Hoping to catch a Christmas wave, mainstream publishers bring their titles out in the fall. I’ve been across Canada twice on the book tour and yet, by far, the most memorable events were right here in Niagara. My first book “The Tabloid Zone — Four-Armed Man Makes Fortune Testing Deodorant” was published by JAG and Gordon Green, then an editor at the Hamilton Spectator.
“We’re goin’ on the book tour.” Great — McNally Robinson in Winnipeg, the unique Paragraphs Bookstore in Montreal, maybe Calgary during the Stampede. But no, Gordon’s marketing plan involved two signings, at two bars, namely the Dain City Tavern and The Belmont hotel in Port Colborne.
“You spent most of your life in these places. They love you there.” Although I was skeptical, Gordon looked like a genius because on this golden fall afternoon the ‘Dainer’ was jammed to the rafters.
The locals were in a good mood and we exchanged some lovely nostalgic moments. And we never sold a single bloody book. In fact, one went missing, so the scoreboard over the pool table read: Dainer 1 — Favourite Son 0.
Gordon was distraught: “But the place was packed.” “Gordon, it’s Dain City on Saturday afternoon. What else are you gonna do?” Most of the crowd went home for supper wondering who that guy was up on the stage and what’s with all those books? “It’ll be better at the Belmont tonight,” Gordon assured me, thanking God he hadn’t quit his day job at the Spec.
The joint was pac.
