Unfortunately, book tours, unless you are an established author or someone like, let’s say, Marcia Brady, are not a given.  It is expensive to fly authors around and put them up in hotels if only a few dozen people show up to listen and buy a book. So the book tour is not actually panning out. They are sort of a thing of the past.  However, I have been very lucky to find a supportive publisher (Guideposts Books) who has hired a great publicity firm (Phenix and Phenix) to help market Halfway to Each Other.

It is thrilling to have this sort of support, and I am doing my best to contribute to the process by writing articles for papers and magazines, calling in to be a guest on radio shows, and traveling when asked.

Brand new to the world of publishing and marketing, I am loving every minute of it and am learning more each day.  My favorite parts have been unexpected.  In these pages I hope to recapture some of the magic along the way.

So, this is my book tour.  Thanks for stopping by.

The day Halfway to Each Other officially launched I feverishly worked through the evening at the computer recording student grades. All alone in a darkened classroom was not the way I envisioned celebrating, but I had accepted a new job and it needed my full attention. I remember glancing at my watch and muttering ‘Yeah, congratulations, Bigshot, now get your work done so you can go home and go to bed’.

My first trip took me to Austin to meet my publicist.  The thought of a quiet night in a pleasant hotel with a good book sounded lovely until I checked into the low budget chain with its striking view of the business park in the pouring rain about 8 PM.   I assumed that the place would have a restaurant of some sort, or at least one nearby.  But the can of beer and the bag of M&M’s from the tiny snack area in the lobby worked out just fine.

Touring the publicity firm and meeting my publicist the next day was great.  The place was filled with trendy clothing and young, creative minds strategizing ways to infiltrate the marketplace.  Other than the fact that I got that I am the oldest one in the hair salon and all the stylists are young and hip feeling, I was more than impressed and delighted to have them marching into battle with me.

I met three other new authors, and we all hunkered down for media training, cheering each other on through mock radio shows and TV interviews. I left that day with renewed respect for politicians and talk show hosts who have mastered the art of Speaking into a mic and making sense. I spent years working on my manuscript and know every sentence by heart, but when they asked me to discuss it on camera, it all turned to jibberish.  How does one take an entire book and express its richness in two minutes?  I left with a page full of interview questions to practice at the outside chance I might actually have an interview one day.