Dover is a small town located about 65 miles south of Cleveland along the Tuscarawas River. Once a key point on the Ohio and Erie Canal, Dover hosted the Canal Town Book Festival this past Saturday. I was fortunate enough to be among the 30 authors who were featured at this event, which took place under a large open tent along Wooster Avenue behind the town’s Lutheran church.

I had my own reserved table at the festival where I laid out copies of The Bullybuster and Fast-Pitch Love along with a candy dish, robot erasers, and a framed flyer offering people the chance to be published on this blog. I eventually took the flyer down since it kept getting blown over by the wind and wasn’t generating much interest anyway. I also had copies of Lancelot Schaubert’s Tap and Die to give away free. The people who came to my table were an interesting and varied group. There were teachers, librarians, veterans, grandparents, face-painted kids, parents pushing strollers, teenagers with cellphones in their pockets, former softball players, a Civil War re-enactor, and a beauty queen winner. The beauty queen was Miss Clayland, who will be representing Tuscarawas County in the Miss Ohio pageant. I hope she wins.

At the end of the day, I sold five books, three of The Bullybuster and two of Fast-Pitch Love. I also gave away six copies of Tap and Die. One of Lancelot’s books went to Donald Firesmith, who along with his fantasy and horror stories, was selling “magic” wands. Since Tap and Die features a protagonist who wields a weapon-like wand, Firesmith seemed like someone who might read and review the book. Two other authors of interest were Trang Moreland and Michael Van Ness. Ms. Moreland has a memoir, Just Smile and Say Hello, which deals with her experience as an immigrant from Vietnam who became a successful businesswoman. For his part, Dr. Van Ness has put together a collection of stories in To the Front that share veterans’ experiences fighting for “the cause of freedom.” I should add that Dr. Van Ness was decked out in the garb of a WWII soldier, giving him added credibility. The two men across from me had books dealing with baseball and wine-tasting, respectively. I was told there were numerous authors selling vampire books. It must be a challenge to convince book buyers that your bloodsucking guy is better than others of his ilk.

Overall, the Canal Town Book Festival was well managed. There were restrooms nearby as well as a tent with snacks and beverages for the authors. In addition, the organizers had a special way to encourage people to visit all the authors’ tables. People coming into our tent received a passport book with the names of all participating authors. If they managed to have each author colorize his or her name with a highlighter, they were eligible to win prizes from a raffle drawing. They also received raffle tickets from the authors themselves when they purchased one of their books.

In closing, I might add that the Canal Town Book Festival was part of a bigger Memorial Day weekend celebration. We had a parade, featuring a brass band, march right by our tent. Later, brightly costumed dancers performed on a nearby stage, while food trucks dispensed delicious unhealthy treats.

So thanks, Dover, for an enjoyable weekend. If possible, I’ll come to next year’s Canal Town Book Festival with a new YA novel to offer along with the other two.