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Candy Thief by Crystal B. Bright

Some of the writers in

my writing group tease me sometimes about a couple of my book signing venues. I don't pick the standard spots like, of course, book stores or even coffee houses. I've signed at adult toy stores, and have actually been successful there.

To broaden my audience, and to test the waters of a "normal" book signing spot, I went to a pretty upscale and well-attended book festival in Virginia earlier this year. At all of my book signing events, I always have a basket of chocolates with the guise that readers need their strength going from table to table. That usually gets a laugh out of them and they stop and take a look at what I have.

At this "normal" event, there was an older gentleman walking around who I will say was in a transitional phase of his life. From far away, I thought he was a woman. When he came up to my table, I saw that he was growing his hair out and curling it as much as he could, wearing dark blush on his cheeks, lipstick and eye shadow, and his fingernails were painted blue. The five o'clock shadow and the Adam's Apple gave him away, too.

So I smiled and showed off my books, which he had absolutely no interest in viewing. Then he grabbed handfuls of my candy. And I don't mean once or twice. He would take 3 and 4 handfuls at a time. After his pillaging, he ducked himself into some workshops. But by the end of the day, he came back and grabbed more candy before finally leaving.

So at my so-called "normal" event, I encountered someone that my fellow writers assumed would only have been at the adult toy store signings. After that, I think I'll stick to the adult toy store...or just give away pens!

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