Winding down
Monday, November 7, 2005 at 10:47AM I finally got around to cleaning up my Appearances page and it struck me that it's almost over.
My mini-book tour, that is.
Almost two months ago I started down a path I'd never taken before. It began with a launch party in my hometown of Evanston, Ill. From there I went with book in tow to Rockford, Ill., Joliet, Ill., Winnetka, Ill., Milwaukee, Wisc., Waynesboro, Va., and Washington, D.C.
And then there were two.
Stops, that is. Two places left on my Appearances page before I close the book on my Lost travels.
Lost, indeed.
I went into this directionless, without a compass. The path was not always a smooth one. But it's been an adventure like none I've ever taken, and I don't think I'd do any of it differently even if given the opportunity to do it over again. I've met so many truly inspiring people along the way and gotten support from so many family members and friends. Selling books is nice, but the greatest reward that I've gotten from writing a book is that it has connected and reconnected me with so many people. Value: priceless.
So where do I go from here?
On Saturday, I'm joining up with one of those connections, John Knoerle. A couple weeks ago we were paired for a book signing in Winnetka, which I wrote about in a previous blog entry. I invited him to join me on my next stop at The Bookstore, 475 N. Main St., Glen Ellyn, Ill. He liked the idea and so did the owner of The Bookstore. We'll be at The Bookstore at 1 p.m., reading excerpts from our books, taking questions and, of course, signing books.
The last stop is Saturday, November 19, when I'll be one of the authors at a free book fair at the Chicago Cultural Center, Michigan and Randolph, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hosted by Illinois Woman's Press Association, the event features "Meet-the-Authors" guest MC from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Diantha Parker of WBEZ. Guest speaker from 1-2 p.m. is June Skinner Sawyers, author of Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader and Chicago Portraits: Biographies of 250 Famous Chicagoans.
After that I return to my true love: writing. The next novel has been on the back burner for the last few months as I've put all of my energies into promotion during that time. I'll still be doing a book conference here and there, but for the most part the promotion for book No. 1 will be done.
I'm looking forward to getting back to work on that elusive book No. 2. Maybe someday you'll see me on the road again with book No. 2 in tow. For the time being, though, I'll be happy just sitting at home, at my desk, punching away at the keyboard and seeing what kind of adventures my brain has in store for me.
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