Back for more…FAY JACOBS!!!!

Hi, all! Fay sent me this tidbit this past weekend to describe a book event she went to that didn’t quite work out. For those of you who missed her first guest spot with us, here’s the link to that.

Here’s a brief bio-blurb about Fay, if you’re unfamiliar with her or her work:

Fay Jacobs is the award-winning author of two super-hilarious memoirs (As I Lay Frying and Fried and True) about her life in her beloved Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Fay is a native New Yorker, who spent 30 years in the DC area working in journalism, theater, and public relations. She’s contributed feature stories to publications like The Advocate, OutTraveler, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Blade, and the Wilmington News Journal. Fay and Bonnie, her partner of 27 years (you’ll meet Bonnie, too) moved to Rehoboth Beach in 1999 where they have two miniature schnauzers AND a riding lawn mower. YEAH!

Fay’s third book is hot off the press: For Frying Out Loud. You can find that and her other work here.

source

And now, I’ll let Fay tell you all about the book event that was, indeed, eventful.

Take it away, Fay!

The book fair that got my goat
Fay Jacobs

I was seriously out of my element all day today. After traveling all over for book signings and readings – having fun in P-Town, New Orleans, Chicago and more, I decided to stick close to home this weekend for Delaware Authors’ Day – at the Delaware Agricultural Museum across the street from the Dover NASCAR track. I should have known better.

I arrived to discover I was to set up in front of the goat breed exhibit. After schlepping my own table, chair, and carton of books I felt like an old goat. As I unpacked my hot-off-the-press new book For Frying Out Loud – Rehoboth Beach Diaries (the third in my “Frying” trilogy of As I Lay Frying and Fried & True) I noticed I was underdressed. There were people in Civil War garb, folks who looked like they were going to a White House state dinner and a couple of women still dressed for Halloween or working as professional palm readers.

The man next to me boasted of having published 30 volumes about Hessian soldiers in the Revolutionary War, though his plastic spiral-bound books seemed to have been published by Kinkos.
I was surrounded by authors peddling badly bound copies of books with titles like The Last Hope is Jesus and Sex with Unicorns – How I Talk to God. [Andi note–I, ah, couldn’t find that last title to link to it…]

A young woman came up to my table, read a blurb about A&M Books and asked “What is a feminist press?” I sized her up. She seemed to have most of her teeth and wasn’t dressed for a Rebel encampment so I took a chance.

“Actually, it’s a lesbian press, but in the 70s no printer would touch a lesbian book,” I answered. The woman said nothing and actually took a step back, apparently afraid to catch, as Rachel Maddow says, “the gay.”

Once everybody was set up, a dribble of patrons came through the doors. People would walk by, pick up my book, smile at the cover and turn it over to read the back. I could tell the exact moment they got to the word gay. It wasn’t pretty.

One woman flipped through the pages, stopped and said “Oh, I opened to the wrong page. You wrote ‘pray for Obama Care’, I really can’t talk to you, you’re a Commie,” and she fled.

One bright spot had a man picking up the book, oohing and ahhing at the photo and then saying ”Wow, that’s a beautiful dog.” I thought I saw another man making a beeline for my table but it turned out he wanted to read about goat breeds. Then I got nervous when the Civil War author started to polish his sword.

And a lady came by, picked up the book, turned it over and read the entire back of the book and then said “For Frying Out Loud. Is it a cookbook? What do you fry?”

That was my exit cue. And I came back to Rehoboth to discover that while I was sitting on my butt trying to peddle books to Tea Party people, I’d sold 20 books in our independent bookstore. It’s so nice to have a niche to come home to….
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And there you have it. Fay’s day at the (NASCAR) races, folks. I’m still kind of wincing for Fay. For you authors, have you ever done an event where you were almost painfully out of your element/demographic? How’d you handle it? And for you readers, have you ever come across any gems at events like this where you never thought to find a gem? Just curious.

Thanks for coming by and happy weekend!

p.s. you can find Fay on Facebook, as well. 🙂