Like I said, I’ve got many tales to tell.
My favorite author Margaret Atwood appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers recently to promote her new book Old Babes in the Wood—and she’s still dragging her old lady handbag along . . .
The first time I met her in downtown Cleveland I had not read anything except The Handmaid’s Tale. I had it with me. It was a first edition printing and she signed it for me. I treasure that book.
Peggy Atwood keeps her audience laughing. She does not take herself seriously.
***
Mystery author Rita Mae Brown was scheduled to appear at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lyndhurst. I had some of her Mrs. Murphy books featuring her tiger cat Sneaky Pie to get signed—as well as a first-edition of her early feminist classic (Rubyfruit Jungle).
My friend Debbie read some of the Mrs. Murphy books and accompanied me to the event.
We were seated in the audience when a middle-aged woman with gray hair walked to the podium and thanked us all for attending and proceeded to discuss her latest book.
It must have been obvious—both Debbie and I turned over a copy of the books in our laps to glance at the author photo—and then at the woman behind the podium—and then at one another!
Brown clearly has been using the same flattering author photo for too long. It’s definitely time for an update!
While I sat there, I was reminded about my friend M.K.’s offer to work for her as an author-escort . . . what if I had been looking for Rita Mae Brown at the airport? Would I have found her?
***
When I showed up for an appearance by Anne Rice at Booksellers in the Pavilion Mall (who was on tour to promote the latest in her series of vampire-themed novels) I found myself standing with the treasurer from a local school district that I covered as a newspaper stringer.
Balding old Bob? A big fan of vampire fiction?
We became “line-buddies” and were talking books! The line wound from inside Booksellers out into the adjoining Pavilion Mall. I could only claim to have read Rice’s first book Interview With The Vampire in softcover, but Bob was proud to tell me he was a huge fan.
Bob claimed to have read all of Rice’s books, and I could tell the conversation would likely veer into her “other” books, her series of erotica novels written in the 1980s under the pseudonym A. N. Roquelaure. Known as The Sleeping Beauty books, Rice announced she was the author in the late ‘90s and they were reissued and now displayed right there on the shelf alongside mainstream fiction. I had a copy of Belinda with me and got it signed along with her new release. Belinda was considered “light” erotica and not as explicit as the Beauty series.
Again, I felt out of place with the people standing in line—so many were leaning WICCAN and into the occult, dressed like her characters. I was happy to get my book signed and take off. And I didn’t want to get into any deep conversations with Bob . . .
Rice’s rarest book is the first edition printing of Interview with The Vampire in a decent dust jacket. The metallic foil jacket was a poor design choice and didn’t hold up well. Simple handling led to creasing and edgewear. My copy was good at best, and I was lucky to find it for my collection.
Price guides listed it at $600 and the copy I came across at the annual CWRU Book Sale was marked $300. Ever-frugal, I waited until half-price day. When the doors opened, I dashed to the rare and unusual table. It became MINE—for $150. (Don’t tell Fred Mertz.)
When Anne Rice was scheduled for another book tour stop in Cleveland at a local Barnes & Noble I was excited. I bought Rice’s newest book and intended to get it signed as well as my rare collectible.
When I arrived at Barnes & Noble, I was informed that Rice would only sign her newest book with proof of purchase. I could not get my rare first-edition book signed. I used my receipt to return the new release and left in a huff.
Thinking back now, I should have tucked the rare book into my purse and pulled it out when I got to the signing table. Rice might have signed it if I told her how I was a serious modern first-edition collector and wasn’t going to sell it.
Rice’s gone now. She died in 2021. No more book tours. No more signing opportunities. Interview With the Vampire remains rare and unsigned on my bookshelf.