CRIME ON MY MIND

What's new?

I love days like today! Not the weather, that's for sure. But the anticipation of getting a look at what's new in mysteries for the late winter season.

As part of my "mini-bookseller" role, I'm meeting with a sales rep and we'll be going through catalogues. It's an exciting part of the business, getting to see what will soon be hot off the press and determining who to stock and how many. That's the tricky part of the bookselling business. Each store caters to such a different mix of customers and that determines, to a large extent, the stock that's carried.

Of course, personal preferences do play a role, too.

When I had Prime Crime Books, there was a strong core of regulars. I knew their reading tastes; I knew how far I could lure them into other offerings. It worked out well. Now at the Prime Crime Bookshelf in Britton's, there's a mixture of my former customers along with the regulars who've been frequenting Britton's for newspapers and magazines...oh, and let's not forget those cigars...for many, many years. They're often intrigued by the display of mysteries; often open to suggestions because readers of newspapers and magazines are just that...readers.

It's been a real learning experience for me. So, starting with the authors I knew were crowd-pleasers, I'm now looking forward to approaching the new lists with a bit more of an adventuresome eye. What might please both groups of readers?

Stay tuned because some of your favourite authors might be on those lists! And that's fun for everyone.

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

A KILLER READ
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
READ and BURIED, coming Dec., 2012, available for pre-order
www.erikachase.com

CRIME ON MY MIND

Times are a'changin...

I remember when the big box stores first hit the scene, particularly Chapters, back in the days when I had Prime Crime Books. The initial panic was offset by cooler heads, one in particular -- a sales rep, who said that the independents needed to try to ride out the wave. That the big box craze would burn itself out and guess what would emerge from the ashes -- independents.

He was right. Although, unfortunately, many of us were unable to stick around until it happened.

We see it in bookstores: Borders gone out of business; Chapters/Indigo diversifying to the point where books often seem the add-ins these days. Even some of the big box retailers in other sectors are opting to open smaller, local stores these days. The store in the community where it's a cosy, friendly shopping experience. The Home Hardware model.

So, while we're still loosing Indies that are important to the soul of the community, others are opening their doors. And in Ottawa, I'm happy to say, the mixed merchandise model is alive and well at Britton's in the Glebe. I'm touting my own horn here, a bit, because it really was Ted Britton's idea. He heard, on a daily basis, from customers who still regretted the closing of Prime Crime. So, what better fit than magazines and mysteries?

He'd already ventured into the book business, stocking mainly non-fiction and local authors. His next step was to clear a healthy space of wall and bring in the mysteries. I'm having all the fun doing the ordering and displaying...and meeting with mystery lovers, usually on Saturday afternoons. But don't hold me to that schedule.

We call it the Prime Crime Bookshelf and former customers are very pleased. New customers, too.

He's also very committed to doing book signings, so most weekends, that's what you'll find at Britton's in the Glebe, at 846 Bank St. In fact, today we're having Toronto author Rick Blechta signing his hot-off-the-press mystery, The Fallen One. He'll be at the store 2-4 p.m. Tomorrow, it's popular local author Barbara Fradkin, 1-3 p.m.

So, if you're an author who's planning to visit Ottawa, let us know if you'd like to do a signing. Send me an email at prime.crime@rogers.com. If you're a reader who loves a good read, I hope you'll stop by and watch the Prime Crime Bookshelf evolve.
The mystery is...just how far can we expand?

CRIME ON MY MIND

A little bit of self-indulgence...

Hope you'll excuse a little bit of self-indulgence this a.m. Okay, I'm always self-indulgent when it comes to this blog. I write what I choose. But today, it's even more-so.

Three and a bit years ago, I closed Prime Crime Books in the Glebe. There were no serious buyers on the horizon -- well, there was one but that didn't work out -- and I felt it was time to move on, for many reasons. At first I mainly missed the customers. Many had become friends and I looked forward to their regular visits. Next, I missed ordering the books. What fun it used to be, perusing the catalogues, talking to the sales reps, and in particular, unpacking the boxes when the orders arrived. It was like Christmas several times a week!

But my book contract came along and I dove into it, re-surfacing for such things as choir tours, conferences, and in particular, my son's wedding! It's when the first book, A Killer Read, came out and I started doing signings in bookstores that the first pangs hit. I really missed being in a bookstore! I missed the customers and I missed being surrounded by all those books.

Then along came Ted Britton at Britton's in the Glebe. It's basically a magazine and cigar store and has been in the Glebe as long as I can remember. Ted's a friendly guy and a fixture in the Glebe. He has his finger on the pulse of the community and knows so many of the locals by name. He started hearing that some of his customers really missed Prime Crime Books. I'd been hearing the same thing, every time I'd run into a familiar Glebe face. So, Ted got to thinking, perhaps he should increase his small section of books to include more mysteries. Eventually, this idea translated into quite a leap of faith for Ted Britton.

The Prime Crime Bookshelf is now a reality in Britton's at 846 Bank Street. It's a wall space of about 12 feet, with a mixture of some of the thrillers he's been carrying and new stock that I've been 'ordering'. Yes, I'm now part of the Britton's adventure and will be in the store every Saturday, noon - 4 p.m., except when I'm traveling (like Aug. 11th to the Scene of the Crime Festival).

We'll be adding author events as things really get rolling.

Our focus will be on Canadian mystery authors, particularly local Ottawans. But of course, we'll carry some Brits and Americans, and some prime international names, too! The space dictates the number of authors and titles but I'm hoping we'll be able to give a good representation of what's happening in the mystery/crime field. It's also an evolving space and I'll adjust authors according to what's selling best and also, what you tell me you'd like to see on the shelves.

So, please stop by and see what's happening; send me an email if you'd like to add your suggestions or a special order, to prime.crime@rogers.com.

Wishing you loads of mysterious reading!

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

A KILLER READ
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
READ & BURIED, coming Dec., 2012
www.erikachase.com