleaning and tending her much-loved garden. The deterioration in her health is shockingly rapid. The eight days preceding her death are a living hell, a constant battle with the ward staff to get Ma the pain relief she’s been presc