A Funny Thing Happened at the Barnes & Noble

Rick and Sasha on KITV

Sometime during the course of the past two years, on more than one occasion, we have wondered what it would feel like to see a stranger pick up our book to look at it. Would we feel proud? Would it make us blush? Would it happen in a store or somewhere else, and would we claim ownership of the book to the stranger who was looking at it? In our minds, I think we imagined it as an isolated incident, a surreal experience, that would just happen. I didn't think about what would happen before or after, or what the context would be, just that it was something we both desired to experience.

Friday, July 12th is a day we will remember for a long time. It started bright and early, before the crack of dawn, when we woke up to get ready for a LIVE television segment on KITV News This Morning, which would air at 6:20am. We had to be camera ready and at the studio before 6:00 and prepared to talk about our new book EXTREME CAKEOVERS. Our interview and demo went well and we had a blast doing our second TV spot this week! You can watch our video on KITV's website.

Rick, Glenn and Sasha

Given our very early call time for the TV taping, we felt like we were walking around in a fog for the rest of the day. Tired, but exhilarated and pumped up from the adrenaline rush. It was not your ordinary day. We ate breakfast at 3:30am and by 10:00, we were both starved and ready for lunch. It had felt like an entire day had gone by and it was only Noon!

After dinner we decided to head over to the mall to Barnes & Noble, to see if our book was on the shelves. I can't begin to describe the rush of seeing your book, your baby you worked so hard on, sitting on a bookstore's shelves. A number of our friends and family have sent us photos they took of our book at their local bookstore and we've been happy to see it so prominently placed! We wanted to be able to see the book in our hometown bookstores too. As we walked into the store and headed back to the Cookbooks section, Rick stopped in his tracks and excitedly whispered to me that someone was looking at our book! We were so excited and for a moment just stared at the back of this man's shirt wondering what part of the book he was looking at, and what he thought of it. It was a magical moment and Rick couldn't resist taking a photo of it from his mobile phone.

 
 What happened next is something neither Rick or I planned, but before I knew it, Rick approached the man and said "Cool book, huh?" and the man turned to Rick and said "Yeah, it is!" Rick and I smiled at each other. We then introduced ourselves to the man, whose name was Glenn, and told him we were the authors of the book. He looked stunned at first, like he didn't believe us. I can only imagine what it feels like to be reading a book and learn the authors are standing right next to you. It must be just as strange and wonderful as the authors noticing a stranger reading their book!

Once the introductions were made, Glenn and his friend began talking with us about the book, and asked us if we would sign his copy if he bought it. "Yes, of course!" Shortly after, he walked away, book in hand to purchase it, and returned with the book and handed us a black pen he borrowed from the store. We talked a bit with the two men and Glenn asked if he could have a photo with us. We were so flattered and said "sure!" Photos were taken, everyone was happy, and we barely thought about how tired we were (or looked). Glenn left with an autographed copy of his new book and we felt fortunate to have had the experience. 

Having had the experience of meeting a total stranger perusing your book made our long, exciting day feel complete. If it happens again, I'm sure it will be a rush all over again, but an author can only have one "Glenn" moment, and last night was ours! Thank you to "Glenn from Guam" for being there at that very moment!

extremecakeovers.com

extremecakeovers.com