My First Book Signing Event That Wasn't

On October 15, 2022, the Skaneateles Historical Society hosted my first-ever Book Signing Event, although it became much more than that. I gulped when Julie DiBagio ushered me into a room with a dozen chairs that arced before an antique table. "Holy mackeral," I said to myself. "If anyone shows up, this won't be just a Book Signing, this is going to become an Author Talk. What the heck can I say about 1835 Philadelphia that will be of interest to a bunch of people in Skaneateles, NY?"

The first person to walk in the door was Judith G. Bryant, the great-great-grandniece of Harriet Tubman. Somewhat star-struck, I yammered something about being in the presence of royalty, she smiled and sat down, and we were off. I mentioned that Harriet passed through Philadelphia during her escape from enslavement in 1849 and that she will make an appearance in Rian Krieger's Journey starting with Book 6. We established that we were both present when Skaneateles High School burned down (my first memory, she was a junior in high school) in 1952.

Before I knew it, a dozen people had filtered in. We went through introductions and chatted for a bit. Julie introduced me by saying that she and her best friend Kitty Conners used to tease me when we were kids (they were a couple of years older than I was). I said I had a mad crush on Kitty and therefore, any attention was awesome. Then I just started to spew in a stream-of-consciousness sort of way.

45 minutes later, we wrapped up, including a very stimulating Q&A. Then, I was shocked to see standing before me, my old crush Kitty Conners and her brother Jimmie, who was my best friend from kindergarten until he went off to college. Dang, it was so much more than a Book Signing. It was a meeting with a woman whose family stories weave through Rian Krieger's Journey, a successful Author Talk, and a reunion of old friends.