Cute 66

You've heard of Route 66? Well this year there won't be a "Cute 66." I'm NOT going to the LA Times Festival of the Book in Los Angeles this month, I will be heading to Moriarty Authors for Literacy event in Moriarty, New Mexico, population 800 instead.

To get from Los Angeles to Moriarty you get on the Old Route 66 and then head straight for about 800 miles. Cute 66 to Route 66 indeed.

When I was doing the LA event, there were hundreds of authors, many of them celebrities. Talk about cute-- one year, Pamela Anderson was signing her novel.  Let me repeat that, you could ask Pamela Anderson about her literary career. Paris Hilton was there another year. I think she was on a panel with Philip Roth.

Another year,  Mr. Spock, Leonard Nimoy, himself, was signing his book of erotic photography. The line of fans holding up Mr. Spock's book of erotic photography literally blocked access to my table where I was signing my book, The line of people in trench coats and Vulcan ears still gives me nightmares.

One year, I tried to play cute myself. La Bajada Lawyer has a model on the cover, I hired her to stand in front of our booth on the first day of the event. Other than someone with a trench coat and Vulcan ears, my sales were way down that day. The second day of the event, the model went home and I did much better on my own.

When I do my signings at the Moriarty Event, I just sit at a blank table with books. I always sell out. Sometimes, you don't have to be cute.