Our first Book Signing held at the Mankato Library

We were in awe of the beauty of the Amazing Attributes of Aging cover. Carolyn Petersen's delicately water colored garter was eye catching. Opening the book however, there were no blank leaves for us to use for signing. Mary had specifically calculated and requested two blank pages, both in the front and in the back of the book for transitions. Oh well, we decided that we just had to make do by signing on the dedication page.

A new dilemma popped up "What shall we say?" we ask in unison. I began to put my thoughts together. Fumbling for a pen, ubiquitous Mary has read my mind.

"Here Judy I brought along several different pens for signing. Which do you want to use? Since you are the primary author, You must sign first."

The Great Book Load-up

Our personal saleslady concluded our print shop tour with the comment, "I'm sorry, but there was a glitch with binding your book and your entire order is not ready today. About 300 copies were destroyed in the process of printing. I hope to have the final order complete for you tomorrow."

At the time we were quite disappointed. You see our book required a unique type of binding with two creases before the spine which allows the reader to open the book flat, a feature rarely seen in a paper back book. Otabind is the name of this special feature.

Continuing in the glow of the moment, we loaded up the available books. My car held 14 boxes, each holding 58 books. Mary agreed to pick up the remainder the following day.

Taking the Baby Home from the Printer

One of the most amazing days in my grownup life occurred on April 14, 2009. My dear friend Mary Huntley, also my co-author and I were invited to visit the print shop where our "baby" Amazing Attributes of Aging; Silly and Sacred Stories of Blue Garter Friends was printed. The dinosaur in the photo actually coughed up 2000 copies of the book that we had conceived and given birth to after 6 1/2 years of gestation.