Author: Marissa DeCuir

A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent. Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.

An interview with Gretchen Shuler of Fiction Addiction

Posted on August 16, 2022 | by Marissa DeCuir

What is your favorite area of your bookstore?

Walking into the front door. We are a small store, so when you walk into the store you are enveloped with the new book smell, and it is akin to getting a hug from the books.

What’s the coolest book cover that you like to have facing out on the shelves?

I have two favorite covers that I make sure are facing out: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh, because of the beautiful colors and intricate designs that tells as much of a story as the book itself, and The Wedding Veil by Kristy Woodson Harvey, because it’s a beautiful bride walking in front of the Biltmore House.

If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

My favorite new release staff pick right now is The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston. The idea of a ghost writer falling in love with a ghost was an intriguing idea. Then you add in Ashley’s punny antidotes and you have a book that will keep you giggling all the way through.

My favorite backstock pick is The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. It’s a modern twist of a gothic tale that follows three three prep school boys on a quest to find a lost king. It is my go to whenever I need a reading pick me up.

Do you have a strange customer story?

I don’t have a strange customer story, but I do have a very memorable customer experience that happened a few months ago. I had a family (grandmother, mother, and daughter) come to the store on a Saturday afternoon. They were very excited to be at the store. While they were looking around, they told me their story. They were on a book road trip from Alabama. The daughter was an avid reader, and loved in-person author events. However, the pandemic had stopped these events. So the grandmother gave her a road trip to all of the independent bookstores that had signed books of her favorite authors from Alamaba to the Northern Banks, North Carolina. We were the middle point of their journey. It was so much fun to hear about the different stores they had visited, and to see their enthusiasm while exploring the store.

What author have you been starstruck to meet or have gotten to host a fun virtual event?

I am a huge fangirl when it comes to authors. My work shirt says it all, “Professional Fangirl.” The best starstruck moment was meeting Alex London at YALLFest in Charleston, South Carolina. I had read his book Proxy, and I had made him a bookmark as a gift to celebrate his book. I was such a nervous wreck, I could not keep my hands from shaking. He took the time to talk to me and take a picture. It was one of my favorite moments meeting an author.

What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

One major misconception I have seen is that people think we have read every book in the store.

What is your least favorite bookstore task? Favorite part about working in a bookstore?

My least favorite task is standing on a foot stool to get items off the high shelves. I am terribly afraid of heights (even the height of a step stool), and it always feels like I am walking on a tightrope. My favorite part of working in the bookstore is setting up the window displays. I love the ability to be creative and come up with new ideas. Some of my favorite window designs were our Black History Month window and Pride month window. I’m currently working on a Banned Books month display.

Can you recommend an underrated read alike book for one of the store’s top titles?

I actually had an encounter with a customer with a similar request a few weeks ago. She had just read Emma Straub’s This Time Tomorrow. She said she really enjoyed it, and wanted something similar but original. I recommend Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. The books are similar with mystical realism, time travel, and family dynamics.

What is the best dedication or first line of a book that you can remember?

My most favorite dedication was in My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, the dedication reads:
“For everyone who knows there was enough room for Leonard DiCaprio on that door.
And for England. We’re really sorry for what we’re about to do to your history.”

What’s YOUR favorite indie bookstore that you’ve visited besides your own?

Blue Bicycle Books in Charleston, S.C.

Gretchen Shuler is a bookseller at Fiction Addiction in Greenville, S.C.

Marissa DeCuir

Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.

booksforward.com/about-us/marissa-decuir/

Ask an Expert: A Conversation with Bryan Robinson on How to Build a Successful Author Brand (Without Burning Out)

Posted on August 12, 2022 | by Marissa DeCuir

It’s important for authors to protect their mental health; like any other job, failing to care for your mental wellbeing can result in serious burnout. As an author and a psychotherapist, Bryan Robinson understands the unique challenges authors face when caring for their mental wellbeing. Robinson has successfully published numerous titles about combatting both workaholism and burnout, and taking care of yourself, including Chained to the Desk (4th edition – 2023), #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn on Your Life (2019), and Daily Writing Resilience (2018). Today on the blog, he’s sharing some of his top tips about how to build a successful author brand, while caring for your mental health.

What’s your top piece of advice for writers when it comes to mental health?
When you receive a rejection (and you will; every great writer has), don’t take it personally. You can’t have an up without a down, a right without a left, a success without a failure. Writing success is built on writing failure. That’s how you learned to walk. You fell down a few times when you were a toddler before you could walk and run on your own. Your mindset is essential for your success. So remember rejection and success are a package deal.
Are there certain groups or resources you recommend for writers to help them protect and improve their mental health and wellbeing?
My book, DAILY WRITING RESILIENCE is exactly for that. It has 365 readings to deal with all the obstacles writers encounter on their literary trajectory. Also joining organizations such as International Thriller Writers or Mystery Writers of America and conferences such as Killer Nashville are supports every writer needs to develop resilience and stay in the game. It’s a lonely enterprise and support is essential to boost your self-confidence.
What’s something you wish someone had told you as a debut author?
Your book isn’t as great as you think it is, but you can make it great with the right attitude, persistence, and skill. Perseverance is as important or more important than a well written book. Too many debut writers give up because they can’t take the hard knocks. If you want to see your writing in print, never give up, keep learning, and take that towel you want to throw in, wipe the sweat off your brow, and keep on plugging away. And you’ll get there.
You are an expert at branding yourself as an expert. Why is “branding” important (particularly for nonfiction authors)? What tips would you offer to other writers who are seeking to publicly “brand” themselves as experts in the subjects they are writing on?
You have to have a platform, credentials, or extensive experience to be an expert. Sometimes that takes years of schooling or years of practice so that you truly are an expert. If you don’t have one, the first step is to develop your platform by working as a consultant or a writer gratis to get the experience under your belt part. Then you have to promote yourself. That’s the sticky part. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. If you have a book, your expertise is part of the product. If you shy away from talking about yourself and your skills out of modesty, you’re sabotaging your branding. Of course, you have to be discreet. Nobody wants to hear someone drone on about how much they know about something. But you need to find that line where you feel comfortable promoting yourself without carpet bombing people with the promotions.
Bonus: In your opinion, what does it mean to be a “successful” writer?
It’s a life dream. When I was seven, I wrote stories to get away from a dysfunctional childhood. A teacher teaches, a doctor heals people, a realtor sells everyday. A successful writer writes everyday, not just on a whim. A successful writer pens their craft because they are passionate about writing, not because they want to be famous or rich. If you lose your passion and don’t consider it as a job, you’re dead meat.

Bryan E. Robinson is an author, psychotherapist, and Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is Chief Architect Officer (CAO) of ComfortZones Digital, Inc. He is a regular contributor to Killer Nashville Magazine, The Big Thrill, Thrive Global, and Forbes.com. He has authored forty nonfiction books, including his latest, the 4th edition of Chained to the Desk (2023) and #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn on Your Life (2019). His books have been translated into fifteen languages, and he has written for over one-hundred professional journals and popular magazines. He has won two awards for writing and has lectured across the United States and throughout the world. His work has been featured on every major television network. Way DEAD Upon the Suwannee River has been made into a pilot for a television series under the name of Limestone Gumption, and he has completed the second novel in the series, She’ll Be KILLING ‘Round the Mountain. Robinson maintains a private clinical practice in Asheville, North Carolina and resides in the Blue Ridge Mountains with his spouse, four dogs, and occasional bears at night.

For more information, visit his website: www.bryanrobinsonbooks.com and www.comfortzonesdigital.com.

Marissa DeCuir

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An interview with Giovanni Boivin of The Bookloft

Posted on August 12, 2022 | by Marissa DeCuir

What’s your favorite area of your bookstore?

This is a toss-up between our Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror corner and our graphic novel section. I am a sucker for all things in both sections. Especially sci-fi/fantasy/horror graphic novels!

What’s the coolest book cover that you like to have facing out on the shelves?

When they say “don’t judge a book by its cover” they have never met a modern reader. The cover is what catches your eye and brings you in. One of the coolest (and creepiest) covers I love to have face-out is the horror novella Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw. It’s a really disturbing cover and I love it.

If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

One of my new staff picks is the novella, A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers. It is a lovely, meditative reflection on life and one’s journey. Conversely, the backlist pick is All Systems Red, book one of the Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells. Another novella, but I love the Murderbot diaries for the action and the antisocial awkward protagonist.

Do you have a strange customer story?

We have a lot of strange people and strange requests, but one that sticks in my mind is a woman coming in and asking for someone who doesn’t work here. She thought we were a completely different business, despite the numerous signs she passed, and it took a few minutes to convince her she had the wrong building.

What author have you been starstruck to meet, or have you gotten to host a fun virtual event?

We worked with a local theater company that hosts author events for bigger name authors and have the capacity for hundreds of people to come. We were able to meet David Sedaris as he was on a book tour for his title, Theft by Finding, and we sold this and other of his titles at the event.

What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

A Bookstore is still a retail position. There is still customer service and a point-of-sales system to learn. Answering phones, putting stock away and cleaning up after people. We still have holiday rushes and the usual supply-demand issues as with any other retail business. Yes, we all love books and love to read, but there is still that face-to-face interaction with customers that may or may not know what they want or where to look. It’s a lot of hand-holding.

What is your least favorite bookstore task? Favorite part about working in a bookstore?

My least favorite part of the bookstore job is dealing with unhappy or disgruntled customers. We always have a few through the seasons where they refuse to comply with our mask mandates, demand a book we have on hold for someone else because they didn’t plan ahead, or don’t understand why a book they want isn’t available; be it out of print, or on backorder with the publisher.

My favorite part of the bookstore life is putting the perfect book in someone’s hand. Especially if it is one of my picks or favorites. I love sharing my passion for books with other people and seeing the joy on their faces when I hit the mark perfectly.

Can you recommend an underrated readalike book for one of the store’s top titles?

If you liked A Game of Thrones or the Song of Ice and Fire books, I highly recommend Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter. Not only does it have dragons and fantastic world building, it also has that classic underdog story, political intrigue, challenging the status quo and a mythology totally unique to its own world.

Giovanni Boivin is the Gentleman Bookseller (and the head book buyer for Adult titles) at The Bookloft in Berkshires, MA.

Marissa DeCuir

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An interview with Nicole Brinkley of Oblong Books

Posted on August 11, 2022 | by Marissa DeCuir

What’s your favorite area of your bookstore?

All of it! I love our bookstore. But if I had to choose just one area, I really love our kids section. It’s open, airy, and full of beautiful and colorful books. I love seeing kids get excited about something new to read, so watching them run around and show off what they want to get is the best.

What’s the coolest book cover that you like to have facing out on the shelves?

I love a slightly creepy cover, so I am constantly falling in love with beautiful, oversized, stylized nonfiction books like Gothic and Memento Mori: The Dead Among Us. There’s just something really cool about books that feel like art pieces in-and-of themselves.

If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

Most of the staff picks at our store are backlist! It’s never too late to discover a good book. One of my favorite backlist picks is This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, a sapphic time-travel novella following two time agents on opposite sides of a time war. I don’t think I have words that will do this book justice. I recommend reading in snippets or risk drowning in its gorgeous prose.

And one of my more favorite recent titles is The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston! I adore a good romance and adore a good fantasy, and The Dead Romantics manages to be both. This spectral romance is a balm to the spirit. When writer Florence Day has to return home for an unexpected funeral, she’s surprised to find herself visited by the ghost of… her stoic, too-handsome editor Ben. Romance readers will want Florence and Ben to haunt their shelves after reading: it’s soulful, punny, whimsical, and death defyingly romantic.

Do you have a strange customer story?

Oh, so many! But one of our favorites is the story of the ghost cane. A beautiful old wooden cane appeared in our store without its owner. We put it in our lost-and-found box and waited a little while to see if the owner would come and retrieve it. They didn’t! Upon further glance, there was a phone number on the cane. So we figured: hey, why not call it and see if the owner of the cane would like it back?

The phone number led us to a lovely lady in California, who—very confused but kind—explained that the cane belonged to her husband… who had died six months previously.
We have no idea how it got into the store. Apparently, a ghost wanted to do a little shopping.

What author have you been starstruck to meet?

I feel really lucky that we’ve hosted a whole bunch of my favorite authors, but the only one I ever got starstruck around was Alan Cumming! We hosted him at an offsite (bookseller jargon for an event not in the actual bookstore store; it’s not big enough for that crowd!) and I got to help him set up and sign books and chat with him. He’s so charismatic and charming in person that I suspect he might actually be fae folk. An absolute gem.

What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

We don’t sit around reading! There’s always something to do. There’s customers to ring out, web orders to fill, books to receive, shelves to organize, displays to make, dogs to pet… the list is endless.

What is your favorite part about working in a bookstore?

I love, love, love handselling books to customers. There is no greater joy than connecting somebody to a book that they end up loving – especially if you loved it, too! Since some of my specialities are kids books and queer books, it’s especially a privilege to be able to connect young folks or traditionally underrepresented folks to a book that really speaks to them. It’s the reason I never want to leave bookselling: there’s no other experience like it, and I don’t ever want to give it up.

Can you recommend an underrated readalike book for one of the store’s top titles?

Oh, Oblong — like every bookstore — sells a ton of kids graphic novels. If you (or your kiddo) love the Dogman series by Dav Pilkey, you should try the InvestiGators series by John Green. (It’s alligators, in vests, doing investigating!) If Babysitter’s Club is more your jam, pick up Twins by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright, about two twin girls who decide to compete against each other to become class president! And if you love fantasy graphic novels like The Witch Boy, you simply must pick up Star Knights by Kay Davault, a charming woodland fantasy about embracing who you are and looking past the differences of others.

Nicole Brinkley is a manager with Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY.

Marissa DeCuir

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An interview with August Thompson of The Ivy Bookshop

Posted on July 29, 2022 | by Marissa DeCuir

What’s your favorite area of your bookstore?

Honestly the entire grounds outside. We’re so lucky to be situated on a few acres of land that we own, and I’m always directing new customers to check it out. I especially like this little secluded area, a bench surrounded by a grove of trees; it’s a lovely place to sit and read! Within the store itself, my favorite part is the little poetry corner. We get a lot of compliments on our poetry section because it’s just phenomenally curated, and there’s a little display with one of our booksellers’ favorite poetry books.

What’s the coolest book cover that you like to have facing out on the shelves?

Oh this is such a hard question because so many books have great covers! I love love love the cover for “Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body” by Megan Milks, so that was really fun to have out on display during Pride month. But I also wanted to give a shoutout to the new release “Thrust” by Lidia Yuknavitch, which truly speaks for itself.

If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

Recent new release: “The Kaiju Preservation Society” by John Scalzi. Honestly I think all a lot of us really need this summer is to escape into a fantastical new world of giant monsters. It’s fun, it’s snappy, there’s really cool fantasy biology. I think just about any sci-fi fan would love this book.

Backlist: “Convenience Store Woman” by Sayaka Murata. I read this book recently and absolutely loved it. Keiko is one of those voices that really stays with you a long time after reading, and as a retail worker who is also a little bit of an oddball myself, I really connected with her. The book has a ton of interesting things to say about capitalism and neurodivergence and alternate life paths, but really it was Keiko who kept me reading.

Do you have a strange customer story?

There’s one customer who I’ve never spoken to–only his secretary. I’ve seen his name around Baltimore and get the impression that he’s kind of a big deal, so it’s kind of fun when I get to call him up and let his secretary know his books are ready!

What author have you been starstruck to meet, or have you gotten to host a fun virtual event?

Definitely Casey Plett. While sadly I was only able to e-meet her as I was out on medical leave during the event we hosted with her, I was honestly a little starstruck to even be emailing with her and to get her to come out to the store. I’m still kicking myself for missing that event, everyone I know who went to it said it was absolutely phenomenal, but life does happen.

What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

A lot of people think booksellers just hate when someone comes in to ask something like “What’s the book about World War I with the red cover that I read about in the New York Times?” In reality, 9 times out of 10 I can find that book just by googling “red cover wwi ny times book review”, and even if I can’t, then I just get to be on a fun detective mission for a few minutes trying to find your book! It makes me feel happy to solve a mystery, and the customer gets the book they’re looking for, and it’s generally a win-win interaction. So please don’t feel embarrassed to ask questions like this! (Just be kind on the rare occasion that we can’t find the book after all.)

What is your least favorite bookstore task? Favorite part about working in a bookstore?

My least favorite bookstore task is probably shelving overstock. Don’t get me wrong–it’s a crucial task, and I always keep that in mind when doing it. It can just be rough on the knees with all that bending and stretching. So I try to do it in small chunks, doing other tasks in between.

My favorite part about working in a bookstore is probably when I’m stationed at the front desk, getting to see what people are buying! It’s always so cool to see parents buying their children books I remember staying up all night reading because I just had to see what happens next, or to see people buy underrated books that I absolutely adore, or even to buy books I’ve never heard of with covers so intriguing they immediately go to my TBR.

Can you recommend an underrated readalike book for one of the store’s top titles?

We actually do sell a lot of “Circe” and “The Song Of Achilles.” I would point people to the newly released “Wrath Goddess Sing” by Maya Deane, which is a retelling of the Achilles myth. Deane’s writing is feminist and fierce, and she’s really done her research, which is fun to see in myth retellings. Plus, come on, that cover is gorgeous.

August Thompson is a bookseller at The Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore, MD.

Marissa DeCuir

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An interview with Ryan Elizabeth Clark of Gibson’s Bookstore

Posted on July 12, 2022 | by Marissa DeCuir

1. What’s your favorite area of your bookstore?

You can most often find me hiding in our brand new Horror section that started as a small display of mine and quickly grew into an entire section between SFF and Mystery. It’s my pride and joy.

2. What’s the coolest book cover that you like to have facing out on the shelves?

I’m a sucker for a good cover and there are so many incredible ones! I could give you a huge list of my favorites (Goblin by Josh Malerman, Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix, The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera, The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green), but my current favorite and the one that catches my eye the most often is A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske.

3. If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

I have too many staff picks to count but my most recent favorite is The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston. It’s the spooky romance you didn’t know you needed! A ghost writer for a famous romance author is struggling to make her deadline after a horrendous breakup causes her to lose all hope in true love, until she starts to fall for her editor…except that her editor was just in a car accident and, well, he’s a ghost. This book is my new favorite comfort read. It’s funny and tender and romantic and will surprise you again and again. (And yes, it has a happy ending, don’t worry).

My favorite backlist book right now is Goblin by Josh Malerman. It’s a novel in six novellas, all taking place during the same rainy night in the strange, creepy town of Goblin, MI. I adore this book, and I want to spend all of my time in Goblin. This book is a great place for new Horror fans to start. It’s a quick read, and the stories intertwine in really cool ways. It’s creepy and unsettling and at times genuinely scary, and I love it far too much.

4. Do you have a strange customer story?

My favorite customer story is absolutely the time someone asked me to give them a wake-up call the next morning at 6am so they wouldn’t miss their meeting. I tried in vain to explain that we weren’t a hotel, and giving wake-up calls was not a service we offered, and I offered to help them set their alarm on their phone, but they kept saying no, I had to call them directly. Eventually, after much back and forth they gave up and left. I sure hope they made their meeting.

5. What author have you been starstruck to meet, or have you gotten to host a fun virtual event?

As host of The Laydown Podcast, I’ve been lucky enough to interview most of my favorite authors: Erin Morgenstern, Josh Malerman (twice!), Hank Green, and so so many others. Between that and all of the events we’ve hosted, my childhood self would be fangirling nonstop. I think I was probably the most starstruck with Erin Morgenstern, because both The Night Circus and The Starless Sea have meant so much to me. I had a Night Circus-themed wedding, and years later I got to interview Erin Morgenstern for our bookstore podcast, The Laydown, and be her in-conversation partner for our event! Truly, a bookseller’s dream come true.

6. What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

Very little reading happens during your shift! There are so many other things to do, that you almost never have a chance to sit and read. All of my reading gets done off the clock.

7. What is your least favorite bookstore task? Favorite part about working in a bookstore?

My least favorite task is definitely cleaning the bathrooms.

My favorite part about working in a bookstore is handselling! There’s no better feeling than chatting with a customer and finding the absolute perfect book for them, and seeing their face light up as you describe it. Even better is when customers start to come back to you specifically because they’ve enjoyed every book you’ve handsold them and now they’ll read anything you recommend.

8. Can you recommend an underrated readalike book for one of the store’s top titles? (For example: If your store sells a lot of The Song of Achilles, you might recommend Tin Man.)

I love this question. There’s a new book that I’m having so much fun recommending because it appeals to so many different types of readers. If you like Terry Pratchett, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Alice Hoffman, Madeline Miller, The Handmaid’s Tale, and/or The Master and Margarita, you absolutely must read The Splendid City by Karen Heuler. An exiled witch, a talking cat who loves beer, guns, and fish tacos, a treasure hunt, a missing witch, daily parades, regular government-sanctioned kidnappings, and a president of the state of Liberty (formerly Texas) who assures the citizens that everything is fine. It’s incredible and weird and sinister and everyone should read it. I got to chat with Karen Heuler for The Laydown and she was a delight.

Marissa DeCuir

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An interview with Tracey Duncan of Commonplace Reader

Posted on July 8, 2022 | by Marissa DeCuir

What’s your favorite area of your bookstore?

My favorite area of our store is the Fiction room. This room is bathed in light from three beautiful old windows and there are wonderful mission chairs with perfectly worn cushions that one can sink into while they peruse. We want everyone to feel comfortable here, settle in, and find the perfect books for them. The chairs in this room embody that spirit to me.

What’s the coolest book cover that you like to have facing out on the shelves?

I like to face out “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara because the photograph of the anguished man’s face is so striking and evokes such emotion! It definitely makes you want to read the book jacket to find out what’s behind that tortured visage.

If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

The most recent new release I’ve read that I really enjoyed was “Elsewhere” by Alexis Schaitkin.This is the story of a woman and mother who seems to live in a strange, otherworldly place yet the trials and loss of self that mothers everywhere often experience is eerily the same. A backlist book that was similar and I truly enjoyed and highly recommend is “The New Wilderness” by Diane Cook.

Do you have a strange customer story?

I don’t have one in particular but we do have a strange/comical recurring customer interaction here at Commonplace Reader. Because of our store name, people often mistake us for a psychic/palm reading business! We stock some lovely tarot cards at the register for these patrons.

What author have you been starstruck to meet, or have you gotten to host a fun virtual event?

While the world was doing everything over Zoom during the pandemic, I got to attend a virtual event for the book, “In the Heights” by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegria Hudes, and Jeremy McCarter. So when my husband and son’s walked into our house that evening, they saw me staring at a screen and (seemingly) talking to Lin-Manuel Miranda! So they were starstruck and impressed until they found out he couldn’t see me and I was just listening. It was still a fun event for sure.

What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

The biggest misconception is that we get to sit and read while we’re here. We seldom have time to actually read while we’re at the store–there is always something we can be doing to help improve our store and our customer’s experience.

What is your least favorite bookstore task? Favorite part about working in a bookstore?

My least favorite task is shelving or removing books on the top shelves as I am vertically challenged and I need to haul out the stepstool. If my taller coworkers are nearby they’re always happy to help. My favorite part is always being familiar with the latest releases and all the opportunities to talk with others about them.

Can you recommend an underrated readalike book for one of the store’s top titles?

“The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig has been a top seller for our store and I would recommend “Oona Out of Order” by Margarita Montimore as a great readalike.

Tracey Duncan is a bookseller at Commonplace Reader in Yardley, PA.

Marissa DeCuir

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Congratulations to the Indie Bookstore Winners of Brian Lebeau’s $250 Giveaway

Posted on July 7, 2022 | by Marissa DeCuir

Independent bookstores are vital to authors, readers and our communities overall, so we’ve loved seeing Brian Lebeau (author of the psychological thriller A DISTURBING NATURE) actively working to give back by hosting a giveaway of $250 to four indie bookstores–and we’re beyond thrilled to announce the winners!

The winners of Brian Lebeau’s “Give Back to Indie Bookstores” campaign are:

Additionally, 25 other indie bookstores will be receiving free copies of Lebeau’s novel A DISTURBING NATURE, with special book swag.

Congratulations to these four stores, who were selected at random out of hundreds of entries to receive $250 each. And many thanks to the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association (MIBA), California Independent Booksellers Association (CALIBA), The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA), and the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) for helping to spread the word about this giveaway.

“Indie booksellers play an essential role in our communities,” said Lebeau, adding that he hosted the giveaway “as a token of my deep appreciation for indie booksellers.”

“I recognize the challenges and triumphs they’ve encountered, especially in the past couple years, and wanted to do something to give back.”

Lido Village Books said they would love to use their prize money to start a Youth Ambassadorship program.

“My idea is we get a few children of different ages, they get a free book a month to read and comment on, they get to lead programs for similar aged children in the community (such as story-time or book clubs or read-to-raise: a fundraising campaign) and more…the program would revolve with new ambassadors every year.”

Marissa DeCuir

booksforward.com/about-us/marissa-decuir/

An interview with Joanne Berg of Mystery To Me

Posted on July 3, 2022 | by Marissa DeCuir

What’s your favorite area of your bookstore?

The front door where customers come in and see all of the wonderful books we have! I love it when they say that they love the smell, or how warm and friendly our store is.

If you had a staff pick for a recent new release, what would it be? Backlist pick?

Soooo many great new releases… but here are my two relatively recentstaff picks:

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach (listened to it on LIBRO.FM)
Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

Do you have a strange customer story?

Not strange, but wonderfully fun:

A little girl (maybe 4 years old) came into the store and started riding on a little toy rocking horse that we had in the store. She was very talkative, so I went over to her and told her that I was kind of sad because the horse didn’t have a name. She very quickly hopped off the horse, put her hands on her hips, and said “of course he has a name (sigh), it’s RADISH.” Wow, I said, I didn’t know. How did you know that was his name? With an exasperated sigh, she said: “HORSE RADISH!” (duh)
Bookstore magic: A frequent customer came into the store and up to the front counter. She said she wanted to purchase a book for her daughter in law but she didn’t know the title or the author. We asked her what it was about, and she said she didn’t know…and then she said, what are some of your favorite books? One of my booksellers said People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. “That’s IT!” she said.
A family was visiting the store around Halloween. The two little girls were all dressed as fairy princesses. They were bouncing around the store making all sorts of pleasant fairy princess ruckus, when one of them slipped behind the counter where I was working at my desk. She asked me what I was doing and when I said I was paying bills, she asked me if I liked paying bills… “Not really,” I said… and she then wanted to know why I do it (smile). I told her that if I didn’t pay my bills, we wouldn’t be able to have all of these books in the store. Her eyes got very wide and she said: “You mean you OWN all of these books?” (to be honest, I try not to think that way)… and I said “Yes!” She shook her head and pronounced to her family that if she (me) had all of these books at her house, she’d have a big library!

What author have you been starstruck to meet, or have you gotten to host a fun virtual event?

Claire Fuller: I met her in New York at the Mysterious Bookstore
Donna Leon: Our last in-person event before the pandemic
Elizabeth Berg: I met her at a book signing before I had my own store. Would love to host her here.
James Patterson: He and his wife popped into my store the year I opened (2013). I was so naive. Luckily, I knew enough to grab his books for him to sign!

We have hosted a lot of authors and it’s almost always a pleasure to meet them. It’s easier to try to name (although I wouldn’t) the authors I didn’t enjoy than the ones that I did!

What are some misconceptions people have about working in a bookstore?

People still think that working in a bookstore means you get to read all day. I can’t remember the last time I was able to “pleasure” read at the store.

What is your least favorite bookstore task?

I have a love/hate relationship with all of the advance reader copies we receive. I’ve never been a good speed reader, or someone who can quickly skim a book and decide that it’s good or not. On the other hand, I delight in bringing the pile of new ARCs home and deciding which one to
take on first!

Favorite part about working in a bookstore?

Talking with customers about what they like to read and matching them up with a new book or two. I delight in having them return to tell me that they liked the book and want another recommendation.

Can you recommend an underrated readalike book for one of the store’s top titles?

People who like Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs series), we often recommend Iona Whishaw (Lane Winslow series)