First Paperback Tour

I just got back from an exhausting week of book promotion stuff. It was, as ever, a mixed experience, but I'm always glad to say yes whenever someplace is good enough to ask for me. This one was my first tour for a paperback, the Anchor edition of Pride of Carthage.

Enjoyed my visit to Elliott Bay Book Co in Seattle. Great bookstore, stellar staff and atmosphere and stacks of good books.

I stopped in LA, but can't say that much came of that. It wasn't a literary night in Hollywood, or maybe everyone interested in books went to see somebody else. I won't mention the bookstore because it was so dissapointing... But, anyway...

The best stop was in Iowa City. I read at Prairie Light Books, as part of their live broadcast and interview session on the local NPR station. And then the next day I spent an hour as the "Talk of Iowa". Another fun time, hanging out in a coffee shop, with a live audience and sharing the hour with a great local jazz band. That's the best sort of literary entertainment - when it's smart, but also light and lively.

Madison, Wisconsin, was also a good stop, although I had a small audience at the Borders there. It snowed that night, so that didn't help. But the people who were there were great fun - and they bought books!

But, I'm glad it's over now. I have a few more readings in Massachusetts, but those are things I can drive to, very different than the trans-continental shuffle. I'll be at Newtownville Books in Newton, MA on Jan 24th. Then I'll be at Jabberwocky Bookshop and Cafe in Newburyport on February 3rd. And then I'll finish up at a local stop, Food For Thought in Amherst, MA on March 3rd.

But in the meantime, I am decidedly back to work on Book Number Four. It's in the final stages, and I should wrap it up in a few more weeks!