West Virginia Week
- Mike Mallow
- Jun 22
- 3 min read
For the third-straight year, I got to spend West Virginia Day in West Virginia. This year, I got to visit New River Gorge, Hillbilly Hotdogs and one of my favorite bookstores. And that was all before I realized it was June 20.
I started the week at the Grafton Monster Festival, wherein I debuted my 3D-printed wares. They were a hit. Not only did they sell well, they boosted the book sales. I sold out of all my copies of In the Country Dark with two hours left in the day.
I must admit, I almost didn't go. I was told the day before I would be outside, which I was not equipped to do. Plus, rain was in the forecast and books and water generally don't mix. I was able to borrow a canopy thanks to my Fairmont friends, but ended up being inside anyway. It was a space tucked back in the corner of the Taylor County Historical Society. There were supposed to be two other vendors with me, but they similarly bailed, likely believing they weren't getting a fair shake. I had my doubts, but the vendors in the front of the building were good about telling people I was back there, and I had a steady flow of traffic as a result. In fact, my sales far exceeded the WV Books Festival last year, my previous record.
As a highlight, I got to meet The Best Virginian and Penneford, who both have fantastic YouTube channels. Best Virginian (whose real name I realize I still do not know) was on my list for an advance copy of A GHOST CHASES THE HORIZON, and I happened ot have one on hand when he came through my corner of the festival.
On Sunday, we dropped our daughter off at a camp for the week. We then stayed in Weston so I could do some mandatory newspaper work with good hotel internet. We then headed to the Potomac Highlands and visited WordPlay. Spent Tuesday with my father-in-law, whom my wife, Traci, had not seen in almost two years. There was a planned power outage in the area that day, but we kept him company, though he wouldn't ride into Virginia to have dinner with us.
Wednesday was when I hit the road to prep bookstores about the forthcoming release of A GHOST CHASES THE HORIZON. Traci had a short vacation window and flew back to Minnesota. We took advantage of the journey to Dulles by stopping at the bookstore in Shepherdstown and Martinsburg. Both were fantastic spaces. The Martinsburg store was purely used books, but it is a neat place to check out. From there, I drove to Berkeley Springs, because I had not crossed Morgan County off my list of visited West Virginia counties. I believe it was the last one, though I need to double-check my memory for Wirt County to confirm.
I stayed in Weston on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Thursday was spent making key connections for the book launch. I got to meet several people I had only talked to online previously. It was a great time, though the backroads of that town still make me claustrophobic.
Friday, West Virginia Day, was the first day with great weather. No better day for it. After a stop at Plot Twist Books in South Charleston, I finally made it to Hillbilly Hotdogs, though I wasn't impressed with the dog, at least not after eating Custard Stand dogs all week. Stopped at Booktenders in Barboursville and have a signing booked for October. More on that later. From there, I backtracked to New River Gorge. I tried to eat dinner at the Secret Sandwich Society, but it and the parking lot were packed. I had sushi in Summersville instead.
Saturday morning, I picked up the kid from camp and we set out back to Minnesota. We weren't going to do it in one shot, but she double-dog-dared me to, and I couldn't resist a challenge, especially on a nice, sunny day. We made a stop at the Mothman Museum before crossing the border, and made a stop at Skyline Chili outside of Cincinnati – the only non-West Virginia stop I was looking forward to making.
I'll be back that way in October. More on that later.
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