CIPA member and author Carron Barrella had her first book signing a few weeks ago and shared the experience with us.
Carron’s book, “More Than 36 Days” follows 4 men who served as United States Marines during World War II in the battle for Iwo Jima island. “More Than 36 Days” is not a typical war book as it focuses on the men, their backgrounds and how their war experiences defined them into the men they grew to become.
The book signing was held on Saturday July 16th at the American Legion in Denver at I25/Yale from 1-6. All 4 veterans from the book – Don Whipple, Joe Weinmeier, Max Brown and Jim Blane – attended the signing with Carron to sign books along with the author.
The turnout was overwhelming.
Carron described the scene:
“The line at the door started at 1:00 and grew and grew until after 4:30. These poor men in their 80s were physically worn out but mentally energized. They graciously continued to sign books until after 7:00. They were so delighted and impressed that so many people wanted to meet them and true to their character they wanted to visit with every person who patiently waited in line. It was a memorable day. It was worth the labor of love to write the book and my heart swells that so many people honored and appreciated them.”
How did you come to write the book?
“I am a former Marine also and friend of the veterans. We meet at a little coffee shop in Denver every two weeks. And it is here that the story in the book begins because it was at a coffee meeting when I thought to myself that someone should be writing this down. Similar to the character of these amazing WWII veterans I didn’t wait for someone else to do it just as they didn’t wait to be drafted. I just decided to do it myself. Their stories need to be told. The future needs to hear the sacrifices these men made for us, for the world.”
How did the four feel about the huge turnout for the signing?
“The veterans were overwhelmed by the crowd that greeted them and continued to grow at the book signing. They felt appreciated and honored. Don said he felt he needed to greet each person personally since they waited in line so graciously and patiently to meet him. They don’t consider themselves heros, they just felt they were doing the job that needed to be done and did it to the best of their ability.
How many books did you sell that day?
250 books were sold last Saturday.
Wow! Where can readers buy the book?
It is currently available in hardcover, paperback and e-book from Amazon and Smashwords The book is also listed in the CIPA catalog and the website is www.morethan36days.com.
