The Bookmine in Cottage Grove, Oregon, sells books, plants, and gifts. It’s a delightful place, just up the street from where I used to live before moving to the farm. Many a day I walked over there to buy flowers or herbs or other plants, or a book, or to chat with Gail, one of the proprietors.

So I’m happy to be having a reading and signing there this Friday, July 11, from 5 to 7 pm. Gail will provide refreshments and I’ll read an excerpt from my book. We’ll have books to sign and conversation to enjoy.

If you think this looks like an old-fashioned store on a charming street in small-town America, you’d be right. It’s on the town’s main street, appropriately called Main Street, number 702.

Whether you visit it Friday or some other day, I recommend you check it out. If you haven’t been to one of my book signing events–and happen to live within easy driving distance–this would be a great place to start. You couldn’t ask for friendlier. Or even if you have been to one, come visit us anyway. I try to pick different excerpts to read at different events. And every event has a character all its own, as every venue has its own personality.

Oh! And look what’s just inside the the door. Look closely, directly above the half-door. See it? When I step in the door of a bookstore it’s always a pleasure to see a sight like that.

Cheers! 🙂

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One more signing coming up for June. I’ll be at V.W. Books in Roseburg in the Garden Valley Shopping Center–on your left as you drive into the center, a few doors before Jo-Ann’s–Sunday afternoon, June 29, from 2 to 4.

A nice young couple runs this bookstore, which used to be in the Roseburg Valley Mall. They’re enjoying their new location. If you’re from the Roseburg area and haven’t been there, you may want to check it out.

This will be a casual event. No reading. Just signing. Please stop by if you’re in town. And if you bought a book elsewhere and would like it signed, you’re welcome to bring that by. I’ll be providing books for this event, so no one will mind.

This rounds out a busy June of events. I intend to rest on the 30th.  🙂

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Molly Bloom came in early to check out the people who came to my book signing at Annie Bloom’s Books in Portland’s Multnomah Village Thursday evening. As folks took their seats for the reading that began the event, Molly worked the crowd, slinking from one person to another. Molly is the silky black cat that lives at Annie’s, and she seemed pleased with the proceedings. Before we got her picture, though, she melted into the shadows. I had to borrow this picture.

The crowd delighted me. Many friends came, but also many people I didn’t know. They filled the chairs set out in rows for the reading, and we had to get more chairs. Some ended up standing.

Jeff from the Annie’s staff introduced me. Pleased with the numbers who came, he commented on the popularity of stories of Oregon’s history. I read a new excerpt of A Place of Her Own to the receptive crowd. Then after a little Q&A we socialized over wine with cheese and crackers, while I signed books.

I stayed in town with my good friend Tilly, who used to be my next-door neighbor near Multnomah Village. A friend of Tilly’s offered roses from her garden for the event. There are so many beautiful roses in Portland, the City of Roses. We made a bouquet from the pink ones, which reminded me of the cutting of a pink rose Martha tucked into the covered wagon to carry across the Oregon Trail from Missouri to Oregon. A bush from that cutting still lives on the farm.

The excerpt I read from the book mentioned Martha’s pink rosebush, and the listeners appreciated the connection.

All in all, a lovely evening in a wonderful bookstore.

My thanks to Andy Engholm for taking the pictures.

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Heading north to Portland tomorrow, Thursday, June 26, for my book signing and reading event at Annie Bloom’s Books. It’s a lovely store in Multnomah Village, a short hop from where I used to live in Portland. The bookstore is at 7834 SW Capitol Highway.

Pleasant ambience. And they have a delightful black cat named Molly Bloom.

I’ll read a new excerpt from my book, A Place of Her Own: The Legacy of Oregon Pioneer Martha Poindexter Maupin. The event begins at 7 pm, and I’ll begin reading shortly after 7.

For refreshments we’ll have Elkton wines from River’s Edge Winery, with crackers for nibbling.

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So this is it, the reading set to music. My thanks to Don Fisher on trumpet and Patty Wilgus on piano, and to Robin Loznak for taking the video. I know he’d have liked being tied into a sound system, but you get the feel of it. Folks there seemed to enjoy it a lot, and we did have fun.

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The rich sounds of trumpet and piano added a sweet blend with words, wine, and welcoming conversation at my book signing at Tsunami Books in Eugene yesterday evening.

My cousin Don Fisher played trumpet, with friend Patty Wilgus on piano, offering some easy-listening tunes, and revving it up a little from time to time for something a little sassier.

My daughter Carisa, who works as a reporter for the Roseburg News-Review, snapped a few photos with my camera.

 

My other daughter Christiane served wine from the River’s Edge Winery in Elkton near the family farm.

 

 

 

I enjoyed signing more books.

 

 

 

 

My son-in-law Robin Loznak kept busy shooting video (Update: I’ll post the video of our reading set to music tomorrow; it’s still uploading).

 

 

 

 

More music.

 

 

 

 

And two thumbs up from Nate at Tsunami. 🙂

 

 

 

 

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Photo by Robin Loznak with my small Nikon.

Sutherlin, Oregon, has such a great gem of a bookstore in the Books Gallery on Central Avenue. I spent a pleasant afternoon there signing books and sharing a reading from A Place of Her Own. The signing table is right in the front window with cushy chairs so people can sit in comfort and visit a moment. For the reading I moved back into an inner space with large tables and the ever-present puzzle table.

Cheryl, the proprietor, said her son suggested the puzzle table nine years ago, and they’ve had a puzzle going ever since. People stop by, work on it a while. Then others come and do a few more pieces. Folks bring in their favorite puzzles and sometimes trade. It’s a great feature.

They also offer yummy goodies to eat with excellent coffee, tea, and soft drinks.

The place isn’t far off I-5 and is definitely worth a stop. Cheryl still has a few of my books there, and I think she’ll probably keep some in stock. Check out the Books Gallery Facebook page. If you scroll down a bit you’ll see me with Robin Loznak, my son-in-law whose photos are in the book.

Again I had a few surprises, people I hadn’t seen in a long time or recognized only by name. What a great tradition, book signing!

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The Books Gallery in Sutherlin is my next stop for a book signing and reading. I’ll be there tomorrow, Saturday, June 14 from 2 to 4 pm. It’s a great little bookstore on Central Avenue, a short hop past the railroad tracks–on the right-hand side if you’re headed east from the freeway toward downtown.

The proprietor, Cheryl, is great, and her mom, Irene, too. Their bookstore is the kind of place where a person could spend most of a day happily. Besides the stacks of books and friendly people, you can sometimes find folks just sitting around a table putting together jigsaw puzzles. With yummy snacks and coffee, it’s just a lovely place to hang out.

In that special atmosphere I look forward to a great time tomorrow.

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A Place of Her Own had another fine launch today at While Away Books in Roseburg. This friendly bookstore offers a pleasant corner among their mazes of stacks for a gathering like ours–close to the large front window overlooking one of Roseburg’s tree-covered hills. My daughter Carisa Cegavske and I shared a laugh at the signing table.

She took care of selling books again, while my other daughter, Christiane Cegavske, took care of refreshments. And the staff of While Away made sure everything went smoothly.

Many folks drifted in, even a few strangers. Others came and stayed. Friends and cousins. Again I saw people I hadn’t seen in years. It was delightful to see everyone.

Even my 92-year-old aunt Elizabeth came. Although she admitted it isn’t easy for her to get out anymore, she insisted she was not going to miss this special event. Here, she appears to be checking out the message I wrote her when I signed her copy of my book. I was so glad to see her there.

Though people drifted in and out, chatting awhile before leaving with their signed books, a good group stayed to hear the reading.

All in all, a lovely afternoon.

The photos on this post were taken by Robin Loznak with my little Nikon camera.

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