Wegmans and me

For those of you who aren't familiar with the name, Wegmans is a regional grocery store chain that just happens to be headquartered in my home town. I can remember my parents shopping at the Mt. Read store when I was eight or ten (and we won't get into how many years ago that was). I've been shopping there since I had my first apartment (again--too many years to mention.) So it was a thrill for me to walk into the store yesterday and see ...

Well, hold on a second and let me backtrack.

I have wanted to get my books into Wegmans for almost four years. I can understand why they wouldn't want to bother with my small press books, but when Murder Is Binding came out last year, I tried again. Never heard from them.

A little over three weeks ago (? I'm iffy with time), I was in one of the stores and just happened to run into the woman who stocks the bookshelves. I told her I was a local author and pitched Bookmarked for Death. She took my bookmarks and said she'd ask her boss if they could stock the book.

In the meantime, I have a friend who works in the Wegmans main office. Just yesterday I heard from her, and she suggested I write to the general merchandise manager, send her a copy of the book, and tell her about Murder Is Binding's latest print run. Sniff. I only had one copy of the book, but I wrote a letter and zoomed to the P.O. After that, I went to the same Wegmans store where I'd talked to the stock lady. And there, at eye level, in all its purple glory, was Bookmarked for Death. The problem was--there was nobody in the aisle to see my happy dance or hear me shout: HEY, IT'S MY FIRST SIGHTING OF MY NEW BOOK!!!

I still would dearly love to have a book signing at Wegmans flagship store. Hey, they do it all the time in their Fairfax store with authors like Mary Higgins Clark (as chronicled in USA Today)--why not me! If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.

But--weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee--I'm in Wegmans!