The Reds Dish on Book Tours.

 RHYS BOWEN: We have all been following Hank’s progress on what seems like the longest book tour ever. Smiling faces in every city, lots of copies of the book held up with the bookface, and already into a second printing. All good. All lovely.

 Those of you who are aspiring or new authors long for the first real book tour. It seems so glamorous to fly to distant cities, to be met by a town car, driven to a very fancy hotel where you can order anything you like on room service, then to the event where adoring crowds are waiting for you then repeat the process the next day.

 In some ways it is glamorous and lovely. I’m always overwhelmed when fans tell me they’ve come long distances to see me. I had one fan fly to Houston from New Orleans. Last year I met two ladies from Portland OR when I was signing in Scottsdale. “Are you here for spring training?” I asked. “No, just to see you,” they replied. Gob smacking.

 But let me tell you that book tours quickly lose their glamor and appeal. For one thing the car comes around five am to make that flight to the next city. That lovely hotel room? You only see it after nine at night. And as for food… there is never a good time to eat. Five am too early for breakfast at the hotel. Five pm too early for dinner but after the event nine thirty is too late. So it’s a case of Starbucks at the airport then nuts and cheese in the carry on.

 And sometimes absolute horror stories, like the time I was driven out of Houston, in August, to a radio station somewhere in the piney woods. Car dropped me off and left. The door is locked. I phoned their number. Nobody answered. I’m melting in the middle of nowhere. Temperature 101 degrees. I bang on door, call number again. After about fifteen minutes they pick up and I am admitted. She was alone there and on air and didn't hear me. Scary.

 I’ve had plenty of others. Blizzard in Chicago. Room over event with band at hotel with music thumping until 2 am. Hair dryer doesn’t work and they haven’t sent up a replacement with ten minutes to go. Photo with store pig etc etc. I was trying to think of the worst and this one comes to mind. I fly into Denver after a snowstorm. Snow everywhere. Because I’m flying out really early next morning they have put me at a hotel near the airport. In the middle of snow covered fields. I was met by my escort who drives me to a zillion bookstores to sign then drops me off at hotel at 2:30 promising to pick me up again at 5;30.  I go to the front desk.

                      “Where’s the coffee shop?” I asked.

                      “They closed at 2.”

                      “So you do room service?”

                      “No ma’am.”

                      “And is there anywhere to eat around here?”  I look out onto snowy fields. Not a building in sight.

                      “Not really.”

                      “Then could you call me a cab, maybe?”

                      “Maybe..” she looks as if a cab isn’t likely to want to take one woman to a nearby food place. Then she adds, “We do have a hotel bus. I could drive you if you wait a minute.”

                      And so we set off in quite a large bus. At last I spot a miracle. The Golden Arches. We drive through the drive-through at McDonalds. I order a meal for myself and one for my driver. Saved.

So Reds, share your worst book tour experience!

HALLIE EPHRON: The true nightmare is arriving at a bookstore and finding they have none of your books. And … oops… they didn’t put you in their newsletter so it’s just you, the bookseller, a few empty chairs, and a pot-bellied pig the size of an overstuffed ottoman. THEN you go to your motel and the room smells funky. You walk across the street to a restaurant, sit at the bar, order a burger, and get to talking with a guy and his friend. When you’re walking home, the guy pulls up in front of you. He’s driving a Ford pickup and blocking you so you can’t cross the street. 

“Need a ride?,” he asks. 

Cue scary music.

RHYS: You've encountered the pig too, Hallie! I was with Lyn Hamilton and when we left she grabbed my arm and said, "We're going to get a large order of spare ribs!"

JENN McKINLAY: OMG, Hallie!!! I think you have a wonderful opener for a horror novel there. EEK! 

For me, book tours are only fun if I’m going with a group of fellow authors. I’ve been very lucky that my publisher has sent me on a few of these multi author excursions (ALA’s annual conference and surrounding area bookstores of wherever we are being my absolute favorites). It’s a blast because not only do you get to meet readers and librarians but you get to have a gal pal trip added to the mix. Shenanigans!

Some of my absolute best memories are of being in the middle of a Texas book tour and finding the best Czech pastries - kolaches!!! - or having a writer buddy drag me out of our hotel to hop in a cab and drive to a look off where I could see the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time IRL. Amazing!

RHYS: Jenn, I've had such fun touring with other authors. I really miss that.

LUCY BURDETTE: OMG Hallie, I’m never going on book tour again! Agree with Jenn, write this! I’ve never had a publisher setting up a book tour for me, so I’ve gotten very picky about what I put my energy in. Built-in crowds like my recent Friends of the Bonita Springs Library lunch are my very favorite. Although Jenn, I will go anywhere with you!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: On, my gosh. Where to start. A mixture of absolutely glorious joy and real glamor and truly grueling exhausting travel.  As Rhys says,I’ve just come back from essentially six weeks on the road, sometimes with four events a day. 

I learned to order one of those little bottles of wine on the plane, but NOT DRINK IT and stash it in my bag. Then buy a big sandwich as I leave each airport, have half the sandwich for lunch in my hotel (where the only option is  a fridge in the lobby of buyable frozen chicken potpies and bad tortillas,), and the other half for dinner along with the hoarded wine. SO glam!  Once I had to Uber to a Panera. Once I got dinner at Wegmans. 

One place I stayed was a B&B which was gorgeous but where the television changed channels without me touching the remote. They just—changed.

Or when I dragged myself back to the room, happy but exhausted after a wonderful event, looking forward to the leftover sandwich and hoarded wine. SO TIRED! But the key card would not work. 

I dragged myself back downstairs to the desk.

“Help,” I said, as I handed over the dead card.  “My key card is demagnetized, can you fix it?”

The desk clerk looked at it. Did not pick it up. “Ma’am,  this is a Hyatt key.”

Me, SO tired. “I KNOW, and it doesn't work in my door.”

Clerk: “Understandable. This hotel is a Hilton.”

And I am now losing my voice entirely. And I would not trace it for anything. I adored every minute, even the bleak and lonely ones. Because I am so lucky.

JULA SPENCER-FLEMING: Wait, wait - can we rewind? Rhys… a photo with the store PIG? I want to hear more about that! (RHYS: Hallie met it too. Giant hairy pig that drooled over my shoes).

I agree with Jenn - the most fun I’ve had on book tour has been with other authors, but my WORST experience was also a joint endeavor. Back in the early aughts, the amazing Denise Hamilton and I combined forces and budgets for our “Murdering Mommies” tour - which stretched a total of 9 weeks. 

We were in Portland, OR (or as I call it, the second Portland) and were super excited to have been booked into a Powell’s store - the second biggest one, in the Cedar Crossing mall. Huge, right? We picked up our rental car and hit the road; we had a mid-day talk and signing at a small store that went smashingly, then we drove around signing stock, and then time for our big event!

These were the days BEFORE smart phones, and Denise was navigating via the elaborate directions my publicist had printed out and mailed us. I’m following her instructions, but instead of leading out to suburbia, I’m weaving my way through densely populated area. At one point, the speed dropped to 25, and the road had tiny roundabouts to make sure we couldn’t accelerate to hit the children Big Wheeling in the street. 

We finally arrived at a tiny store. We are utterly confused. We go in to see a handful of early-twenties kids, all bent over books or laptops. The manager, who is also about 20, was happy to see us. “We’re the university store,” he says, “we just opened! I wondered why they wanted you to sign here.” 

There are three hardcover and five paperbacks for Denise. There are five hardcover and three paperbacks for me. The signing takes less that four minutes. None of the students even looks up at us. The manager offers us each a complimentary pumpkin muffin. 

As we walk to the rental, Denise veers off toward the trunk. “What are you doing?” I said.

"Seeing if someone left a weapon. I’m about to go on a rampage.”

RHYS: Julia, I think we've all had that store where nobody came. It's humiliating, humbling and probably good for us.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Oh, wow, Hank, just gobsmacked!! So not funny at all! Other than that, I have to agree on the pal tours. Many of my favorite book tour memories are of tours and events with Charles and Caroline Todd. We were not only friends but big fans of the other's books and that made it really easy for the joint talks.

But the hotel rooms, early flights, no food–it all can be pretty grueling. I think Hank is Wonder Woman!

HANK: Oh, well, touring with a pal. Huh. Once I did that, she wasn't a pal, but assigned by a publicist. We had a fine time, all good, three days together on the road  with three events a day. So you can imagine how often we heard what the other would say. 

On the last event of the last day, she got up to give her stump biography–”where did you grow up and how did it inspire your writing”--and SHE GAVE MINE INSTEAD. Word for word, MINE.Later, I heard she thought it was a completely hilarious thing to do.

I did not agree.

RHYS: So now you know the secrets of our not-so-glamorous life. Just when we feel pretty good about ourselves we have one of these humbling experiences. Like when I was in a huge limo and the driver asked if I'd like to stop for a coffee. He went to get me one. So many people saw the limo. Came up to it. Who is it? Excited. Looked at me. Oh. 

Any more stories to share about book signings?

What We're #Writing Week - Cancellation Notices and Regrets

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I was supposed to be sharing with you all my exciting book tour schedule for April, set in five states and concluding with my triumphant appearance as the guest of honor at Malice Domestic 32 (with my good friend Jeff Cohen as toastmaster!)

However, I have no confidence I'll actually be appearing at any venues when my book comes out on April 7th. Two of the bookstores I'm scheduled to appear at have cancelled all events through the first week of April. Do you want to bet things will be better a month from now? Me, neither.

The large stores I'm supposed to be appearing at are still open for authors - although if you look at their calendars, you can see over half the writers coming out in March have postponed their visits. For this leg of the trip, I'd be flying, and staying in hotels, and eating out - all activities I normally enjoy, but the thought of engaging in them right now makes me feel like a big target has been pinned to my back. 



Libraries, always a great place to introduce yourself to readers, are closing left, right and center. I am cool with the TP shortages, but the idea of NO LIBRARY is making me very anxious.

I've been talking with my publicist about this, and he and the social media guys are working on a plan for an all-digital roll out, so you may get to see me talking on Instagram Live (if my daughters can teach me how.) But there's no comparison to appearing in someone's town, bonding with the bookstore owners who place your books into readers' hands and chatting with and signing for those readers.



It's not just the people who turn out at book stores and libraries that make touring worthwhile. Showing up in person increases your chance of getting into the local paper, on Good Morning Albuquerque/Buffalo/Chattanooga, or - the gold standard - on the regional NPR station. That spreads the word about your work to people who wouldn't show up at the store, because they'd never heard of you before.



And of course, it's not just me dealing with this! These are some of the friends and folks who have appeared here at JRW with March and April releases: Laura Childs, S.W Hubbard, Anna Lee Huber, Deanna Raybourn, Paige Shelton, Victoria Thompson, LynDee Walker and, of course, Jenn, whose PUMPKIN SPICE PERIL is coming out April 28.

So what can you, a book-loving, always-reading person do to support the authors and bookstores you love?

First, pre-order! I wrote a whole blog about how much weight authors and publishers place on pre-orders.

Consider ordering or buying from an independent bookstore. Not having events to drive traffic hurts them - not to mention losing patrons who aren't leaving the house for anything except TP and sanitizer runs. You can come by and pick up your book(s) with a minimum of human interaction, or you can have them mailed to you. Yes, indies will ship your purchase! 

Is there an author you love with a book coming out? I adore Carol Goodman, and she's just published a new gothic/thriller/literary mystery,  THE SEA OF LOST GIRLS. You might not have known that until right now. Likewise, when you talk about authors and books on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram, for someone reading, it'll be the first time they've heard about a release. Reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and LibraryThing are like gold. Even commenting on your favorite blogs - think of how many books you've added to your TBR pile when we have one of our semi-regular "What We're Reading" discussions.

Dedicated library user? The main branch may be closed, but most libraries offer digital downloads of ebooks and audiobooks, and librarians are there (well, probably at home) to help with getting an E-card and learning how to download. They're also taking requests, so ask them to stock the authors you want to read.

Who knows, maybe the current health crisis will permanently change the way we roll out books - after all, not every author tours, and no one can ever reach more than a tiny slice of the reading public in person. Lets all pitch in together and keep the reading party going - and hey, if you have any suggestions for cool things writers can do online/long distance/via mail, leave them in the comments!

Rhys with Thoughts on Travel

RHYS BOWEN: I’ve just returned from a lot of traveling. I was six weeks in Europe, visiting England, Venice, Switzerland, Germany, Holland and France. And on returning home it was a ten city book tour, one city a day. Am I tired? Uh, yes.

And have I learned anything about how to make travel easier? The first thing for me is to upgrade to a better seat on an aircraft. I don’t need first class for short haul flights but I do need legroom and to be off that plane first. So when I get my itinerary I always rush to upgrade to the front rows. Worth every penny. (and on long hauls, yes, I splurge and get a bed I can sleep on).

But other things that make life a little easier: pack as light as possible. I went around Europe with one fairly small suitcase. And it is billed as the lightest suitcase in the world. Just 4 pounds.

Almost everything I took could be washed in a hotel sink and dried overnight. So my standard go-to wardrobe for travel is:

4 pairs of travel underwear, the kind that will dry perfectly overnight.

One silk shift to sleep in, long enough so I can face people and look decent without taking a robe.

One short sleeved white T shirt and one white tank top that can be washed in the hotel sink. Preferably Coolmax to wick away perspiration.

One long sleeved white ditto.

A long sleeved travel shirt from Travelsmith that can double as light jacket.

Long navy cardigan. Loose navy pants for sleeping in aircraft.

Light beige pants.

Navy and white long skirt. Navy and white short dress (both of T shirt material)

One light fancy jacket for evenings etc.

Scarf/pashmina for cold flights or evenings at a restaurant.

Super comfortable light sneakers. Ecco Walking sandals and Ecco fancy sandals for evenings etc.

And that’s it. Swimsuit in case the hotel has a pool. A stylish silk scarf or couple of pieces of jewelry and I have enough permutations to keep me going for ages.

Of course on a book tour it’s different. I have to look good every day. And I have to remember what I wore to certain stores the year before. There is nothing more embarrassing than someone handing me a photo she took of us last year or the year before and…. I’m wearing the same jacket.  I also know that I’ll have time to iron things in hotel room.

Other things I take when traveling abroad. A tiny/mini hair dryer because not all hotels have them. And a tiny pillow for aircraft and to put between my knees when I sleep.  It squishes to nothing in one of those packing cubes that are brilliant. All of my T shirts/skirt/dress and undies get rolled in one of those cubes. Shoes and tiny pillow in another. Good jacket and slacks on top.

I pack all my toiletries in ziplock bags rather than a big toilet bag because these are easy to stuff into shoes etc if I put them in the big suitcase and ready to remove for TSA if I don’t.

I have a super-light carry on bag with zillions of pockets for charger/ phone/earbuds/cosmetic bag etc.  Of course this could present a problem, as I confess with a red face. At Heathrow my bag was taken aside. “You have liquids in this,” said the man.

I replied hotly that I never had liquids in my carry on and that I had traveled through numerous airports with this bag.  He found a tiny bottle of foundation and made a fuss about that while I pointed out that if you turned it upside down it didn’t budge, thus not being a liquid.  He took it out and sent the bag back through the scanner. Still liquid. He went through every pocket until at last he fished into a pocket I hadn’t even noticed and in triumph brought out a bottle of orange soda. Imagine my embarrassment. It must have been there for weeks, since one of my train journeys and I had no idea!

So maybe you can have a bag with too many clever pockets!

And traveling domestically I always take a little bag of granola bar, nuts, Baby Bell cheese, just

One final thing I learned on this trip that is brilliant. Carry in purse a list of vital phone numbers. Make them say “Husband John. Daughter Jane etc. And a list of hotels where you will be staying.

Someone said to me “What if you collapsed on the street? They’d look in your phone and see “John. Jane etc” but they wouldn’t know who they were and who to call.

Also a tip I have learned for book tours when I’m in a different hotel every night. Take a picture of my hotel room door. Otherwise I get home, tired, and can’t remember the room number! If you’re a nervous traveler you can buy a tiny wedge to put under the door so no one can get in.

Lastly: there are stores everywhere. Buy a tiny toothpaste. When it’s done buy another one. Saving weight is the most important thing for me.

So what clever travel tips do you want to share?

Clothes Make the Woman

RHYS:

As I write this I am in the middle of jetting around the country, speaking and signing books.

I am told that some people fear public speaking so much that they would choose death over getting up in front of an audience. Speaking in front of people has never been a problem for me. I was sent to ballet school at three so I grew up used to performing in dancing competitions, acting in plays. And I’m a natural extrovert!

However when I have a book tour or convention coming up I lie awake and anguish about what to wear! I always feel that I am wearing the wrong thing at the wrong time. Like the time I attended a cocktail party given by my then-agent at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The party was for my European agents to meet me. I bought a stunning sapphire blue silk jacket. And when I entered the room everyone else was in black. I mean it. Everyone. I felt like a peacock that had inadvertently stumbled into a hen house.

I was once at a convention in Toronto and didn’t find out until I got there that the convention banquet was a formal affair. As in cocktail dresses. I had only pants and jackets with me. Nothing fancy at all. I had to rush out and try and find something suitable. But it was summer and the stores had shorts/short sundresses. Nothing suitable for a banquet. Mortifying.

And another fear is that I’ll be on book tour and someone will come up to me with a photograph. “I took this picture of us the last time you visited here three years ago,” she’ll say. AND I’M WEARING THE SAME JACKET!  She’ll think I only own one jacket!

And then there is the matter of weather. Last week I was scheduled to speak in Indianapolis. I thought Indiana, February. Cold, right? And accordingly I brought a fur vest with me when I traveled from California to our condo in Arizona. And two days before the trip I check the weather in Indianapolis. 70 degrees. That is simply not fair. My smart 70 degree clothes are hanging on a rack in California.

So I arrived wearing a light outfit. The next morning I woke up and guess what—it was snowing. Wind chill in the teens. Luckily I had carried my one winter coat onto the plane.

The trouble is that I like to travel light. No huge suitcases to drag around and put my shoulder out. So I don’t want to take a selection of clothes suitable for all eventualities. I have learned to take an extra pair of black pants and an extra white turtleneck, just in case I spill coffee on myself (which certainly has happened) or as in the time I was on a midday TV show and in the segment after mine the chef cooked his grandmother’s favorite spaghetti sauce (bright red) and gave some to me to taste, on camera, wearing a white shirt. I still sweat at the memory of it!

And about the time the back of my long cardigan inadvertently dipped into the toilet… well, I won’t go there!

When you read this I’ll have just returned from Houston. I used to live in Houston. I know that the temperature can change 40 degrees in an hour so any trip in that direction means a choice of clothing ranging from Artic to tropical.

How I wish I could be Hank and look fabulous in a black suit.Or my friend Cara Black in her draped Paris-style black clothes.  Alas black is not my color. I look as if I am heading to a funeral, probably my own.  I realize that most people come to see me and don’t care what I’m wearing. I tell myself this. So why am I staring at the ceiling at 2:30 a.m. wondering what to wear at my next speaking engagement? 

Reds and Readers: do you agonize over what to wear or do you just open your wardrobe and grab something?

Growing Up as The Author's Kid: a guest post by Youngest

The Youngest, The Smithie, and The Author

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: People used to raise children because they were economically useful. Ever since those pesky child labor laws got passed, however, kids have generally been in the outgoing, rather than incoming column in the ledger. Living in the countryside of Maine, Ross and I have still managed to get our money's worth out of having our offspring rake, mow, haul brush, stack wood, etc.

However, now that I have two daughters who show great promise at writing, I've found another way to put them to work: blogging. Ladies and gentleman, I present Youngest, who is here to give us a fifteen-and-a-half year old's perspective on growing up as The Author's Kid.

Growing up and having to share your Mom with the world isn’t easy. A common question from people I meet at mystery conventions and book signings with my Mom is “What is it like to have an author for a Mom?” Normally I’ll giggle and respond with “It can be weird sometimes”, so I decided to share what it’s really like with you. DISCLAIMER: This post is based on my life/experiences/feelings, and a few of my brother’s and sister’s.

I try to hide it

While most people may be excited at the thought of a parent having fans, I actually try to hide it. While I have to share both my parents with other people(1), my Mom is the hardest to share. Unlike my siblings, who were born years before my mom became a writer, my entire life has been spent as the child of an author. This means all my life has , random people have known who I am, and who my mom is. 

At an LA book festival (ed note: with Tammy Kaehler)

While I love my mom and all her readers(2) it can be really weird to have people compliment me on my mother’s work. So, when it comes to MY life, I try to keep my Mom’s life under wraps, and luckily for me she supports that. She’s fine when I tell people she’s a stay-at-home-mom, and outside of work introduces herself as my mom and uses the same last name as me. I want one place where Julia Spencer-Fleming is just the name on my mom’s birth certificate.

Things are normal to me….that might not be to others

My entire life I’ve considered normal dinner conversations to include:

1. Who’s finishing their book, and when
2. Mergers between publishing houses
3. The most efficient way to kill someone
4. How to hide a body
   
   

A fundraiser for my middle school

Needless to say, the same doesn’t apply to my friends. I also consider it perfectly normal for people I’ve never seen before to come up to me and start telling me how much they love my mother’s books. I’m used to my mom’s readers knowing various things about my life. 

I’m also used to my mother being gone for periods of time. Whenever my mom gets around to publishing a book(3) she also has to go on book tour. Which means she can be away for weeks at a time. I understand when she has to miss my concerts, recitals, and plays, I know she’s sad about it too, but I just have to accept it. 

Don’t get me wrong, I benefit from book tours. My mom’s a lot more open to taking me to California when her ticket and hotel are paid for! This also means I have very few vacations that are actually vacations. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I went on a trip that didn’t involve my mom’s work. This makes sense though, even a New York Times Bestselling, Award Winning author only gets paid 4 times a year. This means the family is used to going for months at a time with much money until she gets paid or, you know, FINISHES A BOOK LIKE SHE’S SUPPOSED TO(4). I’ve also learned that you can’t just say the phrase “I’ve been flapping for as long as I can remember” without lots of questions, eyebrow raises, and at least one person asking if that's appropriate to say.(editor's note: "To flap" means to open a hardcover to the title page and tuck the front flap over, making it easier for the author to sign.)

At the Fort Lauderdale Book Festival

I develop a way to interact with readers

Due to my age, I’ve done the most traveling with my mother, and consequently have met many readers. I’ve noticed many people ask very similar questions, for instance; “Do you want to be a writer when you grow up?”, “Have you read your mother’s work?”, and “What it is like to have an author as a mom?” Due to how common these are I have answers that are my immediate response: “No. I’m hoping to go into forensics or diplomacy.”, “No. It feels weird, plus there are sex scenes and I DO NOT need to read those.” and I’m answering the last one in this post! Once my friend told me “I find it funny that you can go from smiling and being all happy and talkative, to being completely composed.” I laughed and thanked her. I was good at it cause I was used to it. When you’re representing your mom at events you can’t show that you’re:

1. Tired
2. Hungry
3. Grumpy
4. Sad
5. Angry

A good deal of my life has been spent smiling and making small talk with strangers while my mom is elsewhere. So I’ve become a bit of an expert at the old stiff upper lip thing (5).

You wouldn’t trade it for anything….probably

It’s all worth it when I see how much my Mom loves doing what she does. The way she genuinely enjoys speaking at events(6) and talking to fans makes it all worth it. After all, she’s happy and I get free vacations.

1. My father is a teacher.
2. Thanks for paying for college!
3. Trust me, I’m as eager for it as you readers, my birthday is in a few months
4. YOU LITERALLY HAVE ONE JOB MOM
5. This comes in handy when someone who I don’t like is talking to me.
6. BTW I’ve memorized her speech and will do it for half the price and/or a box of cheese pizza. 
   
   
    

Rhys and Cara's Marvelous Adventureut

RHYS: Cara Black and I have a new book released on the same day every March so it has made a lot of sense to do some touring together. (The publishers don't seem to get the idea that touring together could be beneficial but we set up our own).

Cara was with me last week for a launch party at Poisoned Pen bookstore in Scottsdale so we sat by the pool, brainstorming about the pros and cons of touring together.

You'll notice it's a tough life. But I have to tell you it's not all a piece of cake. Book tours sound like such glamorous things. Flying from city to city. Limos, fancy hotels...

reality check:

 Cara flew in that morning from Minneapolis where it was -6 degrees. After our event at Poisoned Pen I took her to the airport where she was taking the red eye to JFK, two hour layover then flying to /Florida where she had to rush to a TV show and then speak at a dinner that evening.  That's the glamorous life of the booktour.

Most of the time things go smoothly and we have a great time (if we get a moment to eat)

CARA: Remember two years ago when we didn't get time to eat and you missed dinner and had that low blood sugar scare and I thought you were having a stroke?

RHYS: I remember it well. It was hard to stay awake and focus and we had three events that day! Now I always take good munchies, just in case. But remember the time when you got no lunch?

CARA: When I spoke to the ladies at the synagogue in LA? Yes, they invited me to speak at their luncheon meeting. AND they all brought their lunches and ate them while I spoke, but didn't think of bringing anything for me. I was ravenous by three o'clock.

RHYS: I don't think this is really unusual. Some people regard the writer as the entertainment. I've had people invite me to come and speak saying "We can't pay you an honorarium but we will give you a free lunch." I want to reply "Do I look like a homeless person who needs feeding up?"  So what adventures have we had that we can share?

CARA: Remember the earthquake last year?  We were having dinner with the bookseller in Orange County after our event and suddenly the whole restaurant starts to shake. Lots of pretty china on shelves but none of it fell down. 

RHYS: And that wasn't all. The next day we were both speaking at a big Sisters In Crime event nearby. I was at the podium when the shaking started again. I remember thinking "When am I allowed to flee for my life? Do I stand here while my audience rushes out of the room in panic? And there was a huge ceiling chandelier right over my head! Luckily it stopped before a Phantom of the Opera moment.

CARA: We meet so many lovely people. 

RHYS: It always blows my mind when someone has come halfway across the country to see one of us. So humbling. But then there are the occasional weirdos who creep us out. Like the man who came to all 3 of my events once and then sat across from me in the restaurant at dinner.

CARA: And my stalker!

RHYS: You have a stalker?

CARA: Well, actually he's quite nice and harmless, I think, but definitely creepy. He wears one of those masks, for one thing. You know, to keep you from getting germs. He's been to my events in several cities and then he showed up in Paris with his mother. And kept trying to tell me about buying real estate in Paris.

RHYS: Yes, it's sometimes hard to define that line between too keen, too friendly and creepy. Remember our event in the nudist colony?

CARA: Naturalist resort, please. We are not making this up. Rhys and I did an event at a nudist colony. Only luckily it was a very cold day so most people were clothed.

RHYS: Except for the one guy who wore only a tiny backpack. And he walked back and forth in front of me while I was trying to talk to the audience. I felt like saying "I've seen bigger and better."

CARA: We have to be prepared for anything, I guess. Like the weather from Minneapolis to Scottsdale.

RHYS:  It's hard to know what to pack, isn't it--except for you. You wear black and layer, no matter what! And hotels--when the publisher books them they are usually very glamorous. But we only get to enjoy them from 9:30 at night until 6 in the morning.  When we book for ourselves, it's always a bit more iffy, isn't it?

CARA: Like the one you booked last year in San Diego?

RHYS: It looked all right online. And it was on the beach. And it wasn't cheap either.

CARA: But it was really crummy. Mildew. Coffee maker didn't work. No hot water and we needed to take showers before our event.

RHYS: Ah yes, I remember it well. And we're together at the Tucson Festival of Books this weekend and then heading back to Southern California on March 20. We have a really full schedule again that you can see on our websites. So let's hope things go smoothly this time.

So what are the advantages of touring with another person?

CARA: Sharing the driving. One person navigating through LA. Getting double the crowd and new readers.

RHYS: And having someone to talk and laugh with when things go wrong. That is so important. 

CARA: The first time I did an event with you you wore a hat. I thought you might be a little strange.

RHYS: That was to promote Her Royal Spyness. Have you changed your mind since?

CARA: You put up with me slinking outside to smoke.

RHYS: I think we get along pretty well. And we know each other so well now that I sometimes start our events by saying "Bonjour, I am Cara Black and I write about Paris".  I could do your whole spiel and you could do mine.

So you can see that we have fun, no matter what. If you're in Southern Cal or Tucson, come and see us.

Cara will be signing her new Aimee Leduc novel, Murder at the Champ de Mars

and I'll be signing my new Molly Murphy novel, The Edge of Dreams

Guys and Dolls and Room Service

DEBORAH CROMBIE: (Tales from the Road, Part 2) I'm now approaching four and a half weeks on book tour for TO DWELL IN DARKNESS, out of which I think I've had three days at home without either travel or a book event. This week I've succumbed to the dreaded travel cold--not surprising, I suppose, considering the number of airplanes flown on and hands shaken. Fortunately I've been tucked up in Annapolis, MD, the last few days with my friend Marcia Talley, doing events in the Baltimore/Annapolis area, so have at least had a little home comfort.

Over the last few weeks I've had some great get-togethers and dinners with friends, but I have to admit that after a long day of traveling or an evening event, there is absolutely nothing so appealing as curling up in jammies in a nice hotel room, watching TV, and getting room service.

Honestly, I will swoon for room service. And it doesn't have to be fancy--a good club sandwich or

bowl of soup (and maybe a glass of wine) will do just fine.

But it occurred to me that I never hear MEN talking about getting room service, so I started wondering if this was a gender thing.  Do women have a deeper desire to be pampered? (Maybe because they have non-stop chores at home?????) Or are women less comfortable eating out alone? (I don't mind that a bit, as it happens.)

That prompted me to start taking an unscientific poll, and so far have found only one woman who said she didn't like room service, and only one man who said he did.

Hmmm... So REDS and readers (dolls AND guys!) do you long to have someone bring you dinner--or breakfast--on a tray, then whisk it all away again? 

(It's the closest I'm ever likely to get to magic...)

Life Lessons I may never learn.

RHYS BOWEN: A couple of years ago I wrote a blog about life lessons I may never learn. One of the first lessons on the list was never to try out a new hairdresser just before I'm about to go on a book tour.
So guess what I did today? I went to a new salon. One that came with good reviews and used organic products. And I knew I was in trouble when my stylist asked how much I wanted taken off. Then she snipped maybe an eighth of an inch and asked if it all right so far. Then another eighth, very tentatively. Since I didn't trust her skill to take off more I left it at that. So my bangs are still in my eyes. My hair is still straggly at the back of my neck and too long to style properly.
So what do I do? Find another salon before I go on tour next week? Or...another of the life lessons from my list.. snip at my bangs myself?

Here is my list. How many are you guilty of?

Ten Life Lessons I have yet to Learn (and may never do so)

1. I can’t trim my bangs as well as my hairdresser. I should especially never try this on the night before I leave for a convention.
2. On a similar theme: I should never try out a new hairdresser on the day before a book tour or photo shoot.
3. Shoes from catalogs never fit me. And there is a second part to this: items in a catalog never look as good in real life. This may be because they are modeled by 18 year old size 00s and pinned for the pix..
4. A review is just one person’s opinion. I keep telling myself this but the least little snipe sends me into deep depression.
5. If I take only one white shirt on a trip, there will always be turbulence on the flight and I'll get coffee spatters on it. 
6. I should never try out a new recipe on the night I have guests I want to impress.
7. I should not buy something just because it’s a bargain. My closet is full of such items, not ever loved and hardly ever worn.
8. Worrying gets you nowhere. I am a champion worrier.
9. I have no control over the success of a book after it leaves my hands. I can work myself into exhaustion setting up events, touring, making postcards, doing radio interviews and in the end it all comes down to the publisher, timing and luck.
10. I can’t please all of the people all of the time. There is never going to be one book that is equally loved by the whole population. So some readers will always complain when there is a touch of romance in my books and others will complain that there is not enough romance in my books. I should therefore only write to please myself.
11. Okay, so I can’t count either. But if there’s only one life lesson I should have learned is that life is short and wonderful, there’s no going back, we’re only celebrating this day once, so make the most of it.

Who would like to share life lessons that they have never learned but would like to?

So how about you?. Are there any life lessons you’ve finally learned the hard way, or are you like me—destined to make the same mistakes over and over.

On Book Touring

ROSEMARY: "Nobody goes there anymore...it's too crowded"
If you're a New Yorker you grow up with Yogi Berra-isms. They're delivered in utero like collective memories, and this one's been coming back to me lately as I hear over and over again that authors "aren't touring" because "it never pays for itself" and the publishers are only touring "bestselling authors who don't need it." I say hogwash. People are touring, they're just defining it differently.

It's become fashionable to say that blog tours make so much more sense "and I can do it in my jammies!" You won't hear me say I don't engage in the kind of social media we've been yakking about recently. I've got two pages on facebook, a fan and a personal, and I've recently crossed the Rubicon into Twitterland where I have an embarrassingly low number of followers - please follow me @rosemaryharris1. Still, I guess I'm old-school. I want to meet booksellers, librarians and readers in the flesh, particularly if I've met them already online. Few things match a face-to-face meeting for generating that all-important word-of-mouth.

A recent survey conducted for Sisters in Crime revealed that word-of-mouth and personal recommendations were still the biggest motivations to purchase books and although I can Meet, Friend and Like as many people as I want to online, it's the ones I've met in person who have been the strongest advocates for my work.

And where do I meet most of them? At shows and conferences. If the book tour used to mean the red carpet treatment and jetting from one glamorous destination to another with cases of perfectly chilled Perrier at your disposal, (sadly before my time) for some, it now means Columbus, Ohio for RT Booklovers Convention, New Orleans for American Library Association, Oakmont, Pennsylvania for the Festival of Mystery and other stops which might not have previously been on anyone's whistle-stop campaign but are increasingly important as up-and-coming and midlist authors work to get the word out about their books. If the people don't know you well enough to come out for you then you've got to go where the people are.


In the past three years, I've been to all of these events plus the Connecticut Flower and Garden Show, the Collingswood, Decatur, Empire State and Philadelphia Book Festivals, The Big E (a five state fair in MA.) I've even gone to something called the Submarine Festival in Groton, CT. Okay, that one didn't work - but all the others have, and I've sold more books at these venues than I ever have at a chain store or most indies with the exceptions of Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, AZ, Aunt Agatha's in Ann Arbor, MI and Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, PA, but those retailers are exceptional - and they are few and far between. Which is not to say other retailers aren't good at what they do, they're just not in the business of making me famous. That's my job.

I've also met a number of influential bloggers at these events, Jen Forbus, Molly Weston and Kaye Barley to name a few and while their stock in trade is the internet, meeting and getting to know them in person has been invaluable (as well as oodles of fun!)

The logistics may take some time but I'll also go to virtually any library that invites me. If a librarian is interested enough to ask for me that's the same as having a friend in town who will chat up my book and I will do my best to go and provide an entertaining program - for 3 people or 300. Is it working - ask me in five years.

How do you feel about touring?

HANK: I love it. Something wonderful happens at every stop. It is however, expensive. And time consuming. For the past--five years?--I've essentially used ALL my vacation days from work to do book events. With no regrets! It's a privilege, really.

HALLIE: What's happened for me is that 'touring' is no longer just about a book launch. It's like social media, and can be any time (and sometimes all the time). I so agree with you, Ro, about events. I've just come off doing a string of them, and I'll be at the Willamette Writers conference in Oregon and the Surrey International Writers Conference in Vancouver and and and... I just spoke for the Sturbridge Library and will be in Malden in a few weeks. I guess 'touring' has become part of my writing life -- fortunately like Ro and Hank, for me it's a sheer pleasure and frankly (shhh, don't tell anyone) a nice break from the hard work of writing.

ROBERTA: Touring is exhausting and expensive, but nothing beats meeting readers! And I love doing events with other writers--share the pain and the gain! I've been laying low writing and getting ready to launch the first Key West food critic mystery--I won't do a blog tour this time. I think the repetition wears people out and ends up being a turnoff, don't you think?

DEB: Yes to all of the above! I think we've all agreed that the social networking is pretty much a necessity. But nothing replaces actually getting out and meeting people. Over the years I've been to most of the best independent bookstores in the country, and making those personal connections with booksellers is priceless. The same holds true of meeting bloggers and reviewers and readers in person. No substitute. It does take it's toll, however, both personally and financially. I've been having a quiet, catch-up year so far, but starting with Bouchercon I'll be ramping up for the new book out next February. Interesting--this quiet year has made me realize how much I've missed seeing all my friends in the writing community, because community it is.

JULIA: That's an important point, Deb. One of the things I've come to realize about publishing in general and the mystery community in particular is that it's all about relationships. The relationship between the author and the folks at her publishing house, between the booksellers and their customers, between the readers and the book itself. Book tours, conferences and conventions create and reinforce these relationships. And although you do "meet" many people over the internet, I agree with Ro - there's nothing like talking face-to-face with someone.


As you all know, I'm just coming off of an exhausting month-plus of touring for ONE WAS A SOLDIER. You know the one question I've been asked at virtually every book store and library I've spoken at? "What are you reading now? What are some books you like?" So long as readers rely on other readers recommending their favorite reads, so long as book lovers depend on a bookseller saying, "Try this, you'll love it," there will be book tours. And tired, broke authors who wouldn't have it any other way.

Publicity Tips from Susan Schwartzman

HALLIE: Independent publicist Susan Schwartzman's has helped authors go after the kind of publicity that turns a book into a best seller.

As someone who has tried just about everything, I asked her: What works?

SUSAN: I was at a book party at Otto Penzler’s Mysterious Bookshop after ThrillerFest last year when an author asked New York Times bestselling author Lee Child what publicity works the best. He replied, “Everything works.”

And he’s right. Everything you do to promote your book gets the word out there, whether you are creating a buzz by blogging about your book, doing a media tour or radio interview, signing books at your local bookstore, getting profile coverage in your hometown newspaper or alumni newsletter, or getting your readers to blog about your book by sponsoring a contest as Kyra Davis did for her novel, LUST, LOATHING AND A LITTLE LIP GLOSS (Mira).

Very few authors get on Oprah or the national morning shows, but there is a lot you can do to generate a buzz and build momentum. Word-of-mouth spreads quickly in the book world and has created bestsellers whose authors never saw the light of a national TV studio camera.

HALLIE: So give us your tips. Please!

SUSAN:

• TIP #1: Be proactive:
  Design a website, create an online presence through Facebook and other social media, let your friends know about your book, and if you hire a publicist, give her every contact you have. It is especially important to target market your book as Craig Reed did. Craig is a former U.S. Navy diver and author of RED NOVEMBER: Inside the Secret U.S. Soviet-Submarine War (William Morrow). Craig set up booksigning events at Navy bases throughout the country, and I complemented his efforts with a media campaign in those cities.

• Tip #2: If you have an interesting back-story, use it:
  If you are a novelist with an interesting back-story, you are more likely to get great media coverage than if you simply plug your book. Kyra Davis was in the midst of a messy divorce and bankruptcy when she wrote SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE, the first book in her Sophie Katz mystery series which led to a three-book deal. Reporters and producers loved her inspirational success story.
  
  
• Tip # 3: Consider media tours, especially if you are a first time author
  Media tours are a great way to get on local TV, which means thousands of people will hear about your book. And you are more apt to get print coverage as well. Steven Raichlen, author of the bestselling THE BARBECUE! BIBLE (Workman) and many other grilling books, does 20-city media tours for all of his books, even after getting on Oprah, The View, The Today Show, Good Morning America and The Early Show and is currently on the road traveling cross country promoting his latest book, PLANET BARBECUE (Workman).
  

• Tip #4: Radio phoner campaigns are a cost-effective way to maximize media coverage.
If you have a limited budget, a radio phoner campaign will reach thousands, if not millions, of readers across the country and you don’t have to leave your home or office. Many people listen to their favorite radio programs or channel-surf on their way to and from work and throughout the day.

• Tip #5: Don’t wait until the last minute to hire a book publicist
  Unfortunately, many authors query me after their book comes out which reduces their chances of getting reviews on websites and magazines which have a three-month lead time. Media tours generally take six weeks to book. You want to maximize media coverage when your book is just published, not six months after pub date, when bookstores may have already returned your book to the publisher and it’s no longer current. Have your publicist in place not less than 3 months before pub date.
  

• Tip #6: Blog, blog, blog
  At the New England Crime Bake, a mystery book conference where I spoke, an author said, “I wasn’t born to blog.” But the reality is, even if you have a long-established fan base as this author does, you have to establish an online presence in today’s world. Many readers are getting their content exclusively on the web, and blogging is an easy way to build a fan base.
  

Remember, the more media outlets you hit, the more readers you will reach. The person on the way to work who is reading the newspaper on the train is not the same person who is listening to the radio while driving to work. There are stay-at-home moms and dads who are watching their favorite morning show, those who are listening to the radio during their lunch break, or a former classmate who is reading his or her alumni newsletter and notices that you have published a book, and e-mails your alumni.

So in the words of Lee Child, “Everything works.”

HALLIE: Everything? It makes me exhausted just thinking about it. I guess my own experience is a variant of that "You never know what's going to work...so do everything."

Thanks, Susan, for stopping by! Susan will be checking in to answer questions and comments all day today...

On the Road Again

Sunday, February 10, 2008

"On the road again, I can't wait to get on the road again..." Willie Nelson

ROBERTA: This seems to be the only blog topic I can come up with because I've been away from home since December 27! I had a million good intentions of developing the idea for my next book, and a million reasons why that didn't happen. The computer crash--anyone would be set back by that one, right? And the time spent visiting relatives on the way south and then on the way back, no reasonable human being can work under those conditions. But what about all the time in between? And come to think of it, the times I've been on other trips, I'm uniformly unproductive. I'm wondering then if it's reasonable to expect to be able to write outside my office. Maybe traveling is disruptive enough that I should simply mark those days off on my calendar. NWT: no words today. Or maybe my brain is saying "I'm tired" after eight books in seven years. I'm secretly hoping it's been working away behind the scenes so when I do finally get home, a story will start to pour out!

JAN: I'm all for giving yourself a break! I think the brain needs rest times, and I also think that travel is disruptive -- pleasantly so. In fact, that probably accounts for its popularity!

I am taking two weeks off before starting my next project, and I'm not going anywhere-- physically at least. I'm just mentally "on the road," and so far, it's a very nice trip.

HALLIE: EIGHT BOOKS! That's impressive, Roberta. Maybe you just needed a break. And besides, what did you expect, vacationing in Florida? Not exactly conducive to sweat and toil. I was there for three mojito-soaked days at conference last week and I came away with nothing to show for all that heavy lifting but a pink plastic flamingo.

Seriously, I can NOT write away from home. And I've become paranoid about my computer--last time I took it on a plane, the hard drive crashed a day later. (Same thing happened to my husband's laptop when he took a trip.) Even though I had everything backed up, it was weeks before I was out of Dell Hell and back in business. And without my computer, working isn't unlikely, it's iimpossibe.

What we all need for traveling/writing is a small, super rugged, laptop that does nothing but word process and email.

RO: I'm in awe of the eight books..
I can rewrite on the road..I quite enjoy that, but can't seem to generate new pages. But that doesn't stop me from schlepping all of my notes and folders with me, as if this time will be different..

HANK: One of the moments when I actually felt like a writer was two summers ago, in a B and B called The Rookwood Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts. My husband and I, along with another couple, were spending a few days there, going to Tanglewood and plays and museums and all the wonderful things around there. But my first book was due in two weeks. And I had to work.

So every morning, I took my laptop into the living room of the Inn, sat on a velvet couch, and laptop on lap, a put my feet (yes) on the coffee table . I had to finish the first big redraft of Prime Time. I missed out on a museum and a lunch at a great place. The next day, everyone but me went somewhere else fun. I kept working.

Secretly? I was thrilled. I felt tough and powerful and devoted. And I did finish. Away from my own dear desk. I had to. But wow, I'd certainly rather be right here, surrounded by my stuff.

And Roberta, I think though, there is something to be said for resting your tired brain. When your story's percolated inside your brain and ready, I bet you won't be able to keep away from a computer or pad of paper, no matter where you are. I have notes on symphony programs, napkins, my little red notebook, backs of envelopes, and yes, my reporter's notepad. When it's time, your story won't let you stand in the way.