A Perfect Blood was released February 21, 2012. It was a typical Michigan winter day with slushy snow in the morning, and rain in the evening, but I'd have it no other way, and I've begun to look forward to seeing how spring is progressing --or not progressing -- as I make my way from coast to coast.
First stop was Schulers in Lansing! Schulers has become my "home" store since moving back to Michigan, and boy did I feel right at home! I had a few unusual questions this year, but I think it was because 90% of the people there had been to one of my signings before. Color me shocked! :-)
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Nicola's
Nicola's back room where I chilled and signed those personalized copies you ordered. I'm styling with my new glasses. Hey, if you have to wear glasses, wear GLASSES!
Nicola's was as wonderful as I remembered it, with people from as far away as Canada and Tennessee, which completely blew me away. Again, I was surprised at how many people there had been to one of my events before -- but then again, I call Nicolas home.
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Boston Public Library
Boston was wonderful! The crowds--as you can see from some of the photos--were a lot of fun, and though they almost had to kick us out, we managed to get through all the autographs. Because I'd never been to Boston before, the crowd was new and had a lot of great questions from writing, to industry, to the characters. We had a rocky start until I borrowed a pair of reading glasses, but then we rocked and rolled. Pandemonium supplied the books for purchase, but I signed a lot of beloved, well-worn copies as well.________________________________________________________
Hanover MD, Books A Million
Hanover, just outside of Washington, was a huge surprise as far as the crowd went. Wow! The store was not set up for a regular event, but that was just as well since the signing line was long . . . and full of people I knew from the drama box and FB. We did have a chance to pull everyone with a shirt out of line for a family photo. We even had one from last year's tour!
Before the event, I did a quick interview with Eye on Books. I should have a link shortly.
Towards the end, we got a little rowdy
Between Hanover and Atlanta, I had a moment. . .
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Eagle Eye books, Atlanta Georgia
Eagle Eye books in Atlanta was a great store to sign in. They had a beautiful signing area, and we managed to all cram into it for the picture. There were a lot of people who drove across state lines to see me, and I was honored. (I wish I had known that when you were at the signing table!)
Here's a shot of the crowd taking pictures of me. Turn-around is fair play!
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Books And Books, Coral Gables
Books and Books is a fabulous store! Only a few people had been to one of my events before which made for an interesting batch of questions, but there were lots of roadies and we had a great time!
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West Palm Beach Library, Wellington
Wellington Palm Beach Public Library was a blast! There was a great crowd with tons of questions. This is apparently horse country, and I ran into a man I'd met before way up north at another signing who shoes them for a living. How cool is that? (What a great character idea, actually . . .)
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Cuyahoga Public Library
In between Miami and Cleveland I had a fabulous dinner with some smart ladies and one Mr. M who actually took the picture. Thank you, ladies! I had a great time!
But the library at Cuyahoga was fabulous, and if you get the chance to go to one of their events, take it. The crowd was huge, but everyone was still smiling by the last of the line and everyone got all their books signed. I hope I can go back again. The weather was like WOW. I know the warmth is unseasonable, but I enjoyed it.
I'm in my Star Trek uniform in this one. :-)__________________________________________________________
Tattered Cover, Denver CO
I'd never been to Tattered Cover before, but I'd heard a lot of good things. All of them are true! It's a fabulous store that was once a theater, and you can still see remnants of it if you take half a look. It was a virgin crowd with only one person fessing up to having been to one of my signings before, which made for a great batch of questions. We even had a roadie from the Outlaw Demon Wails tour! I left a lot of signed books for anyone in the area that couldn't make it.
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Dark Delicacies, Burbank CA (LA)
And in LA, Guy and I signed in one of the industry's well known store, Dark Delicacies. Dark Delicacies and Tattered Cover (see above) are two of the few genre stores that are known in the industry to have been a part of its development, being a fixture in the past and hopefully the future. It's independents like these that make these tours possible, little islands of what used to be common, alert to change and welcoming it so as to keep moving forward and basically alive and thriving.
Like all independents, Dark Delicacies and Tattered Cover work hard at keeping their cliental happy, often knowing patrons by their first name and exactly what they like to read. They know how to run a successful event, and I'm always sorry to not have more time to spend with the hands-on owners/operators, but even so, I can tell when someone has their heart in what they do, and both Dark Delicacies and the Tattered Cover are such stores. The signings there this Friday and Saturday were fabulous.
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The bunny brigade! I don't look for them, but I can't turn down a burning bunny when they show up. :-)Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego
We did something very cool at Mysterious Galaxy this time, bringing everyone out for a group picture, the roadies up front with me. If you want to snag the picture for yourself, just click the photo to go to the higher res copy. I left lots of signed books, so if you're interested, give them a call! They ship worldwide. ((858) 268-4747)
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Borderlands, San Francisco
Borderlands in SF is another of my favorite Independent stores. Actually, I think it was one of the first that my publisher sent me to, and it's great to see how much we've both changed over the years. When we first met, they were trying to get the property next to them to open up a cafe, and this year, I got to speak in it! If you haven't been to Borderlands recently, you've got to check them out. I left a lot of signed books--not just A Perfect Blood, but most of the titles in mass market as well.
Me and my Borderland's roadie! I remember meeting him before, and it was great to see him again!__________________________________________________________
Barnes and Noble, San Bruno
I love book store back rooms. Here I am chilling in Barnes and Noble's break room where Guy caught me slurping.
We had some roadies! I'd never been to the San Bruno store, but it was surprising how many of the people there I had either met at a previous signing or knew from my time on the internet. Wow!
Ivy and Rachel stopped by. :-) I remember these ladies from a Halloween costume contest.
And flaming, sparkling bunnies! The night was complete.__________________________________________________________
University Bookstore, Seattle WA
If I'm standing next to Duane, then you know I'm in Seattle at the University Bookstore. I had a bit of a shock coming in to the store since despite all the times that I've been to there, I'd never seen the front, and when the car pulled up, I thought I was in the wrong place. It had been arranged that this was going to be a joint signing with Patricia Briggs, and did we have fun! We did this last year, and it was a delight to do it again!
Me and my Seattle Roadies!! Thank you for coming out and seeing us! It was a fantastic event with Patricia Briggs
The next morning, Patrica and I met at The Signed Page to personalize all those books that you had been ordering. A little more relaxed than last night.
I hope we can do this again.__________________________________________________________
Powells Books, Beaverton
As always, Powells in Beaverton was wonderful! We had a fabulous group of roadies, a bunch from the White Witch tour. I read, took Q&A, and signed books while Guy went through the crowd handing out goodies. It was great to see all the familiar faces, and I hope I go back next year.
Rachel? Maybe . . .
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Schuler Books and Music Grand Rapids MI
Guy and I landed in Detroit late Friday night, but we weren't done quite yet, and Saturday afternoon, we made the drive out to Grand Rapids for the last event. I'd told my publicist that the only way I would get myself back out behind the podium after getting home would be if they had cake, and sure enough, they had cake!! They have three Schulers in Grand Rapids, and the event store has a fabulous space where they do stuff. Before I was there, they had live music and a book fair.
And we had roadies too! Lots of familiar faces from previous signings from as far away as Chicago and Toledo.
Harry and Bob showed up. See, I knew the cake was a good thing. Rachel was there too, but she and I didn't end up on the bunny cam for some reason and I don't have a photo.__________________________________________________________
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