Month: March 2005

Man, am I beat. Loooong day, Started at 5am in Seattle when I woke up because my ride was picking me up at 6. Then a plane ride (Alaska Air – very comfortable seats) to the Oakland/ San Francisco area. The Mt. St. Helen’s volcano woke up again today. I swear I had nothing to do with it.

First stop was Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa (named after the first female landowner in California, fact courtesy of librarian Sonja Bedford and Women’s history month). Wow. They were ready for me. So ready. They even had signs on the outside of their school building. That was a first.

The inside the auditorium shots didn’t turn out so good, but we took a couple during my book signing, which, yes, was held outside because the weather was so unbelievably gorgeous. Thank you to everyone who stood in line. Great school. Great students. Lots of fun! Thanks so much for being so sweet to me, MCHS. So here is what my world looked like today.

The Line.

Nice sign.

Many thanks to Jonatha Foli of Copperfield’s and Richie Partington (hi Shari!) for making it feel like old home week.

Next came a 2 hour 15 minute drive (crawl) south of San Fran to Storyteller bookshop where I talked to a bunch of folks about books. The owner, Linda, kindly gave me a copy of Prom Night, which is a hysterical book.

The Audience.

So it was after 9pm by the time I got back to my hotel room. Room service. I needed room service. I didn’t care what they brought me, as long as it wasn’t moving on the plate.

Dinner. sigh

Zzzzz.. oh, sorry. Just let me prop up my eyelids here.

Wednesday’s schedule:

10-12 Rakestraw Books, Danville, CA
1:30-3:30 M is for Mystery, San Mateo, CA
4:30-5pm stock signing, Kepler’s Books, Menlo Park

Should be a calmer day tomorrow. Zzzzzzzzzzz………………..

Wonderful day!! Thank you to Sister Ann and all the girls at Holy Names Academy for starting it off with a bang. Thanks also to all the nice booksellers I met today, especially Chauni and Rene of All for Kids for letting me sign their amazing wall.

The Holy Names gang, all 650 of them. Thank you dirtylibrarian for introducing yourself!!

Me on top of a six-foot ladder signing the Author Wall.

I leave in a few minutes for the Barnes and Noble event. When I come back I have to pack because I have an early morning flight to Oakland, CA. Here is the schedule for Day 2, in case any of you can drop by.

1:20 – 3pm Speaking at Maria Carillo HS, Santa Rosa (not open to public). While there, I’ll also sign stock for Copperfield’s, Sebastopol, CA.

6:30-8:30pm Signing at The Storyteller in Lafayette, CA

On Wednesday I’ll be visiting bookstores in Danville, San Mateo, and Menlo Park, CA. Details tomorrow.

Good night, Seattle! (like my purse?)

The plane ride was… a six-hour plane ride, ‘nuf said. I am reading The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger and enjoying it a great deal. One thing nags at me though – she seems to have borrowed the whole ChronoMoving thing – the central element of the way time travel works, from Jasper Fforde’s books. It could well be that both authors hit on the same device at the same time. That happens more often than you’d think, like the ideas are streaming through the air. Did anyone else get the same sense? This is not to take away from the book at all – she’s a good writer.

Low point of the trip so far: having a very large man, who had recently eaten broccoli, break wind with his butt inches from my face while I was strapped into my plane seat and he was standing in the crowded aisle. Ack. Ack. Ack. Not much you can do in a situation like that except to hold your breath until you slip into unconsciousness. I tried. It didn’t work.

High point of the trip so far: this morning’s walk along the waterfront. Seattle is an excellent city. Note to all family members reading this: let’s come back here and play!

Here’s what I saw:

The cherry trees are blooming here!! (Sun wasn’t quite up when I took the photo. Use your imagination.)

Fish market is very, very cool.

Sleepy author and Jumbo Grilling Lobster Tails.

My ride, the lovely Tina, will be here in a minute. Thanks Max, for the great note about PROM. Very fitting that you found one of the special signed copies!

*leaving on a jet plane…*

I did it. Apartment is clean. Inbox is empty. Info about my taxes is winging its way to Accountant Pete. Clothes and books are packed. So are powerbars, tea bags, and lots of Vitamin C. Ipod is charged. Bring it on!!!

I find that the term “book tour” sounds both pompous and stressful. Therefore, this is not a book tour. This is a road trip, courtesy of Penguin, my very nice publishers.

I love road trips!

Do you live in Seattle? Then come out and see me – be sure to tell me you come from LJ land. Here is my schedule for Monday:

11:30 AM – 1:30 PM Holy Names High School – I’m pretty sure this is for students only, but you could always call and ask.

All afternoon I’ll be cruising the city in an Authormobile, signing stock at the following stores. Click on the links to get more details about the stores, and my visit. If you need signed copies of my books, these are the wonderful bookstores that will have them.

All for Kids
Secret Garden Bookshop
Queen Anne Ave Books
Third Place Books

At this point, I’ll be inhaling some food. After I check my teeth for leftovers, we head out for a real, public book “event”.

7:00 – 9:00 PM Signing at Barnes & Noble, University Village
2675 NE University Village Street
Seattle, WA 98105
206-517-4107

Then I collapse at the hotel.

You don’t live in Seattle? Check out the whole tour schedule.

Things done already –

1. Coffee and writing talk and life talk with my friend Martha, which was WONDERFUL. We decided that when I move, we will go into our respective Barnes and Nobles (where we always meet) and buy coffee, then talk to each other via cell phone.
2. Post office.
3. Picked up dry cleaning.
4. Grocery store.
5. Went to West Chester to watch Mer and the rest of her drum line (Innovations from Hatboro-Horsham) put on a great show and take first place.
6. Laundry (work in progress)
7. Clean apartment (work in progress)
8. Empty email box (see below)

A nameless reader writes: Hello, let me first begin with I love the book, speak, with a passion, as does my best friend Katy. I are very excited about your upcoming movie, but believe that we have found a better Melinda for you. I hope that you do not take this the wrong way, but in this e-mail is a picture of Katy.

(She included a couple pictures of Katy, who does look like she’d be perfect for the role.) Sorry, Katy and friend, but the movie has already been shot. The role of Melinda went to Kristen Stewart, who did an amazing job.

Joan writes with these questions about PROM for a review in her high school newspaper:
1. Do you honestly believe that your novel is about normal teenagers? Why? Why not?

It doesn’t matter what I think is normal. What matters, for the purpose of this story, is how the main character sees herself, which is “normal.” I do think that her struggles reflect lots of kids who come from similar circumstances. How do I know this? They told me. One of the best parts of my life these days is meeting teens when I visit schools. While I would never, ever take anyone’s personal story and stick it in a book (that would be just plain wrong) I listen carefully when they tell me what they love about their lives and what they struggle with.

2. Why did you set your story in an inner city setting?

I didn’t. The book is set in a fictional suburb just over the city line from Philadelphia (see page 37). I wanted to set it in a working class neighborhood, as opposed to an affluent suburb, because I haven’t seen many books set there.

3. Are metal detectors in a “normal school”?

Again, PROM is told from the first-person point-of-view. So everything that Ashley describes as being “normal” gives you insight into what her world looks and feels like. Plenty of schools in this area have metal detectors.

4. Do normal teachers steal the prom money?

Wow, this whole “normal” thing really got your attention, didn’t it? Obviously, teachers rarely steal money from the prom fund. But it has happened. In my research I found several newspaper articles about the arrests of teachers who had done exactly that.

5. Do you believe your book is realistic and believable?

Absolutely.

Mary writes: i just read your book “Catalyst”. I really enjoyed it. it was the type of book that a like to read, books about girls in 1st person form. But i do have a question. i don’t know if i missed something, but it said at first that Mikey was Teri’s younger brother. then once Mikey was electrocuted it said that Mikey was her son. And I’m just really not that sure. could you clear this up for me?

See page 163. We get to learn what our narrator, Kate, learns. When you find out who Mikey’s father is (p. 163), you suddenly look at Teri in a whole new light.

OK, back to getting ready for the trip.