There’s a lot to love about having a bookstore, but absolutely the best part is when we connect customers with works they love. Even better, we recently discovered, is how magical it is to connect true fans with favorite authors.
One of our customers, Mrs. Carol Anne Thompson, is a caregiver and is unable to attend events. She drops by periodically when she gets reprieve care and can come into town. She is a huge fan of cozy mysteries and romance and has contributed quite a lot of books of that genre to our store. She has been sweetly supportive of us since the day we opened our doors. After many months of not wanting to use her accrued store credits, she finally came in and asked me to special order some books for her. While she was here, we talked about the books she had donated, and I mentioned that Lenora Worth, one of the authors she had donated, had attended our recent Faire.
She was dumbfounded that Lenora Worth, one of her favorite authors, had been here. I told her Lenora would be attending another event in June, and she was so sad that she would not be able to attend. So once her books came in, we scheduled a time for her to come pick them up.
Meanwhile, I had told Lenora about Ms. Carol Anne, and we schemed to surprise her. When Carol Anne came into the shop, she politely greeted Lenora (not knowing who she was), then immediately began showing me the index cards where she had listed every book she’d read by Lenora. I said, “Well, guess who that is sitting by the door,” and she screamed–literally screamed. Oh my, we had an emotional morning of tears and laughter and hugs and stories. Lenora had brought autographed books for Carol Anne, and Carol Anne had brought her daughter, Charlotte, who took lots of pictures and cried along with us. It was truly a magical morning and made me feel, once again, how important neighborhood bookstores are, and will continue to be.
I’m deeply grateful for these wonderful customers and affiliates who support our store and community. We’ve been truly blessed.
