15 October 2021

State of Affairs

The landscape of finding books in the world has changed dramatically over the years. We all know this and have shuffled along with those changes.

Most recently in my little world, it was the shutdown of my happy place, the local library system, that hit me hardest. That change forced me into the ebook arena where I had never played before. But, like many things in life, being resistant and stubborn about it had kept me from discovering new worlds. (As we say in yoga, challenges are really just opportunities in disguise.)

Shortly after I adapted to reading on a Kindle, I got my publishing deal for The Spinster’s Fortune where sales are predominantly ebooks. So it was a good thing I already had ventured into that particular landscape and had a better understanding of it.

That doesn’t mean I like reading on Kindle better. I don’t. I love the feeling of holding a book in my hands and that is still my preference. Which leads to the other piece of landscape that has changed: vanishing bookstores. A very sad thing.

I recently learned that a bookstore from my childhood is going away. This was the bookstore where I eagerly spent my hard earned allowance (one dollar a week I think?) on the hardcover Nancy Drews, one by one in the series. I can still conjure up the exact feeling of picking out my next one and cracking open the spine for the first time. Those Nancy Drews tie right into where I am today, a published author of a mystery book. It has come full circle but has this sad trombone post note about bookstores.