For Village Venture, the popular crafts fair and street festival that took place Saturday in Claremont, I arranged to sell “Pomona A to Z” in the parking lot of Rhino Records, right by the sidewalk to catch foot traffic. As promised in print, I showed up at 11 a.m.

It got off to a good start when a woman with a walker approached to say she’d been waiting since 9. (She had left and come back, thankfully.) “I couldn’t remember when you said you’d be here,” she admitted.

Over the next hour, I sold four books. Might have been more if I were the type to shout toward passersby, “Pomona in 26 letters! Get-cher copies of ‘Pomona A to Z’ right cheer! Meet the author!” Instead, I sat quietly and read an H.P. Lovecraft book.

A few readers approached during that time just to say hello. One said her husband had bought a copy the day before from the shop Heirloom. One woman, whom I don’t recall ever meeting, remarked, “You’ve lost weight.”

Another walked up with a friend in tow. “I love you to death,” the woman said. She talked about how she enjoys my column and how much better she likes the Bulletin than the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, because as a Pomona resident, the Bulletin has more news of interest to her.

I gestured toward my book and said leadingly, “Pomona…?” “I’m short on cash,” she said (without asking how much it was) and quickly left. That’s okay. My book’s target demographic is people who only tolerate me.

I can’t complain about selling five: I left with $100 in my pocket, pretty good for an hour’s work. And it was nice to meet everyone. Even the odd encounters were entertaining.