Sunday’s sunny, mild weather turned post-blizzard Calgary into a winter wonderland. Will and I decided to go for walk in Fish Creek, where the paths, unlike Calgary’s sidewalks, are plowed. On the way, we stopped at Chapters Shawnessy.

Once more, no Deadly Fall was on the shelves. A bookseller looked the book up on her computer and retrieved the four copies from the back. I signed them and she attached the “signed by” sticker, saying that she liked mysteries and would read mine when she found the time. She put two copies of Deadly Fall in the stacks and the other two prominently (against company policy?) on the Hot & New Fiction table.

The bookseller told us her preference runs to dark stuff, so Deadly Fall may not be her ideal taste, but she said she’s interested in a local story. She first read Kathy Reichs’ mysteries set in Montreal, because she (the bookseller) was from there. “So are we,” I said. “And so is my protagonist.” The bookseller said, “I really will read this.”

We asked for the phone number of the manager who organizes author signings. When I got home, I gave the manager a call. She said the signing would have to be a date in the future, to give them time to order the books. A store ordering in extra copies of Deadly Fall? How bad can that turn out to be?