What I Did On My Summer Vacation

I was out traveling for most of July - visiting bookstores, sleeping on people's couches, stealing their food and promoting Killer Swell. I've heard other writers say how hard it is, how tiring it can be, how frustrating it can be and how it can be tough to work up the excitement to continue touring to support the book.

Maybe they aren't going to the places I went to.

Bobby, Linda and Scott at The Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles let me sign their jail register -- and turned me on to The Suicide Bunnies. (Clint McKinzie somehow bribed his parents to show up.) Barry, Mary and Jean were exquisite hosts at Book 'Em in Pasadena and turned me on to my favorite book of the year so far -- Don Winslow's The Power of The Dog. Ed and Pat Thomas at Book Carnival in Orange had already sold a bunch of my books and then had a big bowl of pretzels ready for me. The entire gang at Mysterious Galaxy accommodated my large contingent of family and friends -- and they even convinced this guy to put up with me for the evening. Ed Kauffman at M is for Mystery in San Mateo didn't make fun of me for having trouble finding parking.

It was about as much fun as I've ever had and I hope I get to do it every summer for as long as people want to read my books.

And in between visiting all the stores, I found a little time to hit the beach and to accompany my wife and daughter here and here.

So a big fat thank you to everyone that came out to say hello/taunt/heckle me and an even bigger thank you to the stores for inviting me and being so enthusiastic about the book.

The pleasure was all mine…

August 2005

read June's note.