How We Met Jimmy Gownley While Selling a Few Books

We had another flash signing at Cupboard Maker Books on Saturday, 13 October 2018. Cupboard Maker Books is our favorite bookstore, conveniently located in Enola, Pa.

In addition to 150,000-plus books and several cats, Michelle, as longtime readers of this blog know, hosts author signings. In this case, she wanted a flash signing, which means any local author can sign up, get approved, drop in, borrow a table, and set up a book display. We here at Peschel Press, always on the cutting edge when it comes to meeting readers in person, signed up. We were especially thrilled when Michelle announced that she would also be hosting a big name!

He’s a local author, living somewhere in the wilds of metropolitan Harrisburg. He’s got a charming graphic novel series called “Amelia Rules” about the adventures of a pre-teen girl, her nutty friends, and her crazy family. It’s Young Adult (YA), as you probably guessed, but pretty much anyone can read and enjoy the series. He’s got a few other books as well, including some for Disney, hosts a podcast on creativity, and does script doctor work in Hollywood on occasion.

Jimmy is a much bigger dog in the publishing dog park than we here at Peschel Press are.

Here’s his website if you can’t go to Enola to buy his books.

Bill was especially excited. He loves the books (we have them all), and listened to the podcasts on creativity, always a subject near and dear to heart. This was a chance to meet Jimmy, talk to Jimmy, and maybe sell a few of our own books.

We drove out to Enola, actually managing to leave the house before noon, a new record for us. Obviously, Jimmy Gownley acted as a spur to get us moving. We arrived, set up our tables to display Peschel Press books, cookies, catalogs, and cloth grocery bags, and sat back waiting for customers and Jimmy Gownley.

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day, not really good for the book business. It also was, as it happened, the same day as a football game at Penn State up in State College. For those of you not from Pennsylvania, a good portion of the state grinds to a halt on game days, and a contingent of residents can be counted on to make the pilgrimage to Beaver Stadium. Although many of them drove by Cupboard Maker books, I don’t think they did the right thing and stopped in to purchase books.

We talked to a lot of people, talked even more to Jimmy, and sold three books.

Jimmy was delightful to talk to. He was funny and amusing. When he signed books, he gave added value in the form of epigraphs and Amelia sketches. He drew his main character, Amelia, on the side of the building on an empty book spine.

He has a sense of humor. We, along with a ferret-loving customer, developed an idea for a new series which will not be YA: reverse harem Amish werewolf bondage porn mash-up. You read it here first, folks. Jimmy announced that he would not write the series, but he’d be happy to handle the contract negotiations for a modest fee.

It was the most enjoyable booksigning we’ve had. We got to meet readers, meet Jimmy Gownley, and sell a few books. Keep an eye on our upcoming events calendar for our next appearance at Cupboard Maker books so we can meet you too.