Found on a bookshelf in Indiana! Photo credit: Ann Mettert

I did it! I went to the store and had a Confirmed Sighting, in the wild, on the shelf, of a book that I had scribbled onto a yellow legal pad. And it looked like people might have even bought one or two. Inconceivable.

I will not admit to giggling madly when I saw my book on the shelf, but I might have burbled my excitement to the lady next to me when I asked if she’d take my picture holding my book.

“Oh, did you write that? Hmmn. I’ll have to take a look at it.”

When I walked away, she was reading the description. I did not look back, but I’m going to assume that she decided to buy it. Because that’s the way I want this Visit-to-the-store story to go, so there.

When I went to pay for my groceries (no, I did not buy a copy) I asked the cashier how her day was going.

“Well… I’m here,” she said.

“Hey,” I said. “Some days, that’s a victory.”

She agreed.

Then, because yes I was a mad, burbling fool by this point, I said It. “I just saw my first book for sale in the book department.” I might have beamed at her, if I’m being completely honest.

“Oh, that’s cool. What’s it called?” She wrote down the title and said she’d get a copy for her niece. And yes, I know, she might have been saying that to make me feel good, but by this point I was writing the Happy Ending of my Visit-to-the-store story, and in my version she rushed out and bought a copy.

Plus, we got to talking about stories and she was writing a story with her friend, and she loved reading Kresley Cole’s stories, and by the time she got through ringing up my groceries she was in a much better frame of mind than she had been at the start of our conversation, thinking of all the stories she still wanted to write. So there is that.

When you walk into a store and don’t see your book upon the shelves, there’s only one possible conclusion. Repeat after me: “I’m sold out!” -Julia Quinn