Thank you, Eddie.

The Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival is an annual celebration of the artistry of building and sailing wooden boats of all types, sizes and shapes. I’ve never been around so many wooden boats in one place at one time. Some of them are truly museum pieces while others are hard-working and out on the water daily.

I brought advanced review copies of Shanghaied to a booth at the festival. Since they are not quite the final finished product, I offered them at half price. When an acquaintance from my days in the yachting industry walked by, he introduced me to his old friend, Eddie. Eddie is himself an artist with wood and was especially suited to enjoy a lot of what he saw. He was here from Maui and became the first buyer of Shanghaied. It was my honor to sign it for him.

By the end of the day, 14 more copies had sold. I then went to several of the boats on display at the docks and offered their captain a free copy of Shanghaied if s/he would leave it out and display it anywhere on his/her boat while the parade of attendees passed through. 15 copies went to “product placement.”

On the second day of the festival, it felt great to see more old friends at the world premiere of my “author talk.” By the end of the day 30 more sales were made. On the third day, another time on stage and 20 more books sold. 65 all told, getting Shanghaied out into the world has begun!

Maybe this is the fun part. Especially when this morning I received a glowing and grateful review from a reader. Thank you, Sarah.

Next up, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association tradeshow. And then lining up local readings for the week of the release: October 17. Hang on, buckle up, stay tuned, here we go, tally ho, etc…