Hopkins Raspberry Festival Marketplace Fair

So great to see thousands of people enjoying a perfect summer day. The Raspberry Festival is one of the great community celebrations in Minnesota. All I can say is, “Thank You, Hopkins MN for helping me smash my previous record of most books sold in one day at one event (other than a book launch).”

I met some previous customers, some long-time fans, lots of new readers, some family, and a few other acquaintances. It got a bit warm on the street as the sun’s heat radiated off the pavement into my booth. But overall it was a great day. It felt as close to normal as I’ve sensed since 2019. Nonetheless, lots of folks are still wearing masks as a precaution for whatever their reason (a good thing). And the way COVID is still hanging around indicates that we’ll never return to what we all considered normal before March 2020.

The highlights of the day people-wise were seeing my mom and stepfather (Joan and David), David’s son (Adam), my sister-in-law and niece (Kay and Leah), and two long-time “blog buddies” from a group I’ve belonged to for about ten years. A big shout out to Jacque (and her husband Lou) and Sherrilee (and her daughter, “Y.A.”–as she’s referred to in the blog–Young Adult). They are a great example of how online friendships can grow over the years. I rarely see them but we feel like we’re good friends because we talk on the blog almost every day. I truly appreciate them when they support my author’s events in person.

Here’s me and my mom in my booth. She still gets around pretty good for 85 and has always been my biggest supporter and cheerleader. I LOVE YOU, MOM.

When I added up my sales for the day, I was thrilled to see how much I raised for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Each sale adds up, a dollar at a time. And don’t forget my generous round-up buyers. They make an extra donation when they buy a book from me in person for $20. So again, Thank You Hopkins MN!

Next up for me is Downtown Thursday in Owatonna on Thursday, August 5, from 5:00-8:30 pm.