Book signings are always fun events for a writer, at least for a writer who is as new to the profession as I am. Such events are enjoyable for the obvious reason that they are flattering to the ego but also for some less obvious reasons.* I enjoy the people I get to meet, like those I met this week at a book signing in my home town of Monterey, Virginia. Who said a prophet hath no honor in his home town? I felt very honored indeed. I had the privilege of meeting a woman who was both a lawyer and a theologian--following in the great tradition of John Calvin, no doubt. There was also another person present at the signing who began reading C. S. Lewis in the 1940's. There were others who shared my interest in travel and the desire to get to know the life setting (the sitz-em-leben) behind the works of a beloved author; in fact, one other person present at the signing had been to Oxford and seen the grounds of The Kilns, Lewis's home. All that to say, if you invite me to...