OK, I have 100 books and I'm going to be a bookseller???

First I got all those listed, and then I began doing the thrift store haunt... We had five in town at that time, and I was a regular at all of them. I picked up lots of mysteries, children's books, what non-fiction I could find, and I kept listing.

In the beginning, I was running an average of 300 books a week on eBay. I'd list new ones each day. As auctions ended, I'd relist one time. Those who came off after two weeks without selling went on to Amazon.

Keep in mind I'm in a one bedroom furnished apartment. First I have two bookcases, then three, then I go into big shelves and concrete blocks for a large part of my living area in the apartment. And then I get a couple more bookcases and they begin to take over my bedroom... And a couple more, moving into my kitchen area now.

Then my next door neighbor gave me a glass faced cabinet she didn't want and took a stuffed chair I didn't (the landlord got a bit testy about that when he found out, but I talked him out of it). After all, he was bringing prospective renters down to meet me so he could brag about the internet business I was doing from my apartment. If he wants me to be the apartment curiosity, then he can't discourage my business growth, could he?

And, in less than 9 months, my husband and I had purchased a house down here and I needed to move. Now Glen's in Washington, so guess who gets to move those 2,500 or so books to the new house - along with all the shelving??

A couple of guys from the apartments helped (with a little cash encouragement), and I was over here, sleeping on the floor, with a house that echoed in every room except my "shop" area...

I took over the 6' x 40' family room as my book shop. It's all windows, but has a patio and porch out in front, so the sun doesn't work on my books. I can watch all the neighbors, see deliveries coming, and the sun perks up my day. We have lots of birds, flowers, butterflies, hummingbirds in particular, and I've even seen a box turtle, a toad, and a couple of snakes (my cat killed them so they weren't dangerous anymore), and a road runner. Keeps me from getting bored.

So far so good. But then eBay sales started drying up and getting more expensive and I needed to look for a new venue for my books...