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UK Tour Blog 2009

UK TOUR BLOG 2009

Friday 13th February - Cambridge & Norwich

It may be the inauspicious date of Friday the 13th, but it gives me the much- welcomed chance to sleep in. Ive been going full- bore for four days now, with events every night and sometimes midday as well, plus lots of travel and stock signings. I'm starting to feel a little woozy from the pace. So it's nice to take a leisurely train ride to Cambridge, where Random House rep Peter Lucas waited to greet us... I'd been to cambridge before, and was looking forward to seeing it again. On this gloriously sunny day, the town couldn't be lovelier.

But no time for sightseeing. A crowd waits for us at Borders, and I'm happy to note that the bookstore staff has to keep bringing more and more chairs as the audience continues to swell. I've been to quite a few events where the opposite happens -- the store puts out 50 chairs and two people show up. Every author dreads those days, but the scene at Borders today is just what an author hopes for. And one gentleman named David tells me he's traveled for hours by train to see me!

After the event, we grab a quick sandwich at Pret, and then we jump in a van for the drive to Norwich, where we check into one of the oddest and most charming lodgings I've ever come across. "By Appointment" is really a restaurant, but it also has a few guest rooms upstairs. To enter the building, we had to walk in the cook's entrance and through the kitchen, past slabs of meat and giant pots of simmering potatoes and cauliflower. I'm the daughter of a restaurant chef, so of course this all fascinated me. I've always loved watching cooks at work.

But my own work awaited, so it was off to the Millennium Library for the last event of the tour. And this audience of about 100 was so lively, they made my job easy. A speaker feeds on the energy of the audience, and as soon as I heard the first enthusiastic laughter, I could feel my own energy rising.. It was the best end to a tour any author could hope for!


Thursday 12th February - London

I've always loved airports, the sense of anticipation they inspire, the whiff of exciting journeys about to begin. But spending a morning there just signing books makes me realize what an exhausting and disorienting place they must be to work in. Thursday morning found me, my publicist Sam Eades, and transworld sales rep Brian Carter making the rounds of heathrow bookshops. We were welcomed there by energetic Isabel Choat who whisked us thru Terminals 5 and 3, and in the span of just a few hours, i signed about 500 copies -- which Isabel assured me would indeed sell out. Thinking about those piles and piles of books, I'm just going to have to trust her.

Thursday afternoon was a special treat for me, because I visited my many friends at Transworld publishers in Ealing. There I met up with many of the "characters" from Keeping the Dead. My readers may not know this, but I used names of some rather dodgy Transworld people in the story.. Bradley Rose, for instance (the dodgiest of them all) plays a prominent part in the story. And if you aren't afraid of him already, you will be after reading the book. Nick Robinson gets to play romantic hero. Others get to play victims and cops, it made it quite a bit of fun to write. Almost all of them were on hand to say hello and share a glass of champagne -- and the good news that the book is doing well and already on the charts!

Then it was on to the week's big event; a joint appearance with author Dennis Lehane at Borders in London. I have been a fan of dennis's since his book A Drink Before The War, and am halfway through reading The Given Day, which is a magnificent story. I think dennis is a writer's writer, and his descriptions can make any other novelist green with envy. Editor Selina Walker, renowned in the crime fiction community, was moderator for the evening, exploring topics ranging from how we became writers to why we use Boston as a setting. The funniest story of the evening had to do with Dennis's success in Hollywood, and the distinguished actors and directors who've made his books into films. He said he doesn't like to brag about it to other writers because his star-studded list of contacts is almost embarrassing. So when Martin Scorcese signed on to direct a Lehane story, Dennis stayed mum about it.

It got out anyway, and Dennis soon received a laconic email from friend and fellow author George Pelecanos. In the subject line was "Scorcese". Followed by a two word message: "F*** you".

The evening wrapped up with a splendid dinner at Brown's with Dennis, his wife Angie, and Transworld friends. Dennis and I shared book tour horror stories (none of them involving Transworld!) For those lehane readers who are curious, Dennis's character Angie is not named after his wife -- he met her years after creating Angie Gennaro. What makes it an especially eerie coincidence is that the real Angie is the exact image of the fictional Angie -- dark-haired and stunning. It's a case of author meeting his character in real life.

Which makes me hope I never meet anyone named Warren Hoyt.


Wednesday 11th February - Solihull & Birmingham

The day began with another lovely train ride, this time from Leeds to Birmingham, where my publicist Alison and I met up with the Elvis of Transworld publishers -- otherwise known as Mike Edgerton. I call him Elvis for good reason. He looks like Elvis, right down to the expertly sculpted quiff of black hair. Walking down a street with Mike is like hanging out with a rock star -- everyone glances and smiles our way.
How often do you spot Elvis on the street?

First stop was the pretty town of Solihull, where I signed books at Borders. I owe a great deal to the bookseller there, Eileen, who had been avidly pushing my books in the UK for years, even back in the days when no UK publisher was releasing my books. Eileen would bring in stock from the US and urge them on her local customers. For an author, there's no better friend than an Eileen. A long queue of customers was waiting when I arrived -- including one man who'd brought a gift-- a hand-crafted wood bowl that he'd made himself.

Next it was off to BBC Birmingham, where I went on the air with Paul Franks, talking about how I became a writer.

The last event of the day was at the Birmingham library theater, where I spoke to an audience of 200 -- which may be my biggest audience ever in the uk. Librarians Nikki and Sue have arranged an impressive lineup of authors in their speaker program, with Lee Child expected to visit in April.

Onstage, I did my mummy and shrunken head talk and once again, Fred the head was a hit. I do wonder though if I'm giving away just a bit too much useful information. If any mummified husbands turn up in the next few months, I may be partly to blame!


Tuesday 10th February - Bradford & Leeds

The weather has been glorious here. I know the English probably think I'm insane for saying this, as they have been complaining about the harsh cold and the astonishing snowfalls they've had here these past few weeks. But when I left my home state of Maine, it was 9 degrees F. (minus 13 degrees Celsius) and we had a foot and a half of snow on the ground that probably won't melt until April. So to this Mainer, it feels like springtime in England.

Which has made the travel all the more pleasant, especially since we're doing it almost all by train, and I get peeks at the countryside. This is something else that I, as an American, truly enjoy as we so seldom travel by train in the U.S.

Leaving Scarborough Tuesday morning, my next stop was the Bradford Central Library, where librarian Jane Heap and her staff hosted my visit. Since there were no advance ticket sales, we had no idea what sort of turnout to expect. When people kept coming in the door, there was a happy scurrying around to add more chairs, more chairs, to accommodate them. After my talk about mummies and other creepy stuff, I sat down to sign books, and one young lady confided that she had skipped school to come hear me speak. Incredibly flattering, but I'm afraid I can now be accused of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
From Bradford, we headed to Leeds, where I had an evening event at Waterstone's. There another large audience greeted me. I've been amazed by the large numbers of people who are showing up at my events this year. When I first started touring in the UK years ago, back for THE APPRENTICE, I found sparse audiences. I distinctly remember one man who had happened to wander into the store that year, and who made a "pity purchase" of one of my paperbacks, just because he felt sorry for me.

How things have changed since then!


Monday 9th February - Scarborough

It's been a whirlwind first day on tour, starting with nine (!) interviews monday morning on BBC radio followed by a train trip to the utterly gorgeous seaside town of Scarborough. There I was greeted by the warmly welcoming staff at the local library, who hosted the event. A crowd of 100 or more braved a cold, wet night to come hear me -- including one gentleman named James who'd traveled all the way from Aberdeen!

Thanks to a radio broadcast earlier in the day, they were all primed to see what I brought onstage in his little box. Yes, Fred the head is traveling with me.

I talked about mummies.and shrunken heads, and they all went home knowing how to properly mummify a fish.

Afterwards, I had a drink with authors Sheila Quigley and Ken Mccoy, who'd driven quite a distance to say hello. Finally the evening ended splendidly with dinner at Tuscany, where I just had to whip out Fred the head for the waiter to see. He got so excited, he had to take him back to the kitchen to show the chef.

I know who the real celebrity is on this tour!

Learn more about Tess by visiting her US blog