[RichardHein]

I'd be happy with paying if I knew it was going to the author directly, but likely it is just another stop gap measure to prevent the bleeding out the industry as a whole is experiencing.  I'd probably still pay, to be honest, just because while I know the store keeps all the cash, it's still a way to show you support an author, in a roundabout way.  They made the effort to show up and be available to their fans, the least I could do is pay a cover charge and show that some people still appreciate the author doing a signing.

Still against it on principle, but my love of authors wins this one out.