tattered cover

Last week I had the great honor of giving a reading in the bookstore I pretty much grew up in -- The Tattered Cover.

It's hard to imagine a better bookstore anywhere in the country, or maybe even the world. It's huge, cozy, and independently owned. And I got the best treatment there out of all the places I've done readings so far. They even gave me an engraved bookmark, pictured above (click on the image for more pix from the event).

Since Denver is a hometown of mine (along with Elkhart, Indiana, and now KC), the place was packed with friends and family, and I sold 47 books, which quite a haul. My mom deserves most of the credit, though. As people came up to the table to get books signed they introduced themselves to me as my mom's lawyer, neighbor, bunco partner, etc.

Truly an awesome experience.

It was especially great that an old teacher of mine showed up, Paul Epstein, a man I mentioned in the book's acknowledgments. Twenry years ago he basically taught me how to write, taught me that it's not the writing but the rewriting that makes a writer. He now owns the best music store in the country -- Twist and Shout, which, like its new neighbor, the Tattered Cover, is huge, cozy, and independently owned.