The room would have held as many as 25 people, and the number of RSVPs led organizers to expect a sizeable turnout.

But then it began to snow. 

So.... only a few people showed up for my Feb. 20 book talk.  But that's okay.  Instead of a formal lecture, we gathered our chairs into a small semi-circle for a much more intimate conversation. 

I told them the story of how I abandoned my original plan of a career in law and politics in favor of journalism, and how that led to becoming a novelist.  They had plenty of questions about journalism, my mystery/suspense novel FAST TRACK, and the writing life.

One of the people in our small circle, Martin Moulton, brought his video camera, shot a small snippet of my talk, and posted on a web site.  Here's the clip:

 http://ChappleANC.com/public/index.php/2008/02/20/up_close_aamp_personal_with_the_situatio_1 

 EVERYone bought a book -- and one person bought TWO. 

Moral of the story: good things can come from small gatherings.