Fans are where you find them...

I have a relative in jail. Quel surprise! So I earmarked one of my author copies for his use and I print out the book, one chapter at a time and send it off in the mail. I have discovered through the grape vine that my book is quite popular. He uses it as barter to get things he needs. Uh-hmm. I get frantic letters, "Where is chapter six? Did you send chapter six?" From all reports, I have quite a fan group in his cell block. They are anxiously waiting for the next chapter. For the curious, I sent him Winter Hearts. My, oh, my.

I mention this only because it occurs to me that as writers we have a specific idea of our target audience. And jail house gentlemen aren't usually in our target range. Actually, I have several guys who really like my books so I'm thinking that perhaps I need to find a way to introduce that part of the market to the Anny Cook books.

Certainly when I let the fellows at the income tax office read two pages of Honeysuckle, I had their complete undivided attention. They practically had their collective tongues hanging out when I handed out my cards.

I might purchase a couple print copies of Dancer's Delight and drop them off at the local YMCA in the weight room. There are a lot of guys reading books while they pedal on the stationary bikes. Most of them are tech savvy and don't mind spending time on the computer. Some of them might even purchase an e-book reader.

Then there are all those guys at the laundromat. More than one has stopped to talk to me about my e-reader and what kind of books I write. One fellow read the first chapter of Traveller's Refuge and we had quite a technical discussion about Traveller's job. He wanted to know exactly where I found my information... Hmmm. Come to think about it, I haven't seen him lately.

Waiters are another really curious group. They love the idea of carting around a library of books in one little package. I can't tell you how many cards I've handed out to waiters. One guy took my card. About a month later when we went back to that restaurant, he wasn't our waiter, but he found time to tell me that he thought Chrysanthemum was hysterically funny. Well, whatever floats their boat, I say.

Anyway, that's my new market share. What about you? Have you found an unlikely group of readers that seem to like your books?

Anny

Drop by Amarinda's Place at www.amarindajones.blogspot.com to see what she's up to. And then pop over to Kelly's Blog at www.kkirch.blogspot.com where Katie Blu is guest blogging today. Blessings on your day!