We had a small, but engaged group at Time Tested Books last nights. More than honourable considering it was added at the last minute. My thanks to David Shoemaker, Time Tested Books and everyone who gave up their time to attend. Another ten copies of The Vicar Chronicles have winged their way towards (hopefully) receptive eyes. And if I am going to keep going with this speaking thing (which I am) I must learn to bring more merchandise, as we quickly sold out of copies of the album. I must also remember to get pictures taken, as I know I will be told off when I return to LA for not having any photos of the event.
I have also learnt that I need to revisit the ISBN records for the book, as the bookstore had difficulty tracing the books on their database (they are listed under Punk Sanderson, not David Singleton). It still seems to me, insane author that I am, that Punk Sanderson is correctly listed as the author of the book. I just got out of the way and let the wild boy tell his tale. And he’s a much better writer (if a bit cruder) than I am. But perhaps, I shall need to add myself into the database as the "ghost writer" or somesuch so that people can find it.
As with most of my talks, I touched briefly last night on the importance of holding true to what you believe as an artist (and having the courage to do it), which is what I have personally learnt from The Vicar project - as perfectly expressed by the Thoreau quote "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." After the talk, someone came up to me (perhaps I shall not put her name) and told me that she is leaving her job as it is not creatively fulfilling and travelling to Europe. It reminded me of what Don Myers did when he first discovered The Vicar project, and left his job in Seattle to sleep on the floor in Broadchalke. Simply humbling. I pray she gets all she deserves.
On my own current small journey, I hope that when justifying to my wife why I have spent two weeks gallivanting around the West Coast without her (she was invited), we will discover that it has been transformative in learning how we take The Vicar out into the world. No easy answers (I never expected any), but next steps keep presenting themselves. Paul Richards from the CGT was at a small gathering in LA last Sunday, and I told him that I seem to be embarking on my own version of the tour of the Borders stores that they did all those years ago. And they seem to have survived to tell the tale.
There is a "Schizoid Social" in LA this evening - the first such event so none of us know what to expect - and then I leave drought-ridden California for the wetter climes (probably) of Seattle. Onwards!
"May we trust the inexpressible benevolence of the creative impulse."
