The book release party at BookPeople was a smashing success. There was an amazing turnout for the reading and all of the store copies sold out. True, I had many family and friends there (some buying multiple copies) and there were all of the Austin SCBWI and Inklings members showing their wonderful support, but there were also kids and parents from near and far looking for some family fun. One mom and daughter that I signed a book for had come to Austin from Florida for a swim meet and they had gotten a Tweet about the book event. Gotta love the social media!
And, as I had hoped for, it wasn’t just human children that I was signing books for. I made out more than one inscription to the likes of Roscoe, Franky, Otto, and LuLu. The wiener dog owners had come too! Some had traveled from as far as San Antonio.
The cupcakes and hot dogs were all eaten before I even started the reading. My wife, Shelley, and brother, Tim, were big hits as Granny and Wolf. They carried around our two wiener dogs, also in costume and posed for many photos. It was quite warm in BookPeople and Shelley and Tim really sweated it out in their costumes.
They weren’t the only ones in costume. Kids showed up dressed as dogs, vying for the prize in the best costume contest. There was an online competition, as well, for the best photo of a dog in a costume. Winners of both contests won a framed original drawing of Wiener Dog rendered by me.
Now that the party has passed, I am left with the less festive work promoting Wiener Wolf. I am targeting a FaceBook ad at dachshund lovers on the site, making Wiener Wolf merchandise on Zazzle, and trying to set up school visits and other events. But more on that later.
Jeff Crosby 
It looks like fun was had by all! Just love that your wife and Tim dressed in costume along with the wiener dogs. So fun!
PS: Just can’t say enough how much I love Wiener Wolf. I’ve been telling many people about it!
Will the wiener dogs go with you when you do school visits? I take my wiener dog Frankie when I do visits, and kids LOVE it!
I’m glad you are enjoying it, Barbara! Thanks for spreading the word. I do not take Fritz and Baron to school visits, as they get overwhelmed by all of the attention. They did go with me to a library event and a book signing and wore out pretty quickly. I did buy a toy dachshund that fits in Fritz’s sweater to use as a stand-in.
Hello,
I’m getting my daughter this book for her upcoming birthday in April. We have 3 wiener dogs and we/she enjoys anything weenie. Would you be able to sign it? I live in Austin in the Arboretum area and could meet you somewhere. It would mean a lot to her. Do you know if anyone in the Austin area carries the book except for Book People at 6th/Lamar? Thanks.
Spot on with this write-up, I honestly believe this site needs a lot more attention.
I’ll probably be back again to see more, thanks for the info!