All in all, things went well. No screaming babies on the plane next to me. No businessmen who had eaten beans and broccoli for lunch standing in the aisle next to my head emitting toxic odors. Of course, the airline will now charge you two bucks for that package of stale crackers, but the soda was free, so there wasn’t much to whine about.
Let me first say that the people who work at Northwest in the Memphis terminal are some of the sweetest I’ve ever met. (My Number One reason for loving the South is this concept of civility and friendliness. We are lacking some of that up North. Maybe the cold drains it out of our systems.)
I made to Memphis. My suitcase didn’t.
You would have been proud of me. No drama. No flinging myself across the counter and howling that the reader guides and the temp tattoos I special-ordered were in the suitcase. Not to mention my cache of Oatmeal Raisin Powerbars. The ladies were as kind as could be and promised to do what they could.
We made a stop at a 24-hour store That Shall Be Nameless Because of the Way They Treat Women (yeah, it killed me to have to shop there, but Blytheville, Arkansas only has one 24-hour store) to pick up the kind of products one needs to not smell hideous after a hard day’s travel and a night in a Holiday Inn.
So I slept. And while I slept, the Luggage Gods smiled.
my errant luggage arrived at 3am, to the sound of a chorus of angels singing,.
and Northwest shared a little apology in the form of a $25 coupon good for future travel.
So I am here. My luggage is here. Let the book tour begin.
A couple of quick shout-outs before my ride picks me up. (Thank you to my network of little birds who forwarded these to me.)
One of the most astute reviews of TWISTED is over at Trushmetal Review. Take some time and read the other reviews, too. This is an awesome site.
Thanks to Jerry E. for sending me photos of the TWISTED floor display from a bookstore in Arizona. It looks snazzy. (Which is a word that I think we should all revive. Snazzy. Snazzy. )
Don’t forget to check out my first podcast. Do you want me to make more? If so, what should I blab about?
If you live in the Memphis TN, or the north part of Mississippi, please come out to my signing tonight at Books-a-Million, at 7:00pm, 135 Towne Square Boulevard, Southaven, MS 38671 Tel:(662) 536-1888.
I will now attempt to pry my eyes open far enough to insert contacts.
My friend owns/runs a bookstore and she gets new novels all the time, but since she can’t possibly read them all to decide which to sell (she owns a very small store with limited space) she gives some to her friends to evaluate and report back. She was sent Twisted, and immediately I begged to be the one that got to read it. It was so amazing. I loved it. I couldn’t really describe what it was about, because it was about everything. (if that makes sense.) So she now sells Twisted, with your other novels in her store.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
The podcast was great! I’m even more pumped for Twisted, now! =D
Hmm… as for future casts, I’d say do whatever strikes your fancy (if you continue making them, that is!). I guess if I had to do one, I’d probably include reviews of other work that I liked and talk about how I relate to it as an author. And I loved hearing about the process stuff, as usual! Great anecdote about the intense scene.
Good luck on the rest of the book tour! Hope you don’t lose anymore luggage…
I cant wait till tomorrow because I get my paycheck and your book! Sorry about the luggage, I hope the rest of the trips goes better.
I love how nice everyone in the south is, even if you dont know someone, they still wave to you.
Twisted
Hi Laurie! I hope you haven’t had any other brushes with tour disaster. Good thing they found the luggage. You never know these days…
I just finished Twisted and first, wanted to congratulate you on another tight, beautifully written book. I was especially impressed by how natural the voice was, given that it’s your first male protagonist.
I do have a question, though, and it’s really going to nag at me. What is the message at the beginning – “This is not a book for children”??? Is that something that you consider part of the book, in a literary sense? Or is it a message your editor suggested? Inquiring minds want to know!
Congratulations again,
MRB
Re: Twisted
Thank you very much. The message in the beginning was my idea. I originally had a longer note from the main character, but wound up cutting it back. I might post it on my website for inquiring minds.
My Number One reason for loving the South is this concept of civility and friendliness.
Wow, what South are you visiting? Oh, it must be that other, secret South. I’ve always wanted to go there… (Then again, you did say Tennessee, which I’ve not heard much about in terms of their people skills one way or the other.)
Twisted, Day 1
Hello!
I read the entire thing last night! Couldn’t put it down. I must say, as a former teenage boy, (now 24), you really hit the nail on the head writing from a male perspective! NICE JOB!
Great book – thanks! Keep writing!
Re: Twisted, Day 1
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!
Memphis
On Christmas Day, I was flying on a connecting flight on Northwest from Pittsburgh to Montgomery, AL and I changed planes in Memphis. I’m a fifteen-year-old kid who has flown by myself before, but never on a connecting flight. Unfortunately, they had failed to mention to me when I was still in Pittsburgh that my second flight had been CANCELLED. I didn’t find out until I was fighting with the blinking word CANCELLED on the monitor at the Memphis Airport. (Luckily, I have family in Memphis that was able to take me in.) On top of that mess, it was Christmas Day and they had lost my bag, too. The Northwest agents were so nice to be about it, though. The one woman got me booked on a great flight for the next day, and I recieved my bag in Montgomery. It was a waste of a Christmas day, that’s for sure.
Can’t wait to read the book! It sounds amazing. Good luck on the rest of the book tour.
– Abby
I hope the rest of the tour goes without so much as a hiccup!
Not sure what you could include in future podcasts, but I’d definitely be interested.
Twisted is my carrot right now – my reward for finishing two of the books I need to be reading. I’m on pg 164/288 in one and have yet to start the other, but I’m hoping to get to Twisted by Saturday!
twisted book tour and podcast =)
hi! i’m glad the first day of the tour is going well. i haven’t gotten twisted yet, but i hope to by friday night lol. i’m so excited. i listened to most of your podcast. it was good. i really enjoyed it. i love hearing your voice. i thought it was funny. i’m thinking about you during your tour and i’m excited to see you on may 11th. i’m taking a day off from school that day (i’m using one of my college visit days) and my mom’s taking amy and me prom shopping (for me-yes i’m going to prom=)) in the bethlehem, PA area during the day and then we’ll come over to the bookstore early so we can hopefully catch up for a bit before your signing/presentation. i’ll give you my review of twisted after i get it and read it this weekend. have a safe trip and good luck with the rest of the tour! =) ♥
I finished “Twisted” this afternoon. Cried a bit, and absolutely loved it.
Sucks about losing your luggage, but yay for getting it back! Can’t wait until Sunday when you’re here in Ohio!!!
Thank you! I’m so happy you cried! (OK, that sounds weird, but you know what I mean.)
Well, seeing as how I recently told someone that if a book doesn’t make me cry or laugh hysterically, it’s not truly great, I totally understand.