What Happens When The Author’s Cell Rings

What does the author do when his cell phone goes off in the midst of a reading?
When it happened to me last night, all I could do is laugh along with everybody else. It was my fault, too, I had set the timer to run for 40 minutes and then didn’t mute it. Great. There were about 60 people there and everyone laughed. Good thing I had loosened them up with a couple of jokes. Other than that, it was an excellent night at Books Inc. and dinner after with friends. We even ended up at one of my favorite San Francisco dive bars, Edinburgh Castle.
It was also cool to see some friends there who helped shape the book, Andy Raskin, who worked with me on the proposal in 2009, and Lewis Buzbee, who was one of my graduate professors at the University of San Francisco writing program who taught to literature classes that influenced me greatly.
Tonight, I am at Book Passage in Corte Madera, one of the Bay Area’s great indy bookstores. This will be a bit of a test, as I am relying mostly on the store’s promotions and some mentions in my recent radio interviews to attract people. Book Passage has a very loyal customer base and I expect to be another well-attended event. It starts at 7 p.m.