What Was Selling At The Literature Festival

     Last Saturday, May 26, I was one of the featured authors at the Literature Festival at the Walls of Books bookstore in Newark, Ohio,

    Besides myself there were nine other authors present at tables set up throughout the store,

       ...or outside.

     Among the genres represented were fiction,      

​...Christian fiction,

...Children's books,

....Christian children's books,

...and hardcore porn.

   Author Lasondra Burks, a friendly and gregarious grandmother who works with special needs children and adults, was representing this particular genre which she self-publishes under the pen name of Sonny Blaise.

     Alongside her openly-displayed quadruple-X-rated wares   Lasondra also offered  her mainstream fiction and her publications on budgeting advice, herbal healing, and self-help.

     But it was the Sonny Blaise that was selling, as I observed from the next table over where my book was, quite frankly, not.

    There can be no doubt that the author's engaging style with the customers and spot-on salesmanship were helping her sales of Determined, which I'm guessing measured about six by eight inches, had maybe 50 pages and  sold for $20.

    "Here, take a peek," she'd encourage, handing a potential customer a copy of  the book.    
    "Open to any page in the book except the first or the last," she'd say proudly, indicating that one could find what one sought in this genre on almost any page, precluding the annoyance of having to either read or flip through a number of pages to get to the, uh, goods.
    "That's really hardcore," commented one young guy who'd taken the challenge and flipped to the center of the book.
     Still, the author had a way of pitching her hardcore erotica that made it sound excellent and downright wholesome - which, for all I know, maybe it was, though I can't really say as I declined her repeated friendly offers to open to any page, any page except the first or the last.  As I explained to her, I like my salsa mild.
     In truth the people, men and women, who were buying the book looked wholesome enough. One young woman who came in with her husband and four small children bought a copy of Determined and a couple of Christian books, too.

       As for me, I sat at my table at the Literature Festival from 11 am until 5 pm, pitching my book to any occasional passer-by who showed the faintest ember of interest.

      I sold not a book.  At the end of the event I talked to several of the other authors who fared the same as myself.
    Turned out the best-sellers of the day were the Christian novels and the Christian children's books. And the porn.