Book Tour (Cross-posted from Type M 4 Murder)

[Vicki Delany]

Vicki here. I'm writing this sitting in a Starbucks in Phoenix waiting until it's time for me to go for my TV appearance. This evening I'll be at Poisoned Pen bookstore in Scottsdale, and I'm really looking forward to that. The book tour is coming to an end, and I'll be glad to be heading back North. To the cold and snow. Yummy. (BTW that is not a sarcastic comment). The highlights: Four Eyed Frog books in Gualala, California (pronounced Wallawalla). A delightful store in a lovely little town. Not only did people come out to hear me, but I was invited back to the home of Howard and Mary after for a glass of wine, and Howard, who is a diver, gave me a gift of a beautiful abalone shell. San Francisco and LA were a bit of a blurr of bad traffic. I went to Book 'Em in Pasadena expecting a normal talk and signing, to find the book club gathering for a pizza party. That was a fun surprise. Donna (I hope I remembered the name) was wildly enthusiastic about the book, as she'd been to Nelson last year and LOVED IT! Being what she called a native Angelino, she also loved the drive from Vancouver - no traffic!
The people at Mysterious Galaxy were warm and welcoming, but unfortunately no one came! They explained that business had been very slow since the fires. Mysterious Galaxy sells Science Fiction as well as mystery, so as I have a Fantasy reader on my Christmas list, I did some shopping.

When I was in Portland, my friends lent me their GPS to get around town. After using that, I had to run out and buy one for myself. It was probably a life saver, particuarly in Los Angeles. I genuinely don't think I would have managed without it. I would have given up and left! Not only does the GPS give you directions to your destination, but you can look up hotels, gas stations, Starbucks and it will direct you there.

Everywhere I've gone I've been invited to come back next year. And I think I will.