Belle Plaine!

What a great day!!! Mike and I drove over to Belle Plaine, Iowa, on July 3rd for our first official signing / reading / discussion about our new book, Hade's Gambit. We stopped by the library to check in, then had lunch with the kids who came (Brandon and Annika) at the Lincoln Cafe. It was about 100 degrees out, so we were happy to stay indoors and talk about our book. Check out the pictures!!!

This is a stack of our books. Man, isn't that cover just the bomb! Seriously, it is super awesome. We will be giving a shout out to Clayton for the rest of our lives for how sweet this cover looks! 

Mike and I behind our table. And yes, real authors wear blue!

I don't always sign books, but when I do, I sign Hade's Gambit. Stay thirsty, my friends!

We discussed the book briefly, talking about what it is all about and explaing what we wanted people to think about it - mostly we want them to think they like it.



Mike read a cool part all about Belle Plaine. We read about the Lincoln Cafe, about the characters in that chapter, and about the cemetery, where important events occur. Since we were in Belle Plaine, it went over very well!

All in all, the reading can only be considered a success!!! We sold over 30 books (including my mother's, which was fine - at least she told me it was fine!), signed them all, and had a blast. I'll put up video that my daugher Annika took of us soon. We answered lots of questions, including if people who don't like zombies would like our book (yes), who did the awesome cover (Clayton!), how was it working with three authors (the best of times and the worst of times) and what would the book have been like if only one of you had written it (my answer - if it was Mike, it would have been awful, if it was me, it still would have been pretty good!). But, in all honesty, the best part was seeing all of Mike's family and friends come out to support us. Belle Plaine is a truly great place, and we wouldn't have put it in our book if we weren't hoping that someday tourists would come to Belle Plaine hoping to eat at the Lincoln Cafe and tour the cemetery. They rewarded us on the 3rd by treating us like rock stars, proving even more so that they deserve to be recognized for being truly special. So, yeah Belle Plaine, yeah Mike Koogler and Jaren Riley, and yeah Hade's Gambit!!!What a great way to start off our Book Tour!!!

P.S. Look for a post in the near future from Mike about Belle Plaine as well!