The Walker Family books have distinct four word titles which make them long to write out.  Hence Dance of the Bones is now DOTB for blogging purposes.

Book tours are planned by publicity folks in New York.  I have two brand news publicists.  I’ve spoken to both of them on the phone but have yet to meet them.  They sound young.  Twenty-somethings or thirty-somethings at the outside.  I turn 71 next month.  So there’s a tiny disconnect in terms of age and relative energy levels.

They are in New York.  From there?  Maybe.  Don’t know.  They are always perplexed by the fact that some things that seem, to them, to be so close by, are simply not doable.  (Sun City and Mesa?  They’re both in Phoenix, aren’t they?  They’re in the Phoenix AREA, but they’re 50 miles apart.  So maybe those events doable, but not for the faint of heart.  Tuesday’s opening day with three events, an interview, and a photo shoot was a corker!

Yesterday, there were only two events—one in Poulsbo, WA, and the other in Des Moines, WA.  If you Google those spots, the distances may not look that bad, but in order to be in Poulsbo for a noon signing, we had to leave the house in Bellevue at 8:45 and drive through rush hour traffic to catch a 9:30 ferry, do the event and the signing, and catch another ferry back to Seattle.  We arrived at the ferry terminal at 3:00 PM and were due in Des Moines at 5.  There was no point in going back home.  Any  delay in heading south would have put us in the midst of rush hour traffic, so we just drove to the venue.  My plan was to get out and walk for a few minutes.  I didn’t.  We parked in the shade, put our seats back, and took naps.  Yesterday, for the first time in two and a half months, I didn’t make my 10,000 steps.  Nope, 2400 was the best I could do.

When I needed some encouraging words, my daughter told me, “Mom, don’t worry.  You’re taking steps to see your fans.”

This morning I received a lovely note from a woman who said how much the presentation in Poulsbo meant to her.  So taking those fan steps is worth it.

Today it’s Puyallup at noon (1 hour drive from here); fly to Spokane.  (Arrive at the airport and hour and a half before a 4 PM flight.) Do the Aunties event at the Bing.  Fly back after the event so I can be at an event in Redmond by 11:00 tomorrow morning.  Then we’re supposed to drive to Port Angeles for an evening event.  But wait, is the Hood Canal Bridge still broken?  It was yesterday.  If it’s still broken tomorrow, going to Port Angeles by way of Olympia will make for a very long trip.

This is not whining.  This is reporting.  This is the reality how book tours are.  I don’t know how many times people say, “Book tours must be SO exciting!”  They are, but they are also draining and tiring.  Drive, fly, eat, sleep, walk, and see the people.  On day after another.  For the better part of a month!

So here’s the deal.  If any of my blog readers see me somewhere along the way in the next several weeks, please do not tell me that I look tired.  I WILL be tired!  And there’s only so much makeup and lip gloss can do.

Later ‘gators.