The signing

               Hazel Campbell  Veronica Carnegie  Diane Browne

As I told you last time, three Jamaican authors were planning to host a signing session at the Things Jamaican Shop at Devon House, one of Kingston’s popular spots for liming in the restaurants, eating ice cream and patties in the garden with the resident birds demanding their share of your food, or browsing at a variety of shops.

This was an experiment, in the belief that together we could pull more of a crowd than singly. Veronica Carnegie's book is The Tie Came Back (adult short stories), Diane Browne's - The Ring and the Roaring Water, and mine Bernie and the Captain's Ghost (both for children 8-12 years). I promised to tell you how it turned out.

First, we were competing time-wise with World Cup football, an athletic meet and various other forms of entertainment in the city. However, several persons turned up and we had a good time chatting about our books. Some sales were made and more persons became aware of the existence of our books. We authors held a kind of workshop for ourselves swapping stories and giving encouragement.

Perhaps the best part was that we kept each other company. If you have ever had a signing session, (and you are not J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer) you know how tedious it can be - waiting for persons to show up to buy or, more likely, to browse and not buy your book.

We had fun, and will probably repeat the exercise at other venues.