So, you’ve never been to a book signing? What does one do at this mystical confluence of authorly awkwardness and fannish squee? Take my hand, young padawan, and I will explain the ways of the book signing to you:

Time: About 2 hours

Cost: 1 hardcover ($25 or less)

Dress: Casual, I’m from the West Coast, man.

What you get: To hear an unreleased chapter available nowhere else, to get your books signed, to see my bright happy face, and at least 87 xp toward your next Geek level.

You come in to your local bookstore as normal, and you’ll be able to find some area cleared and with chairs in front of a podium. Grab the podium and throw it to the ground, shouting, “Brent’s books are crap! Don’t buy them!” Okay, don’t do that, except maybe at the first signing. I could use the publicity. Go take a seat. I usually start right on time–okay, I start about two to five minutes late in case stragglers are wandering in, but don’t tell them that! (We all know they’ll just be five minutes later.)

Sometimes a representative from the bookstore might introduce me. Pity them. It’s their job to find nice things to say about me. Then I’ll take the podium. I’ll read a chapter–right now I plan to read a chapter from The Blood Mirror (Lightbringer 3). Don’t worry about spoilers if you haven’t read or finished Lightbringer 1 or 2, I picked a chapter that will make sense to everyone. The reading will take about 15-17 minutes. Then I’ll answer questions. This part can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 30ish minutes, depending on… well, you. I won’t give away future plots, but most other questions are cool. You just raise your hand like in class, and when I call on you, ask your question. If you aren’t loud enough for everyone to hear, I’ll try to repeat you. (So the 5 minute long question/comment/discursive essays? Not so good.)

Then we get to the signing part. Every book store does this a bit differently, which is why I have the guidelines below. However, you can know that I’ll stay until I’ve signed something for everyone. (And in most cases, everything for everyone, but that depends on place and time and crowd size.)

Because I try to chat with each fan–at least to say hi!–and personalize the experience, you can expect the total event to run around 2 hours. If it’s big, it might be 3–though I’ll try to move things along, I promise! Do chat with people in line; they can often guide you to other books that you’ll like if you like mine. My wife will also be there, and she’s far more fun to talk to than me, anyway. If you show up early and get in the front of the line, you might be out in an hour from when I first start talking. Some stores will hand out post-it notes for you to put your name on, so I don’t have to ask twelve times how to spell, “Kajol Mukherjee.”

Last, a word about where you buy my book. I know you can often save money by buying online, and for some of you, you just can’t afford the difference. I understand. Please be aware that if everyone buys the book online, these events become a horrible deal for the hosting bookstore–although they do get to see my smiling face, and that’s gotta be worth something, right? Because the practice of buying elsewhere has become such a problem, at a couple of stops, the store requires you to buy The Blinding Knife there (Check below to see if that’s the case at your store). I know other stores are close to asking the same: they have to spend money coordinating these events, ordering extra books, and keeping staff late. So even if it isn’t required, if you can, please pick up my book from these stores so the event is a success–and therefore they ask me back! You can pre-order, pick it up on release day, read the whole thing before I arrive, and just keep your receipt, and in some cases that will even put you in front of the line.

You can click the links to go to the Facebook events pages for each event, featuring maps, the bookstores’ FB pages, etc.

(Oh, and I’ll also sign ebooks through a handy new way I figured out, but that’ll be its own post.)

Powell’s at Cedar Hill Crossing, Beaverton (near Portland), OR
Tuesday, September 11 at 7pm:
Ticket required to participate in signing? No.
Must purchase a book at host bookstore to get book signed? No.
Can bring books from other stores to be signed? Yes.
Limit to books Brent will sign? No.

University Bookstore, Seattle, WA
Wednesday, September 12 at 7pm:
Ticket required to participate in signing? No.
Must purchase a book at host bookstore to get book signed? No.
Can bring books from other stores to be signed? Yes.
Limit to books Brent will sign? Yes.

Borderlands, San Francisco, CA
Thursday, September 13 at 7pm:
Ticket required to participate in signing? No.
Must purchase a book at host bookstore to get book signed? No.
Can bring books from other stores to be signed? Yes.
Limit to books Brent will sign? No.

Tattered Cover, Denver, CO
Friday, September 14 at 7:30pm:
Ticket required to participate in signing? No.
Must purchase a book at host bookstore to get book signed? No.
Can bring books from other stores to be signed? Yes.
Limit to books Brent will sign? No.

Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA
Saturday, September 15 at 2pm:
Ticket required to participate in signing? No.
Must purchase a book at host bookstore to get book signed? No.
Can bring books from other stores to be signed? Yes.
Limit to books Brent will sign? No.

Barnes & Noble, Santa Monica, CA
Sunday, September 16 at 2pm:
Ticket required to participate in signing? No.
Must purchase a book at host bookstore to get book signed? No.
Can bring books from other stores to be signed? Yes.
Limit to books Brent will sign? No.
Other: If you bring a book purchased prior to the event, please bring a receipt. Santa Monica B&N requires receipts be shown to prevent theft.

BookPeople, Austin, TX
Monday, September 17 at 7pm:
Ticket required to participate in signing? No.
Must purchase a book at host bookstore to get book signed? A copy of the event book must be purchased from BookPeople.
Can bring books from other stores, besides the purchased book, to be signed? Yes.
Limit to books Brent will sign? No.
Other: If you purchase your book from BookPeople in advance of the event, please save your receipt and present it at the event. You can also purchase a book over the phone, and BookPeople will get the book signed and set aside specifically for you. You can also purchase the book online and write “SIGNED BOOK” in the comments field upon checkout. This service is free of charge and available for most of their events.

A Real Bookstore, Fairview (near Dallas), TX
Tuesday, September 18 at 7pm:
Ticket required to participate in signing? No.
Must purchase a book at host bookstore to get book signed? Yes. A copy of the event book (The Blinding Knife) must be purchased from A Real Bookstore.
Can bring books from other stores, besides the purchased book, to be signed? Yes.
Limit to books Brent will sign? No.
Other: If you have purchased a copy of the event book at A Real Bookstore, Brent will sign any of his previous titles for you. Retain receipts for books purchased in advance of the signing. If you’d like to have a signed copy but are unable to attend a book signing, A Real Bookstore will have books signed for you. Please make online purchases of books to-be-signed at least 48 hours in advance of the event. To get a signed book 48 hours or less to the event, please call the store at 972-398-9888.

Barnes & Noble, Orlando, FL
Wednesday, September 19 at 7pm:
Ticket required to participate in signing? No, unless there are more than 200 attendees, in which case Barnes & Noble will provide wrist bands.
Must purchase a book at host bookstore to get book signed? No.
Can bring books from other stores, besides the purchased book, to be signed? Yes.
Limit to books Brent will sign? No.
Other: As they are hosting this event, Barnes & Noble encourages purchases from Barnes & Noble stores in area — they have over 7 locations in greater Orlando.

Barnes & Noble, Atlanta, GA
Thursday, September 20 at 7pm:
Ticket required to participate in signing? Yes.
Must purchase a book at host bookstore to get book signed? To obtain a pass to the event, please purchase at least one copy of The Blinding Knife from Barnes & Noble in Buckhead (where the signing is taking place).
Can bring books from other stores to be signed? Yes. Barnes & Noble will also have Brent’s previous titles available at the store for purchase.
Limit to books Brent will sign? No.
Other: Priority seating/signing will be given to customers who purchase The Blinding Knife from Barnes & Noble Buckhead. They will be handing out color coded passes. Each group is called by the pass color to the signing area. Passes to the event will be given out at the register with purchase, beginning 5:00 pm the day of the event. Customers with Brent’s previous titles may be asked to wait until the end of the signing.

Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, NC
Friday, September 21 at 7pm:
Ticket required to participate in signing? No.
Must purchase a book at host bookstore to get book signed? Yes.
Can bring books from other stores, besides the purchased book, to be signed? Yes.
Limit to books Brent will sign? No.
Other: To be in the signing line, you need to have purchased at least one of the books at Flyleaf. Signing is first come, first served. If someone has a lot of books not purchased with Flyleaf, they can have the Flyleaf book signed, then they need to go to the back of the line so others can get their books signed. If someone buys all the books from Flyleaf, they can have them signed all at once.
Also, if you find parking at the store limited, there is more parking across MLK Blvd in the UNC parking lot. There is a crosswalk at the light.

Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH
Saturday, September 22 at 7pm:
Ticket required to participate in signing? Yes. They are free and available with purchase of The Blinding Knife.
Must purchase a book at host bookstore to get book signed? Yes.
Can bring books from other stores, besides the purchased book, to be signed? Yes.
Limit to books Brent will sign? No.
Other: Gives Back Members will be first in the signing line.