April 20, 1997 was a big day for me. Not only was it the sixth anniversary of Jill and I getting married, but it was to be the US premiere of the Black Diamond book. Splitting a table with a couple of other fans, I had sent aside several copies of the book for the show in hopes of seeing what fans thought of the book and just talk to fans in general. Main objection, though, was to have a good time.

Night before -- A friend who was to share the table with us was allowing Jill and I to stay at her place for a few nights after we flew in on the previous Thursday from Columbus, Ohio. Spent most of the night before the expo trying to figure out what to price some of the things she had to sell. Ended up on the Înet for awhile to see if some of the stuff was listed there. Even when it was, there was no guarantee that fans would pay the prices listed. Finally priced about half of the stuff and decided to wait until the next day to see how people at other tables priced their merchandising. Hope to get to the expo site by 8:00.

Day of the show:

10:00 -- Arrived a couple of hours late. My setup took a total of ten minutes altogether, with a color standee of the book cover for Black Diamond, some color flyers to put around the entrance way to the show and arranging the books on the table. For our friend, and another person who chipped in for a portion of the table, it took until after the doors were open before they were ready to sell. Turned out that an old fan associate from the 1980s, Frank Hagan, had the table next to us; while another old fan associate, Peter Arquette, was running the table directly across from us. Turned out to be old-home week at the expo.

10:50 -- Ran into another friend who had been waiting for the book for some time. We talked for a bit, then he dragged me over to another table to look at one of the new KISS books that had just come out. Wasn't his table, but he grabbed the book and started thumbing through the first few pages, pointing out material from the text that actually came from articles he himself had written several years before (and with no credit in the book to him). The dealer at the table was eyeing us suspiciously as my friend continued, "He took this. . .this whole page. . .that paragraph. . . this sentence. . .this whole page. . . this whole page. . . .) Just shrugged my shoulders and smiled weakly at the dealer.

11:15 -- Fans were let in. Because of the way tables were arranged, we were in the last row that most fans would come to. Meanwhile, other books were being sold as well, such as KISS AND SELL; while Barry Levine had a beautiful corner table in the center of the expo, promoting his THE KISS YEARS book. Most of the dealers were selling the typical merchandise, while the booth that Jill had her eyes on was one that was selling t-shirts promoting old movies and television series. Had her heart set on the HARD-BOILED t-shirt.

2:00 (or so) -- Eric Singer goes up on stage to do Q&A. DidnÌt see it as I was wanting to stay at the table. Jill, meanwhile, is having a hard time figuring where to stand behind the table. All the chairs were gone by the time we got there with the exception of one, so everyone behind the table had to share during the day.

If Jill stood next to me, she was blocking the big standee of the book; if she moved to the left she was blocking stuff belonging to our friend at the table; if she moved to the right, she was blocking stuff at the next personÌs table. If she moved back, everyone would ask her why she was standing so far away. Finally found her a milk-crate and she finally had something to sit on.

3:30 -- Had the first and only rude fan during the whole day come up at this time. Guy with two buddies came up and starting blowing smoke from his cigarette in my face while I was talking to another fan who was buying a book.

You the author, he asked with a smirk.

Yeah.

Well, what so special about you that you can write this book?

I'm just a fan who had written articles about the band over the years and had met several of them. I just thought it was time for a book about the band that was written from the fansÌ point-of-view. Maybe answer some of the questions that, perhaps, an insider might not realize fans may have had.

Oh, so youÌve written about the band. Where?

In fanzines and such.

Oh, so this is JUST a bunch of your articles, HUH?! He said that like he was just to crack a murder case open.

Um. . .no. It's a biography. That's why it says biography on the cover. Look, I'll talk with you in just a second, I just need to finish with this guy--

Does it have the dirt in it?

Um. . .no. I'm not interesting in writing a book about the "dirt." I wanted to write one that talked about the band in a fair and concise way. Give the good and the not-so-good and explain why some things happen or didnÌt happen. Look, I really need to finish with this guy.

4:00 -- Barry Levine is back at his table signing copies of THE KISS YEARS. I go over with a copy of my book to give him and have him sign a copy of his book for me. He also signs a copy of my book as well (he asked to do it, I didnÌt press him).

5:00 -- Eric shows up at a table selling his video and is signing autographs there. Jill waits in line until she gets to the front and then I slip him to give him a copy of BLACK DIAMOND and to also sign the copy that Levine signed for me.

When passing the book to him, Eric grabbed the book as if to autograph it. I start pulling it away from him so he can't sign it, but he doesn't see this as he is talking to someone behind at the same time. Instead we end up tugging back and forth on the book for a moment until he turns around and I get to tell him that the book is one I had written and wanted him to have a copy. He then signs the other copy for me. He was very nice about it and he seemed to be in a good mood about the situation.

7:00 -- Bands have been playing and playing, but I've been at the table for too long and never got a chance to see anyone perform. Hope it went well for those who got to see it. Actually, donÌt know why I stuck around the table. Normally when the bands begin to play, the fans have finished with their buying for the day. In fact, if you go to these expos, you'll start seeing dealers begin to pack up around the time of the ÏtributeÓ band(s) begin to play.

Still stuck it out for another half hour and did sell a few more books.

8:00 -- Packed up our stuff and headed out.

All in all, had a very good time at the show. Enjoyed meeting and talking with fellow fans. It has certainly made me look forward to the next expo in Cleveland in June. Hope to see some more of you there!