Happy Bits and Bobs

I'm sooo delighted to have Bound in the Pauline Books & Media store downtown Charleston as well as in Island Expressions, a beautiful little boutique shop on Daniel Island. It's wonderful to be amongst the greats. Books really are the only thing that break the space/time barrier so my book is happy to rub its spine against Flannery's. Up above were Tolkien and Lewis. 

I promised that I'd share results of my weekend sale for the e-book. It was a success. There were 18 downloads :) Don't laugh. When you've had zero in a week, 18 is progress. As you can see, my reach is very small. I know of people who get thousands of downloads when they have a sale. I don't know enough about advertising to throw $$$ at it yet. My hope is that those who read Bound will share it. That way readership will grow organically. 

Friends, I ask that you request Bound at your library whether or not you've purchased a copy. This becomes win-win for all. ISBN is 978-1983227417. Thank you. 

We've also had a bounty of jalapenos so Michael made ABTs. I made an Indian milk dessert--kalakand--from the gallon of milk left over. Oh my! It was a perfect antidote for the jalapenos. The cats, too, enjoyed licking the bowl. Here they are, sated!

I also received a newsy letter in this beautiful handmade card from my PhD advisor, Lin. I love how much care she's taken to choose a card (her sister is the artist) that fits with Bound. I can almost imagine it was made specially to highlight some of the themes in my book! She'd introduced me to Marcel Proust--there was a copy of Remembrance of Things Past in our tea room, where she also kept the two-volume Oxford English Dictionary. Even though I had to use a magnifying glass to read it, I loved it. It's such a rare scientist who enjoys using words precisely (I think it's a necessity no matter what field you're in). It was so good to catch up on her life and to know she enjoyed Bound so much she wants to share it with a long-time colleague and friend from England who comes every summer to do a few experiments with her. How I wish I could join them for a discussion. It'd be like old times. Happy sigh!