Tonight, a book reading at Battenkill Books, where I have a very special relationship with the store and my friend Connie Brooks, who has done the impossible and run a successful, well-stocked and much-loved bookstore in a tiny upstate New York town of 2,000. It is not supposed to be possible.

Today is pub date for “Talking To Animals: How We Can Understand Them And They Can Understand Us.” You can order the book right here, they take Paypal and major credit cards. You can order the book online or you can call the store at 518 677-2515. Amazon doesn’t really need the business.

On the first day, the book is moving up Amazon, holding the no. 1 (hardcover), no.2 (Kindle) and no. 3 (audio) positions on the Animal Category. Pretty sweet for the first day.

Connie and I have always begun forging some new publishing history together. Writers have to change to survive, and so do bookstores, and we are. You are invited to come along for the ride.

I promote my book on my blog and social media and steer people to her store, and people buy it from here. Connie spends exhausting days taking orders, organizing the shipping, and talking to the Post Office.

In return, people support her store, my work and the idea of the book.

I sign and personalize each book ordered through Battenkill (some of those inscriptions are pretty wild) and she also sends each buyer a very classy custom designed tote-bag that says “Sit. Stay. Read” under an image of a beautiful border collie.

Last book, Connie sold 1,200 copies of “Saving Simon,” that’s a lot more than I sold on most book tours. This year, we topped 700 pre-orders and are streaking towards 1,000 and beyond.

Connie’s store is very important to my existence as a writer, and my book sales are important to her bottom line in the bookstore. These kinds of partnerships will, I think, save book writing. So will people who buy books.

I’m excited to do my first reading from “Talking to Animals” tonight, and am going over the book now to get ready. You never know with books, and even though it’s pretty much up to me and Connie, I think we’re going to get somewhere.

Connie Brooks and I are great friends, we have an easy relationship, our marathon book signings are great fun.  She even hosted a talk for my e-book “The Story Of Rose,” even though there were no paper books to sell.

We don’t see one another much outside of the bookstore, I don’t think either of us are big party people. But we are both working together to do something very exciting and I can’t wait to kick off my book tour tonight. Thanks, Connie.

You can order the book right here, it will be sweet to think of orders piling up online even as I  talk about the book in public for the first time.