June 12, 2003

The first copies of Artifacts landed on my doorstep on May 14, and I've been too busy to even sit down and update the website. The books themselves are absolutely gorgeous, so I spent a little time just looking at them. I took them to the High Springs Mystery Readers group and flashed them around. (And a few other places, too!) Then I had my first signing at Goerings Books here in Gainesville on Sunday, May 18. They sold every book they had. Then they sold every book I had. Then they took orders for more. This is a wonderful town, and a lot of wonderful folks live here.

Then I spent about a week working on the next Faye Longchamp novel, Relics, before heading for Omaha where I pulled a twofer: visiting my sister and her lovely family and experiencing Mayhem in the Midlands. Mayhem was a blast. I met authors and readers that I only knew by their e-mail addresses. I participated in some fun and entertaining panels, moderated one, and enjoyed several from the audience. And I was honored to sign a very goodly number of copies of Artifacts. This author gig is a good one.

Since I returned from Omaha, I've had very successful signings at the High Springs Woman's Club and Wild Iris Books. Much of my time has been devoted to preparations for my first tour. I have a friend with a humongous RV and an analytical chemistry lab to market. We have another friend with an environmental consulting firm to market. We will be driving across Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, stopping at contamination sites and bookstores. We call it our "Terrorizing Dixie Tour." Check the "Schedule of Appearances Page" for details, and come see me if I'm coming near your town.

Since I am my own secretary, my own publicist, and my own publicist's secretary, I am very proud of this tour: twelve bookstores in eleven cities, four television appearances, and radio interviews that will air in eleven markets. And some degree of newspaper coverage but I have found that, where newspapers are concerned, you find out about your coverage when it is published and not before.

Watch this page in July for a complete report on the "Terrorizing Dixie Tour."