COME FOR THE BBQ, STAY FOR THE PARADE!  OR COME FOR THE DICKENS FESTIVAL, STAY FOR THE BBQ! Either way you can’t lose. This upcoming Friday night, and all day and half the night Saturday is the A DICKENS CHRISTMAS IN LOCKHART festival. If you’re young enough you’ve never seen a small-town old fashioned Christmas parade, you’ve got a chance to see one Friday night at seven. If you’ve never come to Lockhart to see its beautiful courthouse or taste its famous barbecue, here’s your chance.

Close by are Smitty’s and Blacks. Out on the highway is Kreuz. And just about on the corner near McDonalds is Chisholm Trail. Each one different, each one memorable. And if you don’t want barbecue? Well, you’re pretty much out of luck. Lockhart isn’t called The Barbecue Capital of Texas for nothing.

On Saturday there be vendors, and I’m one of them. We’re selling my paperbacks ARROYO, THE COWBOY’S BABY, TALKING TO THE DEAD GUYS, and my newest, THE COWBOY’S BABY GOES TO HEAVEN. At our booth we’re also featuring our friend Patrick Kampman’s two YA horror novels CHANCE IN HELL and THE HAUNTING OF PICO. I’ve read them; they’re good. Bargain prices, too.

And if you’re looking for old cookie jars, we’ve got a few for you.

There are other vendors, too. And meet the rest of the local authors at book signings in the historic Dr. Eugene Clark Library all day Saturday. There are carriage rides, a petting zoo, glass blowers, a bird show, Aztec dancers, and lots and lots of local school choirs and dancers.

If it rains, we’ll be there. If it snows, we’ll be there. If it’s eighty degrees (not going to happen), we’ll be there.

This is the way we sell my paperbacks, folks. Face to face at the local festivals, and sometimes at the Farmers Market. While some of the local stores also sell my books (and those of the other local writers), mainly LOGOS, and BookPeople in Austin, the hand selling is what has worked best for us (go buy one of my books at BookPeople!!!) If you are also a writer, this is something you should try.

Photos by Roxanne Rix. Book covers by Glendon Haddix.

You can find all my books and stories at http://amazon.com/author/gretchenrix.

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK: The Case of a Cold Trail and a Hot Musket by Janet Christian.  The Scroll Lawyers by R.J. Jagger.  Diving Into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.