Book Sale Conversations by Andy Scheer

 What could be more natural?

I assumed that anyone at the annual “friends of the library” used book sale was interested in books. And that they wouldn't mind talking about titles and authors, including other writers in genres that seemed to interest them.

So when I saw someone carrying a couple books by Dan Brown, I assumed they might like international thillers with a note of historical conspiracy So I asked if they were familiar with the novels of Steve Berry, and I pointed to a few titles on a nearby table.

As a compulsive reader, I'm always looking for authors who've written with style in my favorite subgenres. So I assumed anybody toting a stack of hardcovers at a used book sale would feel the same. In at least one case I was right, and I shared suggestions about a few authors, and received ideas in return.

I asked someone with three hardcover Dirk Pitt adventure novels by Clive Cussler, if she knew about the author's nearby museum, where he keeps the classic autos that make cameo appearances in the stories. She didn't know, and seemed pleased to hear about it.

When I took my bagful of books to the checkout area, I noticed a guy with two boxes of fantasy and sci-fi titles. I mentioned I hadn't seen any, and he pointed me to where I had overlooked them (on the far end of the table with romances novels). I went back and found two hardcover first printings by an author I collect. Except for his help, I would have missed those.

I realize that many dedicated readers are shy introverts. But we all aren't. The next time you're in a bookstore, don't be surprised if someone comments on the book you're holding. And if you opt not to answer or say much, I hope that person also understands. When someone is carrying a piece of media, it's just natural for some of us to try to be social.

Hiding, Finding Easter Eggs by Andy Scheer

Readers in the know will smile.

Last week I found an Easter egg. Not the type that gets hidden in the spring, but the kind some authors place in books.

In Death on a Vineyard Beach, Philip R. Craig needed a detective on Cape Cod. So on page 72, he writes the client had hired “a man named Aristotle Socarides.”

For most readers, that’s just another name. But for those in the know, “Soc” is the protagonist of a Cape Cod detective series by fellow New Englander Paul Kemprecos.

In the course of a novel, you need many supporting characters. So why not include some people you know?

When he was learning the craft, now-bestselling author Steve Berry met regularly with a writers group. Two of its members were Nancy Pridgen and Daiva Woodworth. In Steve’s second published novel, The Romanov Prophecy, his protagonist works for an international law firm: Pridgen & Woodworth.

For years, thriller writer Jack Du Brul has known book collector Wayne Valero. When Jack needed a name in Corsair for an Undersecretary of State for Mideast Affairs, the assignment went to Wayne’s wife, Cristie. Though Wayne knows all the co-writers for thriller grandmaster, Clive Cussler, he’s still waiting to find his own name in a novel.

That could be a good thing. There’s a well-known quote attributed to Mary Higgins Clark: “When someone is mean to me, I just make them a victim in my next book.”

The prize for the most-included name may go to Leigh Hunt. In a dozen or more of his Dirk Pitt novels, Cussler included his friend—often as a character who got killed in the prologue.

Or you could even include yourself in your own books, much the way Alfred Hitchock gave himself cameos in many of his movies. If you want a precedent for this, look again to Clive Cussler.

I was typing a description of Pitt and a classic car he was exhibiting at a concours meet. In the scene, he walks over and extends his hand to the old white-haired, bearded man who was exhibiting the car next to him. I wrote, “Hello, my name is Dirk Pitt.” The old fellow shook his hand and said, “I’m Clive Cussler.”

I immediately thought, Why did I do that? I meant to change the name, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed fun to leave it in. ... Now readers wait for me to show up.

You might not want to go that far, but your novel does have room for quite a few names. As long as you don’t defame someone, why not?

Cool Reading by Andy Scheer

The novel's title caught my attention, captured my imagination, and convinced me to take a look. Not bad for two words: Shivering World.

For several weeks I've been considering what books to take this month as I serve as my father-in-law's co-driver, piloting his 1930 Ford Model A from Colorado to a car show in Michigan.

This past week, when author Kathy Tyers mentioned

her 1991 science fiction novel, something clicked.

Model A's were built long before air-conditioning, and if the states on our route are running true to form, I could use a book that makes me want to put on a parka.

In her recent book, The Dance of Character and Plot, novelist DiAnn Mills encourages writers to incorporate their story's setting as an antagonistic character. Several novels set in a freezing climate came to mind.

In the end, I settled on re-reading Polar Star by Martin Cruz Smith — one of his series featuring a Soviet-era criminal investigator, this one set on a trawler in the middle of the Bering Sea. If I can tolerate the stink of fish that permeates the vessel, I'll appreciate how the book's sense of place leaves me chilled to the bone.

Still, I'll plan to check the week's forecast before we go. In case the meteorologists are predicting heavy rain, I'll be ready with a copy of Clive Cussler's Sahara.

A Piece of History by Andy Scheer

I was tempted to buy a piece of music history.

A listing appeared on Ebay for Just Gone/Canal Street Blues, Gennett # 5133, recorded in Richmond, Indiana, in April 1923 by King Oliver and His Creole Jazz band.

This was the first of several 78 rpm disks recorded by a hot jazz band with a second cornet player named Louis Armstrong. If you appreciate traditional jazz, a true collector's item.

Of course I own versions of that recording on LP and CD, but here was a chance to acquire the original—a fragile shellac disk pressed in a factory a few blocks from where the music was recorded.

I resisted the temptation. Bidding for the disk, even with badly worn labels, climbed to $112. Out of my budget.

Besides, I already have some pieces of publishing history.

A friend I met at a writers conference founded a group that collects the books of adventure writer Clive Cussler. I'd read all of Clive's books, so I joined the group.

Soon I found myself hunting not simply for first editions, but for book club editions, large print editions, UK editions, and especially advance reading copies.

Many remain out of my price range, as I was reminded this week by another Ebay posting. Someone listed for only $995 an autographed ex-library copy, with original dust jacket, of the 1975 novel Iceberg, Cussler's first hardcover. Some 5,000 copies were printed, but relatively few sold, mostly to libraries.

“Why pay $5,000 for a pristine signed copy?” the seller asked. A valid question.

Thanks to friends in the collectors group, I own a battered ex-library copy of Iceberg, rebound and without dust jacket, but still one of those 5,000. It cost me less than $10. And now it's signed.

As is my copy of Cussler's The Mediterranean Caper, a mass paperback from 1973 by the then-unknown author. I'm happy to have those pieces of writing history.

What's special on your shelf?