Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Tour Day 16 and 17

Quickie update today, because I have to get on the road.I never went to Cleveland (sorry to all who hoped I would) because I got hung up signing in bookstores around Columbus and then went straight to Pittsburgh. Today, on to Philly.

A special King-sized shout out to writer Rebecca Drake, whose debut thriller DON'T BE AFRAID will in fact make you very afraid. I thought I wrote creepy serial killers, but apparently I haven't cornered the market on them. Look for it this September, or pre-order it HERE. With Rebecca as my guide, we managed to visit 19 stores in Pittsburgh. She also boarded me for the night, putting up with my tragic 'nude sleepwalking' disorder. Apologies to her husband Joe when I tried to crawl into bed and spoon with him.

The following night I spent in the considerate care of fellow scribe M. Stephen Lukac who had beer and chicken ready for me when I pulled into his driveway late last night. This is truly a man after my own heart. Gracias, Steve. When you're in Chicago, mi casa tu casa. Check out Steve's website and blog--he's a great writer and a wealth of info about the publishing biz.

I'll blog in more depth about other people I met (hi Susan and Meryl!) and stores I visited when I get some free time.

Miles driven so far: 3998
Bookstores visited so far: 139
Books signed so far: 1119
Books hand sold so far: 132
Bookstores remaining: 361
Average hours of sleep per night: 5

Thanks to all who have contacted me showing support, and to those offering support. It means a lot. I don't think this tour would have been humanly possible without the help of you guys.

Now back to the trail...
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12 comments:

  1. Susan Helene Gottfried6:58 AM

    Hey, Joe!

    Guess where I was yesterday???

    BEAVER.

    'Nuff said. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7:51 AM

    Rebecca's book loooks interesting but she has one of those web sites that trap people. Makes for a bad first impression. I tried to email her about it but she doesn't have an email contact on her site.

    So important to have that contact information. Thought you could pass on the advice.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous9:25 AM

    Anonymous, what do you mean by a web site that traps people? I can pass on the comment to Rebecca, but I'm not sure that she'll understand the reference either.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous10:15 AM

    Rebecca's site won't allow you to back out of it, to whatever site you were at previously. The back button on the browser just keeps returning you to her "welcome" page. I agree her contact info should be added ASAP.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:38 AM

    Ah. Thanks Julie. I will pass the info on to Rebecca pronto. I know that her website is a work in progress. They just got it up and running over the weekend.

    Her book is wonderful, however. So don't let the website glitch deter you from giving it a read!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous10:57 AM

    Thanks so much for the plug, Joe! I had a blast with you yesterday and I'm glad you made it to Uniontown.

    Thanks so much to the posters who were nice enough to visit my site and point out the flaws.
    Sorry it's being annoying. Literally just got it up and since I was playing celebrity wrangler for the illustrious and truly original Joe Konrath yesterday, I didn't have time to fix it. Will do so pronto. Please visit again!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rob Gregory Browne11:26 AM

    Beer and chicken. At least you're eating right.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous2:00 PM

    Average hours of sleep per night JAK: 5
    Avg. number hours for an adult - 7.5
    Cumulative sleep deficit: 17 tour days x 2.5 hours/day = 42.5 hours deficit

    Keep it up and just imagine the possibilities! No don't.

    Your maternal fan club in the Great North Woods says drive safely; get plenty of rest, eat your Wheaties, take your vitamins and Go-o-o-o Joe!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Steve12:45 AM

    Hey! How come you didn't try to spoon with me?

    However, the cat's been walking funny all day, and I loved the stack of goodies you left on the table before you left.

    Hmmm, spooning, gifts left on the table in your wake and a strangely wobbly kitty?

    But Then Again, You'll Have This...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bernita3:53 AM

    Feel better knowing you're averaging that much sleep.
    As any mother of children knows, one can navigate for YEARS on 4 and 1/2 hours sleep.
    Drive safe, Joe. Don't play in traffic.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Chris Everheart10:42 PM

    I was in Chicago over the weekend and stayed at Joe's place.

    Hope you don't mind, Joe. I knew no one would be staying there and the window popped right open with just a tap of the brick.

    Thanks for putting out the pleated TP with the pastel patern. That was a nice touch.

    Next time you're in Minneapolis, let me buy you dinner in thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous6:14 PM

    Hi Rebecca,

    Cant wait to read your book... I have to wait 2 years. Thats a long time :( See you in a month or two.

    -Nicole M.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for the comment! Joe will get back to you eventually. :)