It’s hard to believe the day I’ve been waiting for has finally come! Just over a year ago, Camel Press accepted An Act of Murder for publication. In that year, so much has changed. I went from thinking the book was ready to knowing it was ready. Little did I realize then that quite a difference exists between those two. Publication has been an incredible learning experience, one that I wouldn’t change for all the extra hours of sleep in the world.

I celebrated the launch by signing books at Zandbroz Variety, an independent bookseller in downtown Sioux Falls, SD. It’s wonderful to have an independent store that cares about local authors, and I was grateful to the owner and staff at Zandbroz for being so generous and accommodating. I had a strong turnout and sold out of books within the first hour. Luckily, I had an extra box with me (something one writer told me she is never without)! We mowed through those in the next hour.

The best aspect of the book signing, though, was talking to readers. A voracious reader myself, I love talking about books—not just my own! I met a woman in a book club that had sixteen members. I was completely jealous but kept my envy to myself and instead handed her sixteen bookmarks. I met a group of young readers, and one reader surprised me by inquiring about my favorite quote from An Act of Murder. Ask me my favorite quotes from famous authors, and I could probably rattle off three or four, but I was silent for a good two or three minutes until I remembered a sentence in the prologue that I particularly like.

Of course my dear family and friends showed up as well, and I felt thankful to have so many truly good people in my life. My daughters were probably my best marketers, dropping not-so-subtle hints to passersby about the awesome mystery writer signing books inside. And my mom? Well, I’m just glad she didn’t show up with a news crew from CNN. Nothing is impossible when she is involved!

Serious thanks, though, to everybody who did come out. Your support made my debut of An Act of Murder a day I will always treasure!