Not long ago, we met the owner of Murder by the Book, the well-known mystery bookstore in Portland. She told us that Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire series, was going to be signing his latest book at her store this past Tuesday evening. “Seven o’clock,” she said. “Do come.”
As it happened, we were going to be in Portland Tuesday, so we decided to adjust our plans a bit and try to catch the event. I had recently finished reading As the Crow Flies, the eighth and most recent of the Longmire series, and Nyel was deep into it. We would take the book in for a signature.
The copy in our possession actually belongs to our neighbor Carol Nordquist who, along with my once-upon-a-time maid of honor Gordon Schoewe (another story!), is the most voracious reader I know. I’m not sure how many mystery series Carol follows, but she always seems to have the latest of each of them almost before they are on the bookstore shelves. She said, “Sure!” when I asked if she’d like Craig Johnson to autograph this one.
We arrived at Murder by the Book about 6:45. The door was closed and there was a sign that said “FULL.” The store was jam-packed with people and there were a dozen more waiting hopefully on the sidewalk. We joined them.
It was apparent that Mr. Johnson was already talking to the inside crowd – we could hear their laughter and their enthusiastic spurts of applause. There was a lot of watch-checking and head-shaking and, suddenly, the door opened and every one was ushered in. Everyone except us.
Through the window, the clerk gave us the “so sorry” look and I mouthed “we’ll wait.”
Our persistence paid off and within five minutes we, too, were urged inside. I felt a bit like I was on one of those Tokyo bullet trains where they push the crowds from behind, although it was everyone else who had been pushed to make room for us.
About 100 people were seated toward the back of the store and another fifty of us stood behind them. Had I been a foot taller, I could have seen Mr. Johnson. As it was, I got just an occasional glimpse of his trademark cowboy hat. But just hearing him was enough. He was articulate, funny, and full of stories about his writing process, his characters and, most especially about his involvement with the new television series, “Longmire,” based on the books.
I was especially amused by the fact that Vic, Walt Longmire’s feisty undersheriff is modeled on the author’s wife, Judy. I can’t wait to tell Carol. She hates that character and had specifically mentioned that she was glad that the current book does not include her except in passing. I doubt that this bit of personal information will change her mind, though.
All-in-all, it was a fun evening. We did manage to get the book signed and to have a few moments talk with Mr. Johnson. We talked with him about his friend, the late Tony Hillerman, who he had mentioned in his talk. There are many similarities between the two authors and Mr. Johnson seemed genuinely pleased that I said so.
As for his starting early – we were told the he “always” gets there early and is talking when he walks through the door. Apparently, his Portland followers know that. And now we do, too! We are a bit sorry we don’t get the A&E channel so we can see the series. We could watch it online… but we’ll probably wait until it’s out on Netflix. It sounds as though it will be well worth the wait
Jon and I have watched the pilot and the next episode of the TV series. We both enjoyed the program. What a treat to have actually met and heard the author of the books. I didn’t realize the show was based on a book series. Now I have to check him out and borrow or buy (1/2 Price Books) them. If the books are 1/2 as good as the TV show, I’ll enjoy them.