The book signing at Greenthumb International this past Saturday (11/14/09) was fantastic fun!
I’m not sure how Bryan, Kirki and their wonderful staff keep doing it, but they make this open house event more colorful and festive each year. This store is noted for their all out Christmas decorating and tree dressing, but this year they added a bookend walk in Christmas display near the front of the store that really boosted the store’s holiday charm.
They had a wonderful signing station set up for me, and with live music, cookies, cider and multiple giveaways of Christmas themed gifts, it was a splendid open house to kick off the season just right. I saw return visitors from last year that purchased a book who even picked up another copy for new friends and family this year. Lots of children dropped by too – a few tried the game and even found a few of the hidden clues on the fly!
I really enjoy signing at the store, and hope to see you out there soon. We are working out a follow up date for this season, and I’ll post it to this blog as soon as it’s firm. I buy many of my Christmas ornaments at Greenthumb and have for years. Maybe I’ll bump into you around the ornament section. Cheers.
The 2nd Annual Santa Clarita Literacy Arts Festival has all the markings of a growing into an important book fair. I imagine a thousand or so people attended, and organized so close to the holidays, I thought that a respectable showing. You could feel the hustle-bustle of holiday shopping in the air.
If you made it, a big thanks for attending this event and hanging out with a bunch of book people, hearing some festive music, funny storytellers and eating some delicious but bankable unhealthy fair food!!
I signed books beside Alva Sachs, first time author and fun creator of Circus Fever, a really cute young readers picture book about discovering the circus, met a lot of new folks and saw a few friends from the past. Hart Park, the venue for the signing, is the homestead of the late great silent picture cowboy/film mogul William S. Hart whose mansion (now a museum worth a visit to) sits atop a hill that borders the park. A small bit of trivia – there is a herd of buffalo that roam a field adjoining the Hart Museum in the hills of Santa Clarita just 25 miles north of LA! Isn’t Los Angeles full of surprises?
Hanging out in Hart Park in Mid-December without a jacket!
- Sheridan looks like “Santa’s Workshop” in the evening. The lighted trees and ornaments are mesmerizing. See you there!
I’m looking forward to working with Arlene and her courteous staff at this open house event. The city of Burbank creates a wonderful atmosphere for shoppers to breeze in and out of shops in this Magnolia area of Burbank just a few blocks north of Warner Bros. studio lot. Sheridan Gardens has done a fantastic job with the decorating this year. I hope to meet you and make your “The Great Mrs. Claus” a heartfelt keepsake book for years to come. cs
Greetings! Mark your calendars. Saturday, November 8th at 9 am till 5 pm.
Please join me at Green Thumb International – Newhall, CA just 25 miles north of Los Angeles for some fun, refreshments and good cheer. Green Thumb is a nursery, but not just your garden variety type. It has awesome decorations, a gaggle of decorated trees, and one of the most complete and beautifully displayed Dept. 56 villages I’ve ever seen. Thousands of moving parts with enchanting Christmas music playing throughout the store.
If you like the smell of pine and freshly baking cookies (for real!), come out to see and smell the sights!
Here’s a pic of the book. The first shipment just arrived yesterday! They are all shrunk-wrapped and ready for a home. Cheers and I look forward to seeing you this weekend!
