'Wimpy Kid' Author Opening Bookstore In Plainville, Mass.

PLAINVILLE, Mass. (CBS/AP) — Meet the latest bookstore owner: "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" author Jeff Kinney.

The beloved children's writer surprised and delighted a breakfast gathering Friday at BookExpo America, publishing's annual national convention, by announcing that he and his wife are converting the site of an abandoned general store in Plainville, Massachusetts, where Kinney and his wife live.

The couple bought the landmark Falk's Market in Plainville last year with plans to demolish it. At the time, Kinney told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 they planned to build a three-story building, with a store – possibly a coffee shop or bookstore – downstairs, and community space upstairs.

The book store will open in a spot that was once considered a centerpiece of life in downtown Plainville, with a prominent location at the crossing of Rte. 1A and Bacon Street.

Kinney, whose books have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, joked on Friday that he was opening a store to get rich.

Kinney isn't the only author to go into the bookselling business. Ann Patchett runs Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee, and Larry McMurtry is the longtime owner of Booked Up in Archer, Texas.

BookExpo America is being held in New York City.

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