International Christian Retail Show 2007 Recap

Several of my readers have e-mailed me, saying that they enjoy experiencing (vicariously) my adventures at ICRS and viewing my slideshows. Now that I’m home and have had a chance to get caught up on my sleep, here’s a recap of my week in Atlanta and a slideshow to provide the visuals.

(To view slideshow full-size, click inside a photo. To view captions, click the callout box in the lower left corner).

What is the International Christian Retail Show?
ICRS, also known as CBA (Christian Booksellers Association), is a tradeshow, much like a home show, garden show, RV show, or technology tradeshow. Vendors of every product you can imagine seeing in a Christian bookstore set up booths to display their wares.

In addition to the usual artwork, greeting cards, toys, jewelry, clothing, and nativity sets, book buyers and distributors can place orders for more bizarre eclectic items, such as “Faith Heels,” (athletic ankle socks with “Faith,” “Hope,” or “Love” inscribed on them; Gospel Golf Balls (golf balls with Bible verses printed on them), and Scripture Candy (“Saving the world, one piece at a time”).

Books, books, and more books!
The exhibit floor was divided into a “gift” section and a “books and music” section. In the books and music section, all the publishing houses had booths, and many of them hosted book signings. Many authors (famous and not-so-famous) attended to autograph their latest books. The authors gave their books away to the bookstore owners, media, and fellow authors who came through their lines, in hopes that the book buyers will decide to order zillions of copies for their bookstores.

My role at ICRS
I played double duty this year, interviewing eight authors for clients who hired me to write profiles for their publications. Two of my most intriguing interviews were with Tom Davis, president of Children’s HopeChest, an organization that provides relief for AIDS orphans around the world, and Melody Rossi, a former opera singer turned director of an outreach ministry for inner-city gang members and at-risk kids in L.A.

I also promoted my two adoption-related books, The Adoption Network (did my first-book signing and had a blast), and The Adoption Decision (did a meet-and-greet and handed out postcards).

Fun Stuff
In addition to attending a lovely author dinner, where I met quite a few of my fellow Harvest House authors, I got to do more fun stuff. My roommate, Jenn Doucette, and I, attended a sneak peek of the upcoming Veggie Tales movie, “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything,” and enjoyed a special performance of the movie’s theme song by my favorite group, The Newsboys (along with Steve Taylor). We also got to meet Veggie Tales co-creators, Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki.

We dropped by the Jars of Clay listening party, during which the guys from the band previewed three songs from their upcoming “Christmas Songs” album (in stores October 16). The party was very small—only about 30 people attended, so we had a chance to have a nice chat with Matt, one of the “Jars.”

Immediately following the Jars of Clay party, we headed back to the convention center, where FoxFaith treated over 1,000 people to a free steak/salmon dinner and premiered the movie, “The Redemption of Sarah Cain.” Musicians Point of Grace performed some songs from the soundtrack, and afterwards, we met Michael Landon, Jr. (the director/producer), Abigail Mason and Soren Fulton, two of the young actors from the movie, and Beverly Lewis, author of the book from which the movie was adapted. What a treat!

My first TV appearance
ICRS marked my first television interview. I am used to doing the interviewing; being interviewed with cameras staring at me was a nerve-wracking experience. Before my interview, Kay Arthur (founder of Precept Ministries International), came to my rescue. She was interviewed right before me (yikes; I had to follow the queen of TV interviews!). When she came out, I told her I was a little nervous and she grabbed me (literally), told me exactly what to do, and then prayed for me, right then and there. Needless to say, I felt much more confident after that little pep talk. And being prayed for by Kay Arthur is about as close you can get to being prayed for by God Himself!

Karen Kingsbury encounter
Although Karen Kingsbury is a best-selling inspirational fiction author, she says that being a mom comes first (she’s the mother of six, three of whom she and her hubby adopted from Haiti). Karen endorsed my book, “The Adoption Decision,” so I decided to go to her book signing to say hello. I told Karen that I just seen the back cover of my book for the first time. On it, her name and endorsement are in GREAT BIG, BOLD LETTERS. My name is in little, teeny, weeny letters! Ah yes, God has His ways of keeping us humble!

All in all, ICRS was a blast. I worked hard, played hard, ate well, walked a lot, and slept little. It was an experience I’ll never forget. Maybe I’ll see you there next year in Orlando!

Comments

[Lisa]

Another great slideshow, thanks! And LOL about Kay Arthur; when I met her I thought "I'm not worthy to pick the gum off your shoes", LOL.

I am curious where your Tom Davis interview will appear - I followed his recent journey to Africa and am looking forward to the release of his new book.

[Darcie Gudger]

My review of your book, Adoption Network is up on Titletrakk.com and was sent with Titletrakk's weekly newsletter.

www.titletrakk.com

[nbHelp]

Thanks for including the great newsboys pics! Fans were happy to get a glimpse of the 'boys. :-)