Saturday I killed some time at a Hastings Entertainment Store. Sunday night, I saw Mad Men. This morning I'm writing this blog. All those events are related.
As to Hastings on Saturday. I did many of my first book signings at the Hastings on Wyoming Boulevard in Albuquerque back when Rattlesnake Lawyer came out in 2000. From 2002-2006, I made a pilgrimage to Amarillo the corporate headquarters to sign at the stores there, as recounted in my one non-fiction book, Amarillo in August. I once sold 54 books on a Saturday afternoon.
Now, the store is radically different. The store is gradually becoming a used book store. I did see two used copies of my books back in the shelves. Other than a handful of best sellers, the store did not sell any book for more than ten dollars.
They used to have coffee in the book section, usually offering something called Jamaica Me Crazy and free cups. Someone could sit in the back, sip some coffee and read a new book. Those days are gone, many of the people seemed to be buying toys, games and posters rather than books. I don't know if the Wyoming store is still a viable one for book signings. I doubt that I could sell ten there today.
As for Mad Men, while it is a story of the past, it is firmly grounded in our present. I'm sure it beat the network competitors like Celebrity Apprentice in the ratings. There's no doubt that Mad Men won the battle creatively.. After I watched the show, I checked the recap on EW.com to see if I missed anything. I don't even have to mention that you can download episodes on itunes or Netflix or see Megan sing that French song on youtube. You can buy a DVD of an entire season of Mad Men on Hastings by the way.
Years ago, I hoped to have Rattlesnake Lawyer be a network show, now I am hoping for a deal with AMC. Perhaps we can use kickstarter to finance some episodes that we can put on youtube.
And this morning's blog. There were blogs years ago, but now if you're an author, you have to have a blog to create a brand. More people will read this blog than I would encounter in a Hastings.
In the season premiere of Mad Men, Don is facing a world changing before his eyes. I feel the same way.
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