When I was a tween and a teenager I was obsessed with a few things (particular music, particular poets, particular boys), but the biggest obsession had to be books. I never left home without one. In my household, being between books and not sure what to read next was called being “bookless,” and this affliction was to be avoided at all costs. My mother was, still is, a voracious reader, too—we’d often share books or, more likely, I’d “borrow” hers after she was done with it and then lose it in the landfill known as my bedroom. Wherever we were, wherever we were headed, if a bookstore was in our path, we had to slip inside and browse a little.

When I started earning my own money—and, so you know, my very first job was as an ice-cream scooper, just like one of the characters in Dani Noir—I’d sometimes buy myself a treat. Sure, I had a deep love for shoes, but first before anything else could be bought I had to get myself a book. During high school, the main place I bought these coveted and well-loved books was an independent bookstore called the Golden Notebook. You’ll find it on the main drag of Woodstock, New York, the town where I lived during tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade. I spent numerous hours going through those shelves, sitting on that floor reading, wondering what book could cure my booklessness next.

Well, something really cool is happening next week: I’ll be doing a book signing at that very store. I’ll be upstate for Thanksgiving weekend, so if you’d like to get Dani Noir signed and you’re in the Hudson Valley for the holiday, come visit me at 12 noon on Friday, November 27 at the Golden Notebook on Tinker Street in Woodstock. I’ll be in the children’s annex, which is right next door to the main bookstore. And even better? Just a few doors down from that on Tinker Street you will find none other than a little place called Taco Juan’s, which has a guest-starring spot in the book. Coincidence? You tell me.

For more info about the book signing, see the bookstore’s website.

For more about the book in question, see the official Dani Noir website.