On The Road With Lonely Hearts

So, 2009 caught me without a New Year’s Day blog. I’ve been ruminating, but mostly I’ve been freaking out about–uh, change that to carefully planning for–my Calling Mr. Lonely Hearts tour. It starts today, as a matter of fact.

My first stop is the Carbondale, IL, Barnes & Noble. I’ll be there from 1:00 until 3:00 chatting and signing books. I really hope my dentist will come. He and his staff were very helpful when I was writing CMLH. (Also, I’m hoping that he can pleeeeeease squeeze me in before Wednesday!) If you’re in the neighborhood, I hope you’ll come by, too. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a signing for a, um, midlist author–but they can be a tad on the lonesome side. One tries not to look too hopeful….Fortunately, I think I’ll be at a table that’s on the way to the Starbucks Cafe. Plus, the staff at this B&N is just lovely to me–I can’t wait to get there!

I have another full-time job, of course. I’ll spend the next few days trying to make things a little easier for Pinckney while I’m gone. No matter how old my kids get, it’s still important to me to help them organize their lives as much as I can. (Pomegranate and I have already promised each other that we’ll talk everyday when she goes off to college.) Maybe I’m over-involved. But their childhoods won’t last forever.

The other thing I’ll be doing is organizing my travel stuff. I don’t have a conference to attend until February, so I don’t have much swag this time around. I opted for magnets and business cards with the cover of CMLH instead of bookmarks. Do people like bookmarks? I see them EVERYWHERE at conferences, but I can’t for the life of me ever remember checking out a book because I saw it on a bookmark! (There are all kinds of algorithms for product-awareness. I’ve never been a fan of such calculated planning. See “midlist” above!) I am thinking of having some more journals made up, and Cafe Press will do a pillow, which is kind of cool.

What kinds of lagniappe do you all like to get when you buy a book? I’m curious. (I’m sorry, I can’t make Buckeyes–peanut butter and chocolate candies–for everyone!)

Last but not least is the wardrobe question. Myspace readers will recall that I laid out my clothing schedule in blocks for my tour in 2007. Two outfits each day, shoes and jewelry all chosen ahead of time. I’m not so organized in real life, but I’m a little nervous when I’m on the road, so I like to be prepared. Last tour, I wore black and brown and gray. I’m switching out the gray for red this time, just because I can. (Am I boring you? I love to talk clothes. Yes, I am occasionally that shallow–but you knew that already.)

Oh, not quite last. I need to get the final itinerary from Publicist Lisa. Addresses, contacts, phone numbers all in one place. Critical. I also have a couple hotel reservations to make.

I’ll do my best to post photos of the tour and let you know what’s happening along the way. I have some guest blogging spots–I’ll post the links here.

A late-breaking bit of news: ISABELLA MOON is Fresh Fiction’s Fresh Pick today. I think it’s an auspicious beginning to the tour. Also, I was interviewed at January Magazine yesterdy and expressed my real feelings about olives.

More soon–I hope you’ll come along for the ride!

[Suitcase pic from here. Olive image here.]