T Minus 2 weeks: go shopping with friend, Cassi, who is a style editor living in Paris. Purchase clothes that I would never have dared buy by myself. Thank the fashion gods I have a friend like her, otherwise I probably would have chosen something like this:
T Minus 6 days: Send final manuscript of UNTIL I DIE to my editor at HarperCollins. Do happy dance. Begin packing in earnest.
T Minus 5 days: Send children off to beach with grandparents. Everyone looks happy because they’re still too young to know what 2 weeks really means.
Still T minus 5 days: dog-sitters (a.k.a. friends Laila and Terry, with dog-daughter Freya) arrive to dogsit for Ella. Drive to Tours. Hop on plane to Marseille. (South of France.)
T minus 4 days: Attend friend’s pre-wedding dinner in Grasse (in the south of France).
Laurent at breakfast in our Grasse B&B
T minus 3 days: Attend friend’s actual wedding, during which we all sang a Beatles medley with the bride and groom. Here’s a video:
T minus 2 days: Leave hotel for airport: America, here I come!
Me at Nice airport, after 4 hours of sleep.
Did a flight change in London Heathrow, where I found this:
DIE FOR ME & STARCROSSED at W.H. Smith's, Heathrow
And arrived in Chicago, where I went directly to my best friend Kim’s house. Kim is a chef. Her brownies were one of Oprah’s Favorite Things. So, of course, I arrived to a huge spread of food, including fried green tomatoes and 2 sorts of Mexican salads. So tired I couldn’t even stay up to chat.
T minus 1 day: woke up to this breakfast, with my adorable goddaughter, Tizzy
and then, feeling extremely motivated, went to a dance class with Kim and then to the beach:
where, for fear of becoming lobster-red for the following day’s Dark Days signing, I hid under an umbrella most of the time. Caught a taxi to my hotel and then…
IT BEGAN…
T minus 1 day, 7:12p.m. (I was 12 minutes late) I met Aprilynne Pike and Tara Hudson for dinner. And we talked for 3 hours, until I suddenly announced that I was about to keel over from jetlagged fatigue.
Which leaves us at T minus 12 hours or so, at which point Aprilynne, Tara, Ellen Schreiber, Veronica Roth & I will descend upon the Chicago Public Library at exactly 1p.m. and the DARK DAYS OF SUMMER WILL OFFICIALLY BEGIN!
9 Comments to 2011 Book Tour (the prequel: a photojournal of my preparations)
by Astrid A. - On June 7, 2011
We all have a Lady Gaga inside of us. LOL.
Too bad I’m faaaaar away from the libraries! =( But I’ll catch up with your DDT recap 😉
by Kristina Ebert - On June 7, 2011
2 more days till Portland, I can’t wait. I had my friend read your book and she loved it, she will be taking the drive with me to Portland and we are both so excited!
by stephanie - On June 7, 2011
Wish I were closer…would love to meet you…but adored your book…so feel like we are already met…have a great tour….
by ana - On June 8, 2011
Havea great tour…I’m tooo far away :’-(
by Lindsi - On June 8, 2011
Aww, I love this post! However, now I have a craving for brownies 😉
I live about 5 hours from Austin, but I have class tomorrow night and will miss your Texas stop! I’m so sad! I hope you ladies have fun in Texas…it’s really, REALLY hot here lol
by Ellie - On June 11, 2011
It was AWESOME to go to your book-siging and meet you!!! <3
Btw- You don't know how surprised I was to see my little cousin staring at me from the screen. I was like, "Hey! I know her!"
by Pushy - On June 13, 2011
I love how the true glamour of being a debut author shines through here. 😀
It was lovely meeting you at the DDS stop at Anderson’s last week and of course I adored you book. I have to selfishly admit that my favorite part about this post was that you said you gave Until I Die to your editor! I CAN’T WAIT TO READ THIS BOOK!!
by Andra - On June 20, 2011
I hope I get a chance to go to a book signing. (If you come to Michigan, that is) I loved your book and can’t wait for the next one. I’m sure it’ll be just as good as DIE FOR ME. I am SUPER EXCITED and I’m sure I’ll be the first one to buy it from the bookstore. 😛
by amy - On June 21, 2011
Astrid, Stephanie, Ana, Lindsi, and Andrea – I wish you all could have come. The tour was seriously SO much fun, and I really enjoyed meeting all of the readers who came. Maybe next time we’ll come somewhere closer to you!
And Kristina and Pushy – I so enjoyed seeing both of you. What a treat to meet the people I’ve gotten to know online IN REAL LIFE. Thanks so much for coming (and, Pushy, the great livestream video!).
And Ellie, how much fun to see you and your sister and cousin there. That’s funny that the photos of Tiz surprised you. She’s kind of like a niece to me, you know, which makes you and me practically related! 🙂