Chapters book signing sold out in 45 minutes

Yesterday I visited the Chapters-Indigo store on Rideau & Sussex in Ottawa for a book signing of Shakedown. We didn't really advertise the event much -- I mentioned it on my blog, and when I was on CFRA yesterday, my hosts were kind enough to mention it.

When I walked into the store with my publicist, I was about to say: "I hope I'm not sitting by myself at a desk, looking lonely!" when I saw a group of people. At first I thought they were lined up at the cashier -- but they were lined up at the desk where I was supposed to sit and sign books, their copies of Shakedown in hand. They had come early -- in fact, some had driven in from as far away as Brockville!

I was so excited -- relieved, actually -- that I snapped a quick picture of the dozen or so early-birds on my BlackBerry:

 

Within half an hour, the store's entire stock of Shakedown was exhausted, and they brought in more copies from their sister stores. That ran out, too. And while it took me almost an hour to sign everyone's books, regrettably a dozen or so people left empty-handed -- there just weren't anymore there, though I did chat with them for a bit.

I think the popularity of the book has caught some folks off guard -- maybe even myself. It's been on Amazon.ca's top ten list of best-sellers for a few weeks; my publisher has already ordered a second printing. I'm so glad McClelland & Stewart published it; they've got the distribution muscle (and sterling reputation) that is ensuring that the book is being well-distributed.

I'll have some book signings in several other cities in the next little while -- I'll publish the details of those soon, too.