The Cloak & Dagger Bookshop

Annamaria on Monday

Cloak & Dagger Mystery Bookshop In Princeton, New Jersey is my dream of a perfect, small bookstore atmosphere.  Beautiful, cozy, well-stocked, to say nothing of the graciousness of its proprietor--Jerry Lenaz.  

Many independent bookstore owners have lamented to me the difficulty of getting a crowd to show up when an author comes for an appearance.  In times past, scores would show up for the chance to "Meet the Author."  Nowadays, not so much.  But Jerry has found a formula that works.  He sets the visit up as a conference, scheduled for a weekend afternoon, on a topic other than a presentation about a book.  He also partners with a local group who would have an innate interest in the kind of things the author writes about.  In my case, the topic was historical crime fiction and the group was the Central NJ Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

Jerry serves sandwiches, soft drinks, and sweets at these events.  AND he charges admission!  The price of the ticket includes the comestibles and a copy of the speaker's latest book.

Once, long ago, I had a boss who believed that "People regard with scorn things they get for nothing."  Could the price of admission be the reason people see the event as worth their while?  I have no idea.  Whatever the reason, I was tremendously happy that every one of the thirty-some chairs in the store was occupied.

For me, the day began at the New Jersey Transit area of Penn Station...

On to the bookstore...

...where all was set for my gig.

Jerry and I decided that he would interview me, rather than my making a speech.  I have grown to like the interview format very much.  Jerry's questions were incisive and piqued the audience's curiosity.

After the event, I had some time to sign books and then enjoy looking around the shop,

To make room for the audience, some of the shelves were blocked by the moveable displays above, but the ones I could access were nicely stocked with the works of my dear blogmates...

Sujata, please note that the stack of books claiming pride of place on the mantle were these!

After a lovely dinner, I took the 8:10 back to Penn Station.  At New Brunswick, a guy took the seat next to me and proceeded to talk business--highly tech business--on his cell phone for the next half hour.  At one point, he said--into his phone:

Him: "..this is just between you and me."

"And me," I said.