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Hey everybody, this is me trying to recreate the post that the computer ate yesterday. Sigh. Here goes. We had a minimum of 200 people at the store. Estimates range from 230 to 250 depending on who was making the estimate. They didn’t give out line numbers so it was a little hard to tell. But line numbers are certainly no guarantee of accuracy. We’ve found that one line number may be held for two to five people. Interprising fans have been sending one person ahead to secure a place in line, then calling and letting the rest know. Or people are joining their friends after work or school ends. We are also getting people coming late at the end of the line after their shift or class is over. So whatever we hit the door with, you can at least add thirty to fifty, or even every once in an exciting while a hundred. Pretty cool.
We are staying until everybody gets something signed. We left two stores at about 1 AM. Yeah, you read that right. We, my husband Jonathon is with me of course, do the Q and A, then sign, then do more Q and A when I ice my arm about half or three quarters through. My arm is much better than it was last tour. The exercise is helping, darnit. In fact Jonathon and I just finished a twenty minute run on the tread mill at the hotel. And I ran, not jogged, for quite a bit of it. I find that two things help with the nervous energy and the mental exhaustion on tour — running or a heavy bag. Weights help, but not as quickly and not as well when the tension is high. We’re doing thirteen events in fourteen days. We love seeing everybody, but that is a lot in a short space. Exercise and an occasional nap helps.
We actually got out of two stores before the store closed. Yeah. It just depends on the size of the crowds. Largest has been over four hundred, but not to five, I don’t think. Smallest has been two hundred. Good crowds.
We’d done last night’s Borders before. So we saw some familiar faces. One, was our youngest fan. He came last time when he was only 10 or 11 days old. Yes, days, not weeks. This time round he was a very big boy, and very charming. We also saw a couple that had been at this store last time. My understanding is that they met in line at the signing, got acquainted, and are now married. They invited us to the wedding, but due to scheduling conflicts we couldn’t make it. They are the second couple that has met at a signing and gotten married. I never really thought of my signings as a dating service, but hey, if it works.
I know that a lot of people have made good friends at the signings, and on the website, and the fan club. As many people have remarked to me across the country, it’s so nice to be in a group where you know no one will think you’re weird. As if because we all like the same books, we know we all have something in common. If the fans I’m meeting are typical, then I have some very good people reading my books.
Jonathon and I got to see dogs yesterday, too. We’d recently helped out Dalmation rescue. The local Ohio rescue made plans to introduce us to one of the dogs we helped. His name was Hummer, and he was beautiful. He was very wiggly for me, but when Jonathon pet him, he got very calm. Both of the nice ladies, whose name I’ve blanked on, remarked how much Hummer liked Jonathon. As a special treat to us one of them had their son bring his pug puppy. Her name was Spice, and she was wonderful. I hadn’t realized how dog deprived I’d been, until I got to pet wriggly, furred, puppies. I was wearing mostly black, so I was rapidly covered in dog hair, because both breeds shed. Fawn pug and mostly white Dalmation all over me, but I didn’t mind, it reminded me of home.
We met some people from Transylvania University in Kentucky. We got shirts and book marks. I love the name of the place, don’t you? We also got to meet some real ghosthunters. They also gave us a shirt, but we shipped it home so I don’t have their info in front of me, so I can’t say what area they hunt in. Sorry about that. We’re shipping more and more stuff home as the tour continues. Sort of like the pioneers who started out with pianos and grandfather clocks but gradually shed them along the road side. I mean, do we really need that many pairs of jeans? No. But lucky for us we have Fed-Ex and don’t have to make hard choices. Now I have this image in my head of a commerical. You have a Fed-Ex truck drive up to a wagon train, and the Fed-Ex guy says, “Don’t choose between the things you love, let us take care of it.” Or something like that. Then the truck drives off into the sunset with one of the pioneers saying, “Why didn’t we ship ourselves to the coast?”
It’s not Fed-Ex I’m waiting for; it’s teleportation, or aparation. I’d settle for either. See some of you tonight in Baily’s Crossroads, Borders, Virginia.