THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511100072
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
HOW BADLY is Hampton Roads clamoring for copies of Howard Stern's new book?
So badly that when ``Miss America'' went on sale a week early, nearly 250 people placed special orders at Barnes & Noble, the Virginia Beach superstore.
So badly that the owner of Prince Books in downtown Norfolk fielded some 20 inquiries, way more than she anticipated.
So badly that Stephanie Bagley - all 4-feet-11 of her - chased down a guy trying to shoplift a copy Thursday morning from Waldenbooks on Laskin Road.
``I'm thinking, `What am I doing?' '' laughed Bagley, the assistant manager and an unabashed Stern fan. ``I didn't know which book he had. He ran around the back of the store and I ran after him. When he threw the book down, I saw it was Stern's.''
``Miss America,'' the tell-all sequel to Stern's outrageous best-seller, ``Private Parts,'' was originally due in stores this Tuesday. That was before the deejay got wind that the thin-skinned pooh-bahs who put on the Miss America pageant were considering an injunction to stop distribution.
He rallied the troops and announced last Monday that the book, with a full-color cover of Stern in drag, would go on sale at 6:30 the next morning at the Barnes & Noble on Fifth Avenue in New York. Fans camped out overnight.
By day's end, the chain had moved a record 33,000 copies. The eight shipped to Virginia Beach Tuesday evening never even made it to the shelf. Same goes for all those special orders that came in Wednesday. Another 200 were en route late last week - some of which may actually go on display. Sales clerks were still taking reservations Thursday.
None of which is a surprise. ``Private Parts'' ruled the best-seller lists. Stern is heard weekday mornings all over the country, including WKOC-FM (93.7) in Hampton Roads. The publisher, HarperCollins, saw the mathematics on the wall and printed 1 million copies of ``Miss America.''
``That's a lot, so they must have anticipated it,'' said Debbie Register, assistant manager at Barnes & Noble. She credits at least part of the rush to the pageant fuss. ``It might have helped pull some people in because they thought it would be a collector's item.''
Seaneen McHugh of Virginia Beach isn't a collector, she's a Howardhead. The Virginia Beach woman was at Barnes & Noble Thursday morning, with her year-old twins, 4 1/2-year-old daughter and 5 1/2-year-old nephew to pick up her copy, a present from her husband. ``I would have been here yesterday, but it was my birthday as well as the twins.' ''
McHugh's husband, a native of New Jersey, is a longtime devotee. He turned her on when The Coast picked up Stern early last month.
``I find him funny,'' she said. ``Sometimes he's gross, but I don't take it too seriously. I just sort it out. You can't be offended, and you have to be able to laugh at yourself. Now, when I'm driving my daughter to school in the morning, I'm listening to him.
``I'm looking forward to a great read. I'm going to cherish it.''
Betsy Schuepbach also became a fan because of her husband. They lived in Philadelphia for 15 years before moving to Virginia Beach.
``I received `Private Parts' as a birthday present from my husband and read it in one sitting,'' she said, clutching a copy of the new book. ``At first, I thought he was disgusting, but the more I listened, I found him refreshing.
``He's not one-dimensional; in fact, he's rather conservative. I also listen to Rush Limbaugh and they're really not that far apart. Sure, sometimes he's disgusting, but that's why you have a channel selector.''
Thursday was a day off for Barrie Jones of Norfolk, and she hoped to spend it curled up with ``Miss America.'' She had to change her plans, but not before reserving a copy at Barnes & Noble.
``I'm a Coast listener and all I heard about was the book,'' she said. ``I guess I'm a closet Howard Stern fan.''
Bagley, the vigilant assistant manager at Waldenbooks, had about half of her initial shipment of 50 copies left by midday Thursday. They arrived late, in part because someone in the chain's home office didn't realize Stern's show is carried in this market.
``As word spread that we have copies in stock, they've started to go,'' she said. ``He's outrageous - just like all of us would like to be if we had the nerve.'' by CNB