Touring 101

I've never been on a big book tour before. Actually, I've never been on a book tour at all--so far, since The Popularity Papers was published in April, I've only done a few appearances in schools, bookstores, and at conferences. So I thought it would be good to get a little mini-tour in before the big trip to Denver.

So I bet you're wondering, How does one plan a tour? You start with this guy--


His name is Jason and he's the Director of Marketing for my publisher, Abrams Books. It's his job to get the word out about The Popularity Papers, and he's really good at what he does. Really, really good. Scary good.

Here's how a tour starts--


And then this happens--


The next thing I know, my inbox is flooded with fifteen emails with possible bookstores and libraries and schools to visit, because when I say, "I've been thinking about going somewhere and I might have some time to do a book event there" Jason hears, "RELEASE THE KRAKEN!"

The Kraken, for those who don't know, was an ancient sea creature from ancient Norse mythology that inexplicably found it's way into ancient Greek mythology in the 1981 movie Clash of the Titans. In that movie the head boss god Zeus wants to demolish the land of Argos and tells his brother Poseidon to "RELEASE THE KRAKEN!" and, like Jason, the Kraken gets the job done.

The Kraken. Jason looks nothing like the Kraken and is much nicer,
having never (to my knowledge) destroyed a kingdom or even a suburb.

And this is how a simple overnight trip to upstate New York to attend my college roommate Tiffany's baby shower turned into a four-day mini-tour. Mark and I are going to put our road-tripping skills to the test. Our first stop will be at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, VT on Friday. I'll be doing a reading and signing books from 2 - 4, so if you're in the area, come on by!