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
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