Ideas, The Latest Twist

If Barrett Book Shop Were Real

Barrett Book Shop Door is always open 

Where is Barrett Book Shop?

When I meet readers at the arts and crafts festivals, I’m frequently asked where my shop is so they can drop by to chat, browse the shelves, and purchase more books.

More and more readers have discovered and enjoy the convenience of shopping at Barrett Book Shop, online and under a canopy tent at one and two-day arts and crafts events in the spring and fall, but a physical storefront that is staffed by the Barrett Book Shop team? There’s a story for that…

The Shop that Never Closes

I love the opportunity to explain that they can buy a paperback, ebook, or audiobook from the online Barrett Book Shop anytime. Ebook and audiobook links are instantly emailed, and I’ll sign the paperbacks before we ship them. As a bonus, readers can buy the entire series or trilogies in paperback, ebook, or audiobook format at a bargain price that other retailers can’t match.

Of course, the question about the brick-and-mortar bookshop sent my imagination into overdrive, so I had to have a photo of our Barrett Book Shop. If Barrett Book Shop were physically real with an address on Main Street in a small town in Georgia, this is how I imagine it would look. Wind chimes near the front door, which is always open, and lots of books.

Inside Barrett Book Shop

Hang onto your imagination and let’s go inside.

The air smells faintly of coffee, cinnamon, and old paper; a familiar scent that whispers, “Stay awhile.” Sunlight streams in across a row of worn wood tables stacked with paperbacks, each cover promising danger, mystery, a killer or two, and the twist you never see coming.

A small sign by the door reads “Not your typical author; not your typical stories.”

Behind the counter, a tall man, whose official title is Senior Staff, adds more paperback, ebook, and audio books to a shelf labeled “The Rest of the Stories,” which is where the next book in each series lives. The brown dog at his side is the supervisor. The shelf is dedicated to readers who have just finished the first book in a series and are wondering what happens next.

The shelves along the wall are dedicated to the Judith A. Barrett Books. Each series has its own shelf: Maggie Sloan Thriller Series, Jenna Ross Thriller Series, Wren and Rascal Mystery Series, Riley Malloy Mystery Series, Donut Lady Cozy Mystery Series, and Grid Down Survival Series.

In the back is a reading nook with mismatched chairs and a lazy old black and tan lab asleep nearby. There’s a sign overhead, “You keep reading; I’ll keep writing.”

You’ll find me sitting alongside the readers with my feet propped up and a computer on my lap as I alternate furiously writing the next scene in a story and staring into space. You’ll hear the quiet rustle of turning pages, chuckles from e-book readers and audiobook listeners, and then a burst of laughter when someone discovers a new favorite line, which must be shared. And we all laugh.

But for now, Barrett Book Shop exists in pixels and imagination in a cozy corner of the internet where you can still explore the shelves and find your next great read. You can visit anytime, from anywhere, and with your favorite beverage in hand.

Browse, Shop, Enjoy

So come on in. Browse, shop, enjoy!

See what’s waiting on The Rest of the Stories shelf because the adventure doesn’t end with Book One.

And if you could spend an afternoon at Barrett Book Shop, which shelf would you visit first?

You keep reading; I’ll keep writing!

Judith signature

BarrettBookShop.com

The Latest Twist

My Author Year Seven: The Year I’ll be Predictable

You know when a joke is hilarious in your head? Thank you for laughing at mine.  

Boozy Book Club Nov 2024 

2024 An Exciting End to a Great Year

After a year full of exciting events, my last one was not my usual arts and crafts festival. I met the co-leaders of a local book club at an arts and crafts festival in November. They asked me if I would be interested in talking to their book club. I might have squealed a little. HECK, YEAH!

After we met at a local tavern, I talked a little and listened (and laughed) a lot. They were definitely a fun group!  One of the Bookies (is that an okay name for a Book Club member when the Book Club doesn’t have an “official” name?) said she reads the first few pages of a book, and if it doesn’t grab her, then she drops it.

Challenge Accepted. I read the first page of I Always Wanted to Be a Spy, and she stopped me before I could turn the page.

“I WANT TO READ THAT BOOK!”

I learned a new skill; I shut up.

FarmerMan was recently dubbed Labor by a vendor at an arts and crafts show. He said she wasn’t wrong, but I think Senior Staff would look better on a T-shirt. Ammi right?

Senior Staff sauntered out to his truck and returned with eight copies of I Always Wanted to Be a Spy. The eighth Bookie left early, but she had her book with her, in case you’re an editor or love numbers, and counted the Bookies in the photo. 

I track every event we attend and mark them as Do Not Return/No Fun or Must Go/Fun. Book Clubs are officially on my Must Go/Fun list.

An Exciting Beginning to 2025

Barrett Book Shop

Superhero fighting inflation

Inflation is hitting us all. It’s definitely on my Do Not Return/No Fun List, but I’m fighting it, one book at a time.

For starters, when the printing costs for paperbacks rose, the retailers and book distributors raised their prices, and thanks to that stuff-rolls-downhill effect, my costs for paperbacks went even higher. I’ve fought back. 

All the paperback books, signed by the author, are available on Barrett Book Shop with FREE SHIPPING. (US Continental) 

Another cost saving for readers (and listeners!) on Barrett Book Shop is Bundles of books. You’ll find Paperback (NEW!), Ebook, and Audiobook (NEW!) bundles. 

In fact, would you like a bargain bundle of four or more paperback, ebook, or audio books that you don’t see? Send me an email! That’s what two other readers did over the holidays, and there are two new bundles available for everyone on Barrett Book Shop! 

2025 Events

  • March 15-16 CALICO SPRING ARTS & CRAFTS, Moultrie GA
  • March 29 FIRE ANT FESTIVAL, Ashburn GA (New!)
  • April 26 GEORGIA STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL, Reynolds GA 

Paperback books are always bundled for you at all events, and custom bundles are a breeze! 

That’s it for this month, at least so far. I have plans…

The Latest Twist

Rolling with the Punches

We have an addition to our favorite festivals: St. Marys Seafood Festival in St. Marys, Georgia!  

St Marys Seafood Festival smaller Nov 2024 

Not only is it one of our favorites, but it is number one on my list of What to Do When Things Go Wrong. 

After we reached the campground the night before the festival and were transferring everything from the fifth wheel to the truck so we’d be ready to go in the morning, we realized we’d forgotten the cash box.

Can you imagine being a vendor at an event without a cash box? The possibility of not having a place to store cash after people paid or worse, not having change ready when people paid with large bills was terrifying. We made a fast trip to Walmart, our go-to place when we need something for a festival, and found a small cashbox with a key and cobbled together small bills for change from our wallets. Good enough; crisis averted.

When we were setting up early the next morning, I realized I’d left my Writer ball cap at home. If you’ve seen any of my photos of festivals or seen me at any festival in the past several years, you know I ALWAYS wear my Writer ball cap. Depending on the weather, I can count on it to shade my eyes, keep my head dry when it rains, keep my hair from blowing in my face when I’m signing books, and identify me to readers at the festivals. Yes, I’m the Author.

Writer ball cap
My much-loved Writer ball cap

 

Not even Walmart could help. I tried to keep a stiff up lip and soldier on; after all, the Meet the Author sandwich board sign helped identify me, but MY HAIR!

The vendor next to us gave me a hat after I asked him how much it cost. Now I have an emergency Writer hat that doesn’t actually have Writer on it, but I might have a patch made sometime.

We loved our spot. The festival was coordinated by the Kiwanis Club of St Marys and was organized, smoothly run, and well-staffed. Can you tell how generous our booth was? We had enough room between us and our closest neighbors to set up a side table on the right side of our tent for readers to browse at leisure. 

We chatted with readers and sold books all morning. When we had enough of a break around two o’clock to eat lunch, we realized… you’ve already guessed, right? I’d forgotten to pack our sandwiches, an apple, cookies, and drinks for lunch.  

Kraken Coffee & Kitchen St Marys, GA
Kraken Coffee & Kitchen Co.

 

Thank goodness Kraken Coffee & Kitchen Co. was right behind us and was open! We split a tasty chicken salad sandwich.  

After we finished our lunch, a couple who were eating slices of a delicious looking pie bought three books from us. While I signed their books, I asked them about their dessert. It was bacon bourbon cheesecake and, no surprise, it came from our new favorite cafe, Kraken Coffee & Kitchen Co. We had bacon bourbon cheesecake for our afternoon snack. Cheers!

When the festival was over, our book bins were much lighter. It was a glorious day, and we’re definitely going back to St. Marys. 

p.s. We now have a checklist for final packing and set up. 

You keep reading; I’ll keep writing!

Signature cropped

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

Dressed for Success

Mistletoe Market 2024 smaller

Dressed for Success? I didn’t realize how well my new Christmasy long-sleeved shirt matched my $5.00  Walmart tablecloth. At least no one had trouble finding my booth!

My last event for 2023 was the Mistletoe Market in Cairo, Georgia. It’s one of my favorites; I love seeing my previous readers who return for more books and meeting new readers!

A shout out to the Mom who marched up to my booth with a slip of paper in her hand and announced, “My daughter said I’m supposed to get the Stalking book for her.”

Nearby shoppers gave her the side-eye, but she was a Mom on a Mission and impervious to any judgy attitudes.

In 2022, I ordered five of my newest paperback, which was book 3 in a series, as soon as I published it. When my books arrived, I was thoroughly embarrassed when I realized I had the wrong title on the spine! The five books were perfectly fine except for the spine. I hid them in the back of our office closet.

I decided to embrace my mistake and offered the first three books of the series, with the third book being the mistake book, at the same price as the two books plus $5.00. I have three mistake books (rare first editions?) left.  I’ll keep taking my mistake books to events until they’re gone.

My plan for 2024: Even more in-person events and increased focus on BARRETT BOOK SHOP where readers can buy paperbacks, ebooks, and audiobooks directly from me.

You keep reading; I’ll keep writing! 

Signature cropped

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

Then and Now

Elevate Artisans Market 2019 to 2023

Elevate Artisans Market is my favorite event. It’s held every year on the Saturday closest to Halloween. The event is hosted at an Alpaca Farm by an amazingly energetic farmer and talented artisan, Della Lovett.

2019

Elevate All Set Up 2019 First year

I had five books in 2019. It was my first in-person event at an arts and crafts show, and I  tried to make my two tables as neat and eye-pleasing as possible. I’m not sure why I didn’t take advantage of all the space under my tent, though. Doesn’t it look like it might be a little cramped for space where our chairs are behind the tables? Maybe I thought it would be more welcoming for visitors if there was room for them under the tent, but they’d have to be short. Hopefully, we raised the tent before the tall FarmerMan, who takes care of the $ transactions and everything else except the author-stuff  made his way to his chair.

It must have been warm because I’m in a short-sleeved shirt. Note that I am not wearing a ball cap…definitely back in the day!

What did I learn? I discovered how much I loved to ask people what they liked to read. I made friends and to my amazement, I sold books.

2020

Elevate 2020 clipped_edited-2 smaller

The weather was cooler in 2020. I’m wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt under my Halloween shirt, and it must have been windy because we have our gallon jugs filled with water to keep the tent from blowing away.

I have three books neatly arranged on the table that is a little closer to the front of the tent and books on a table behind me. Those must be the rare collector’s items because they’re in a rack not within reach of anyone, not even me, because my chair is blocking me. I’m not certain what the purpose of the table with lone Halloween sack on it was. Maybe it was for all the candy.

What did I learn? I dearly love to listen to their excitement when people talk about what they read. I watched  people’s faces as they looked at my book covers and was fascinated by what attracted them.

2021 and 2022

Elevate 2021 smaller Barrett ELEVATE Arts and Crafts Oct 2022

2021 was cold, and 2022 was rainy, but visitors braved the elements and showed up. I had three then four series and more books. I’ll never be a decorator, but I tried to carefully arrange my table with only a few books, so it didn’t look too crowded.

What did I learn? Other than what a patient, kind-hearted man FarmerMan is for going to all these events with me, I’m surprised at how many readers really love a paperback. Ebooks might be cheaper and audiobooks might be better for a commuter, but there are a lot of people who prefer to hold a paperback while they read.

2023

Elevate 2023 smaller

It was cool in the morning but heated up in the afternoon. We couldn’t have asked for a better day. I had books all over the place. I tried to be relatively neat, but with five series of 30 different books, I had books stacked and stashed everywhere.

What did I learn? I’ve been surprised every year at how many people tell me they read Historical Fiction. I realized after the event was over what a huge opportunity I’ve missed. I’ve never once asked anyone what time period or era of Historical Fiction they read. I’ll fix that.

What do you read?

You keep reading; I’ll keep writing! 

Signature cropped

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

Legendary Author/Legendary Readers

Pepper Festival Sept 2023

My latest festival was the two-day Pepper Musical Festival: I wore my taco socks and used my chili pepper apron to spice up my table.  I expected to see a pepper eating contest or some  reason for the event to be the Pepper Festival, but as far as I know, it was the Pepper Festival just because.

You might have noticed that we finally realized that putting up the side panels on our tent helped block the sun. We also remembered to charge the fan the night before. For some unexplainable reason, I forgot all my tablecloths except for one small, white one. Walmart to the rescue! We found the cheap (yay!), green vinyl tablecloth that is now my favorite.  I love a bargain!

The vendor sites were spacious because of the large field where the event was hosted; we didn’t feel crowded at all and had a perfect location for our booth. The stage for the bands and the bleachers were in front of our site with an open, spacious, grassy area between us.

The two-day event was a challenge because the festival lasted until ten o’clock both nights, but Friday night was a blast. The headliner band played Hispanic music, and the area in front of us was filled with families. In addition to our  all time favorite music from the southwest, we had live entertainment as the children chased each other and rolled in the grass, and the toddlers bounced to the music.  We enjoyed an impromptu wrestling match between preteen boys that could have rivaled any high school wrestling team for style and technique.

Saturday was exhausting. We had to take our books back to the campground Friday night then haul them back to the event on Saturday morning because books and morning dew don’t mix; however, our campground was less than ten minutes away, which was a wonderful bonus.

A young, local police officer entertained himself most of Saturday by stopping by my booth and teasing me about some imaginary flaw in one of my books. He brought  a group of other police officers and firefighters to my booth to show them my fan then expounded on the imaginary flaw. I told him he was fired as my public relations manager, and his buddies roared with laughter.

The Saturday night crowd was mostly teenagers who were there to see and be seen. They were entertaining enough to watch, but they couldn’t come close to  the bouncing toddlers. The headliner music was not their type of music or ours either. Adults sat on the bleachers and politely applauded; it must have been their type of music.

The most amazing sight of all on Saturday night was the number of food trucks that magically appeared; everyone we saw was eating something!

We quietly packed our things and left at nine o’clock.  In theory, we won’t be invited back as vendors because we left before ten, but we’re okay with that. Our campground was great, and we had a terrific time; we’ll go back next year to camp at the great campground,  shout out to you, Tifton KOA Journey,  and enjoy the Friday night music and entertainment.

Will we consider another two-day event? It depends…

Remember the pesky police officer? The police chief stopped by my booth later and told me I was a legend.  Legendary Author: should I add that to my biography?

You know who reads the works of a Legendary Author, don’t you?

Legendary Readers: readers who  form theories based on clues and stray, almost random, hints the author leaves along the way in the story. That’s you, isn’t it?

How’s this for a new tagline?

The Legendary Author Who Writes for Legendary Readers.

Buy Judith a cup of coffee!

Did you enjoy the story? Consider buying me a cup of coffee – it’s writer’s fuel and keeps me writing, photographing, and sharing stories with you. Thank you for your continued support and being a Legendary Reader!

$2.00

QuickJAB, The Latest Twist

Best Way to Get Lost: Books

library

The absolutely best place to get lost in books is at your local library, particularly if your appetite for reading far exceeds your budget for buying books or paying for a subscription to borrow “free” or reduced price books.

The goal of public libraries is to provide books for you to read. No charge, no catch, unless of course you rack up late fees, but that’s on you. Read and return: that’s all they ask.

Has it been a while since you’ve been to the library because your vision of the library is a stuffy, shushing place with old books that are out of date?

Let’s update that thinking with a peek at a current library.

New Libraries

Libraries have gone digital. You can borrow an ebook, an audiobook, or if you love a paperback, that’s fine too. There’s no judgment in the library; librarians want you to read or listen to books.

But what if you want to read one of your favorite author’s books, but that budget thing is a huge block, and you haven’t seen her books on the shelves?

Let’s pick an author at random, for an example: Judith A. Barrett. I suspect there is not a shelf in the fiction section or on the table at the front door of your library where all her books are prominently displayed. No problem for us. We’ve got a link to her books, which is practically the same!

Here’s the link to a page with all of the Judith A. Barrett books listed with the identifiers, ISBN, that your local librarian can use to order the book for you to read then return, so someone else can read it.

Judith A. Barrett Books at Your Library

You’ll also find the link on the Judith A. Barrett website under the Books menu item as a pulldown tab. It’s called Judith A. Barrett Books at Your Library. Pretty catchy, isn’t it?  https://judithabarrett.wordpress.com