Saturday, May 28 – Mosaic Books set me up at a small, round bar table near their store entrance. Fresh breezes blew in through the open door and I had a good view of people strolling down Kelowna’s main street.

A man stopped by the table as I was putting up my signs. He was impressed that I’d managed to publish a book and seemed to have an idea of the work that goes into this. He became my first customer of the day. Deadly Fall and I were off to a good start.

I’d had higher hopes for sales at Mosaic than I had for Vernon. Will had sent the word out to a couple of people we know in Kelowna. A friend sent invitations to relatives. I had contacted two writing groups.

A man from COWS, one of the Kelowna writing groups, showed up. COWS = Central Okanagan Writers’ Society. He’s writing a mystery and thought our books had aspects in common. We also discovered that we were both from Montreal. About ten years ago, he packed up and left for the Okanagan lifestyle.

I had another interesting chat with Maggie. She had driven her mother from Calgary to Kelowna for the summer and knows two of my writing friends -Lori Hahnel and Lee Kvern. Maggie used to attend Calgary readings. Maybe I’ll meet her at one of mine of in the future.

For the rest of the three hours, I talked to customers, handed out cards, received some book promotion tips, advised a woman on book club selections (I was seated next to the store’s bestsellers) and was given a sketch of a fantasy scene by a high school student.

As I was packing up, a woman bought my fifth book and the store took four more to put on their shelves. A little short of expectations today, but Deadly Fall is getting out further and acquiring some new readers.

Before the signing, Will and I managed to fit in some good touring. We spent a couple of hours walking around Kelowna. Despite ominous clouds, the day was mostly sunny. We saw the historic district, the Okanagan agricultural museum, the waterfront and a Korean fan dance in front of the arts centre. The drive from Vernon to Kelowna had beautiful views of lakes and cultivated nature. I hope to return to the Okanagan one or two summers from now, later in the season to enjoy some fruit – and include a couple of singings or readings.