October 2008 Volume 6, Issue 3

Eventually it graduated from there to a quarterly paper newsletter printed out on my laser here at home, then stuffed in an envelope and mailed. As time dragged on, it became a multi-page, twice per year offering, printed, mechancially folded, stamped, and mailed by my publicist and going out to well over 1000 fans plus countless bookstores. Then, the USPS raised postage... In an attempt to come into the 21st century, I set up the current incarnation - the electronic newsletter. So far that has worked out well.

But, even with all the changes - in the newsletter, my personal life, and even the lives of the RGI characters themselves, one thing has remained constant. If an author wants to sell books, then that author needs to tour the country and do booksignings. So, here we are, pretty much a decade gone by since I signed the contract for the first RGI novel, and I'm on the road as much as ever. Usually 6-7 months out of the year, although I purposely built in some downtime for 2008. Still, even with taking some time off this year to spend with family, I recently embarked - along with my dear friend and cohort in crime, Dorothy Morrison - on the longest one-shot book release tour I had ever done. A grand total of 24 days, with 18 of them being in a single stretch and only a small break for me to catch my breath.

Don't get me wrong... I am not complaining at all. The truth is I had a great time and saw parts of the country I had always wanted to visit. Although, when on tour, visiting pretty much takes the form of watching it go by the window as you speed along the highway or fly over the top of it. But, still, I had a chance to meet wonderful folks and see wonderful sights. So, the rest of this newsletter is pretty much devoted to a mini "travelogue"... Where I've been, what I've done and seen, and the silliness along the way. I'm sure there were several "you just had to be there moments" that I won't be able to do justice on the page, but I hope you enjoy reading about the tour as much as I enjoyed being on it.

Of course, I guess I am starting at the end (no pun intended), so I suppose I should back up just a second (still no pun intended)... You see, immediately prior to this insane book release tour - as in just a few days prior - Morrison and I were both speakers at the first Annual Earth Warriors Festival in Ohio. While this was considered part of the tour, our new novels were not officially released just yet. HOWEVER, we DID have a copy of each on hand to place in the silent auction as kind of a "pre-release" goodie. (See my blog entry "The Good, The Bad, and The Fuglee" all about the EWF here.)

Anywho, the blog says it all, but I'll say it here again - EWF was an amazing and wonderful festival, pulled together by some amazing and wonderful folks. Morrison and I had a great time. Of course, with every great time comes some unbridled silliness, and no, I'm not talking about Morrison and me stealing a golf cart... That was silly, yes, but there was other silliness to be had. As in, "You want me to sign what?"

You see, one would think that as an author you would customarily sign your books and then the occasional autograph book or notepad as well. And, for the most part that really is what we do. However, at some events there are folks who are looking for a less lasting, but more... ummm... hmmmm... well, uhhhh... shall we say, "unique" autograph? Such was the case at EWF as evidenced by the picture to the right...

One of the things about this particular tour was the fact that it was built around the launch of two new books - Blood Moon, the ninth in the Rowan Gant series, and Lucinda's Web, Morrison's first novel. Well, if you are going to launch a couple of books then that means you need to have a release party. And, what better place to have a release party than 13 Magickal Moons in Occoquan, VA, one of my absolute favorite bookstores of all time. Thusly, the festivities began on Friday, October 3...

Samantha, the owner of 13 Magickal Moons, displayed yet another of her talents, pulling together a wonderful two stint at her store, all culminating in a big party with tons of food, cake, and cool folks all over the place. Her team, Jen, Regina, and Deb, went all out to make sure the party went off without a glitch (or, at least none that we could see), and that some truly amazing party favors were on hand for the attendees. Each person in attendance received a party bag filled with a mini Voodoo doll, temporary tattoos, quill pen, ink, chocolate, bookmarks, and a "broom pen" from the store. Sam even gave us the leftovers to take with us on the road, and they were a big hit with the other stores as well.

The crew also supplied Morrison and me with a basket full of goodies such as earplugs, arthritis cream, toilet paper, antacids, a first aid kit, and everything one might need for a long trip. They also set us up individually with traveling altars, prosperity spell workings, and poppets (Voodoo Dolls) of each other! I got a Morrison poppet and Morrison got a Sellars poppet. They were TOO cool, and they rode for the entire trip on the dashboard of the car... We soon discovered that the more time they spent basking in the sunlight, the more fun and profitable our gigs turned out to be!

Now, on to the food, hence the title of this section - There was more food than you can possibly imagine at the party. Meatballs, lasagna, salad, red beans and rice, bruschetta, and yes, PORK BUTT! If you are unfamiliar with the term "pork butt" it is a cut of meat, obviously pork, which qualifies as a roast. However, it does not come from the back end of the hog. It actually comes from the shoulder - the butt end of the shoulder - hence the name, pork butt. Pork butt roasts can either be served as "roasts", or in St. Louis, the big thing is to slice them into steaks and BBQ them - one of the local midwestern delicacies that can be found on many a grill during the summer months. However, coming from the south I am intimately familiar with the true calling of the pork butt, and that is PULLED PORK! Fan-Friend-And Moderator of the the RGI Fan Forms, Coldie, along with her husband, brined, rubbed, and smoked a whole mess of pork butt, which meant we had plenty of that wonderous delicacy on hand. Now that is definitely the way to a Kentucky boy's heart... Not only was there much absolutely incredible pulled pork to be had at the party, the Coldinator hooked Morrison and me up with some travel containers for the road. What a doll!!!

 

 

With Friday and Saturday under our belts, me still nursing a cold (although, it was tons better due to the curative properties of Samantha's special Cold and Flu Herbal Tea), Sunday morning came bright and early. Morrison and I loaded up the car and hit the road for Norfolk, Virginia.

Mystic Moon, owned by Deb and Brian, started out in a stall at the flea market right across the highway from where they are now located. These folks have not only worked hard at growing the store and moving it into a large space, but they are tireless champions for the community at large. Pagan and otherwise. They run a food bank, and the tree you see behind Morrison and me in the picture (right) is decorated with the names of less fortunate folks during the Yule season. Customers can pluck a name from the tree and see to it that a kid gets something under his or her tree at home that year. I think that is one of the coolest things ever for a store to do, and I tip my hat to these folks.

As to the tour stop itself, I can't say enough good things about Mystic Moon. Not only did they feed us to death with a big time potluck dinner, they actually held a show in our honor, featuring many of the talented individuals from the community. We got to visit with tremendous folks, and meet online friends face to face, such as Beth, Sabrina the Ink Witch, and SIN from Paganspace.net.

If you are in any way, shape, or form, a follower of Morrison's or my blog/newsletter, then you are well aware that we are Cracker Barrel Fanatics. You can stop into any Cracker Barrel in the country and 99% of the time, the food will taste exactly the same as it did in any other CB. On top of that, the service is generally fast and friendly. If you want it even faster, there are certain things you can order off the menu, such as the daily special or chicken 'n dumplin's (which are sure to be simmering already) and you can have your lunch in a flash. That way, you get back on the road quickly and can get to the next gig.

Well, as with any of our other tours we frequented the Cracker Barrels along the way. The food was good, the service was great, but we unfortunately fell victim to an ailment that we had heretofore dodged all these years.

Yes, I am talking about "Barrelepsy"... A little known form of Narcolepsy which is induced by a wonderful meal at Cracker Barrel, followed by jumping back on the road, but being too relaxed to maintain the necessary adrenalin flow. Morrison and I both had severe attacks of Barrelepsy on this trip. Each day, be it after breakfast or lunch, whichever meal happened to take place at the CB along the way, within 30 minutes we would become very sleepy. With miles to cover and a hurtling convertible surrounding us, we weren't too crazy about ending up as a statistic, therefore, more than once we actually pulled off at a rest stop, got out the alarm clock, and had ourselves a 30 minute power nap before continuing on our way. Maybe Cracker Barrel should consider putting in some bunks for us weary travelers who have fallen victim to the Barrelepsy Virus...

However, speaking of Cracker Barrel, I have to send a shout out to "Laura Mae" (I hope I spelled that correctly)... You see, for the first time in all our travels, we actually ended up stopping at the same Cracker Barrel twice within a few days - That being in Hattiesburg, MS. Our initial stop was for lunch on our way in to New Orleans. We were seated Laura Mae's section and I just happened to be wearing my traveling shirt that said "You know what your problem is? You're stupid."... Laura Mae played along and feigned hurt feelings, which was very cute. Then she proceeded to really take care of us, so since it was my turn to buy I left her a good tip. Then, a few days later, on our way to Huntsville, AL from NOLA, our route took us back through Hattiesburg. As it happened, we hit there at lunch time again and stopped at the same CB. Morrison was speculating as t o whether or not Laura Mae would be working, and wouldn't you know it, we were seated in her section again and she remembered us. She was a real doll and a hell of a server. Morrison left her another good tip, so who knows? Maybe we'll go back through there again some day and Laura Mae will still remember us! :)

* For the record, I made up the whole Barrelepsy thing. Yes, we did have our road weary moments that required power naps, and yes they did seem to come shortly after eating, but I in no way blame Cracker Barrel for that. I blame our schedule, lack of sleep, and ANY meal from ANYWHERE would have done the same to us...

Well, actually we went there for real, not just in our minds... And, we started with Greensboro, North Carolina at a great little store called Eclectic By Nature. Tavane, the owner, and her clientle were absolutely wonderful. As had become the standard for this tour, plenty of munchies were out on the table and tons of great folks showed up to visit with us and have books signed. Morrison and I did the "Magick Down And Dirty" workshop for a full house, then signed more books and posed for pictures with folks. It was a great time and EBN is definitely a store where we would like to return some day in the not too distant future. Everyone was great and we had a blast. By the time we got out of the shop, which is nestled in a quaint, artsy section of Greensboro, and returned to the hotel, however, the restaurant was no longer s erving since it was late on a weeknight. Although we had filled up earlier on veggies and other snacks, we were approaching hungry and needed something to get us through the night. A quick call to the local pizza joint had a Bacon, Mushroom, and Black Olive Hand Tossed pie on its way to us, and we ended up sitting in the middle of our respective beds having dinner in our pajamas. Since the hotel room came equipped with a small fridge, we planned to have cold pizza the next morning before we hit the road (hey, the breakfast of champions, right?)... But, as fate would have it, we chit chatted and ate wedges of the flat delicacy until we suddenly realized the cardboard container was completely empty. Oh well, that just meant more room for Cracker Barrel!

In the AM, we loaded up and headed out. Since we had visited North Carolina we figured South Carolina would be jealous if we didn't drop in on it too, so we made tracks for Columbia. One of the major reasons we had picked Columbia was the fact that almost a year prior I had been contacted by a young lady by the name of Angel. Seems she headed up a group called the South Carolina Wiccans and Pagans, and she wanted to know if I would be interested in visiting the area. When I mentioned something about the Eventful Demand widget on my page, she rallied her troops and "demands" began pouring in. I'm glad they did!

We visited a shop called "Belladonna's", however, since the shop itself was small we never actually saw it. The owner, Jen, rented out space in the local UU church for the meet n' greet and signing. With the help of her friends and husband (who makes absolutely amazing signs) she decorated the place and had things all set up. Yet again there was much food to be had, and many wonderful folks. I got to meet Angel face to face and discovered she is an absolutely amazing person who is even more charming in person. Another young lady named Alda and I got to spend some time chit chatting was the evening wore down. Turned out that she's not only a fan of the RGI series, but a wealth of information about many things that could come in handy on future book projects. On top of that, she's a real sweetheart. After the event we went out to an American-Irish Pub for dinner with Alda, Jen, and her husband. From there, it was back to the hotel to grab a few hours sleep before hitting the road yet again...

(Top Right: Signing books for a fan while at the UU Church/Belladonna's Meet 'n Greet Signing. Bottom Right: Left to Right - Me, Angel Morey-Althenn [fan and coordinator of SCWP list], Dorothy Morrison - outside the UU Church for the Belladonna's Meet 'n Greet Signing)

So, one of Morrison's favorite things to do is tell everyone that if they compliment me on my books (or anything else for that matter) that my head is going to swell so much that a pair of scissors will be required to get me out of my pullover shirt. Don't get the wrong idea though, as it is all just part of our sibling-ish banter. Simply good-natured ribbing is all... And, of course, I always contend that it is HER head that is swollen. Well, wouldn't you know it, luck was on my side this trip and proof was provided. You see, some time back, Morrison did a photo shoot with Kelly Varner (a fantastic photog) in Norfolk, so that she could get herself some updated headshots (something I sorely need to do myself)... At any rate, when we arrived in Norfolk, Kelly had taken one of the shots and blown it up to Gi-Hugic proportions, therefore creating a full color rendering of Morrison's head in XXXL size. Yeah... Just plain friggi n' HUGE. At any rate, Kelly gave the framed poster to Morrison and it rode around the country with us for the rest of the tour. Proof positive that Morrison has a big head! :)

Really... No kidding. Savannah, Georgia is absolutely gorgeous. Full of cool, old architecture and tons of history. So much so that I called my wife and told her we needed to plan a vacation there. But, I digress... Morrison and I cruised into Savannah for a gig at Southern Hemisphere Books. Upon finding the hotel we went about checking in and had ourselves a bit of a humorous round and round with the desk clerk. Alyn (yes, he spelled it with a Y) was a blast. Unfortunately, he had several things going on and some issues with the computer. Now, as many of you know, in order to keep costs down on a tour, Morrison and I are willing to share a room. The criteria, however, is that it MUST have two beds. We're married, but not to each other, and we are perfectly happy that way. :) The other specification is that it has to be a smoking room, or Morrison goes through withdrawals. So, anyway, Alyn is going about checking us in and he says something like, "I'm putting you on the quiet side of the hotel."

Suddenly, for no reason other than previous experience with screwed up reservations, Morrison asks him if it is a smoking room. He says no. She tells him that if available, we really need a smoking room with two beds. Alyn is on the ball and sets about tapping on the keyboard. A moment later he announces, "All fixed, I'm putting you in XYZ room, king sized bed and smoking." Morrison says, "No, Alyn, we need two beds." He says, "Oh, two beds... hold on a second." He fiddles about some more. Answers the phone. Goes back to the computer and taps on the keyboard a bit, then announces, "Here we go, smoking room, king bed." Again, Morrison says, "No, Alyn. TWO beds." Alyn looks puzzled then taps about on the keyboard. He stops, then looks puzzled again and says, "Two beds?"... I speak up and say, "We're just colleagues, we aren't married to each other." To whic h Morrison jovially adds, "Yes, Alyn with a Y, if you put us in a room with one bed you're going to have an angry little red headed woman and a pissed off construction worker on your ass." Alyn burst into laughter and replied, "Redhead and a construction worker... I don't guess I'd have much ass left after that."

Regina and the folks at Southern Hemisphere Books were great! We hung out, signed books, and did a great little Q&A Session with lots of interesting questions. Following the gig at the store, Regina took us out to a fabulous dinner at one of the local hot spots, and that was followed by a killer "Haunted History" type of tour of Savannah from the back of a Hearse. Yeah, you read that correctly... A HEARSE. It was incredibly cool... Unfortunately, though I was starting to get over my cold I had apparently picked up a bit of a stomach virus, or was just having issues from something I had eaten earlier in the day, because they had to drop me off at the hotel about halfway through the Hearse Tour... I was really sorry to miss the rest of it, but the first half was great and Morrison filled me in on the remainder.

Since the picture on the left is generally what Morrison looks like prior to coffee in the morning (and I'm not all that far behind) one of our dear friends and a fantastic author in her own right, Edain McCoy sent us an email greeting while we were on the road. Seems she had seen a picture (below) that made her think of us - and when we settled down at one of the hotels where we had wi-fi, and received the email, it definitely set the tone for the tour! From that point forward, EVERYTHING became prefaced with "I haz a..." (ROFL!) Thanks, Edain!

Thursday saw us tooling our way down the road from Savannah, GA to Birmigham, AL, a city historically known for its foundries and iron. So much so that a statue of Vulcan (left) stands in Vulcan Park, overlooking the city. Notice the cars in the parking lot... Yeah, Vulcan is HUGE! What many folks who aren't from the area don't realize is that Vulcan is also pretty much wearing just his forging apron... So, this means if you happen to be behind the statue you get a clear shot at, well, his behind. Yeah... Vulcan is permanently mooning the city. Kinda cool, eh?

But, enough about big iron statues... That evening saw us doing a gig at Books, Beans, & Candles, a great little Book/Gift Store and Coffee Shop. Darby and Mitchell, the owners, were absolutely wonderful, as was everyone else. Again Morrison and I were delighted to meet great folks, as well as give the Magick Down And Dirty workshop to a fun, receptive, and very attentive crowd. The interaction was terrific, and we signed plenty of books for fans.We even received these great little gift bags filled with candy and a bag of freshly ground coffee.

Unfortunately, with it being late when everything ended and since we had a very long drive ahead of us the next day, we weren't able to go to dinner with Darby and Mitchell which was a real bummer - especially since Mitchell said the place they were going had 99+ beers to choose from, and I definitely like good beer. Maybe next time!

During the cocktail party we had ourselves a flashback to the Earth Warriors Festival... Fortunately (at least where I was concerned) no butt cheeks were involved. However, several ladies wanted their, and I quote, "boobs signed." As it turned out, they weren't tongue tied and they really did mean "boobs" and not books. (LOL).

The conference itself ended on Sunday afternoon, after a weekend of tremendous workshops, including a full blown Vodoun Ritual with Sally Ann Glassman, and a terrific ritual/historical recounting of Aboriginal culture, proctored by Lady Tamara. At one point, after having our faces painted with ochre during the Aboriginal ritual, Morrison and I ventured into the lobby for coffee. We drew some pretty interesting stares... In fact, one guy simply wouldn't stop staring so I finally looked at him and said, "Yeah, kinda bizarre lookin', eh?".

Sunday night we had the good fortune to be invited to dinner over at Velvet's home. Her husband, Gil, is a cop with Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office as well as a dear friend, and on top of that he's an incredible cook. He had dinner all lined out for us - Rib Eye Steaks, Grilled Shrimp, Veggies, and his special Grilled Oysters! I have to say, I ate until I thought I was going to explode - and if I had even thought that I could eat any more, I would have. After dinner we had some time to sit and vist with Vel, Gil, Rollie, and some other friends, Keith (Gil's partner) and Lisa. And lest I not forget, Susan, as well as "Babette" and her husband. (Yeah, well, the "Babette" thing is a long story...)

Unfortunately, with the light of dawn Monday morning, we were packing up and heading out, leaving the magickal city behind and forging toward new adventures...

Monday was a long drive... A REALLY long drive. And, that just got us to Huntsville, Alabama. Where were were actually heading was Nashville... as in Tennessee. All along it had been our plan to drop in on Doug and Rachel, two long time friends whom we usually only get to see once per year at the Pagan Unity Festival. Rachel, who happens to be the PUF Kitchen Goddess, sees to it that all of the VIP's are fed - and fed amazingly well - at PUF, and she had invited us to dinner. One of Rachel's dinners was something we were NOT about to miss! As it turned out, the drive was so long that we kind of invited ourselves to stay the night as well. Doug, Rachel, and their kids were great sports - the two boys actually gave up their bedrooms for Morrison and me to have a place to crash. So, not only did we get a fabulous supper with good friends, we had a safe, secure place to crash and get some rest before heading on into Nashville. (And, Rachel fed us a fantastic breakfast too!)

Fortunately, right about that moment, Tish's husband Patrick, a good friend and cigar smoking buddy of mine showed up. We took orders and headed down the road for Fat Mo's. Patrick even told the guy working the window that I had traveled all the way from Saint Louis just to have a Fat Mo's burger - and, to be honest, he wasn't really making that up. Like I said, I'm all about the Fat Mo's!

Unfortunately, Patrick had to run back to work, so Morrison, Tish, and I had lunch there at the shop, then hung out and visited for a while. Around 5 PM, the wine and cheese meet 'n greet started, which as usual was a blast. Plenty of folks showed up and visited, including my favorite "Episcopagan Attorney" Liz, whom I hadn't seen for a couple of years. I had a blast picking on her and generally catching up on all the things that had been going on.

During the get together, Tish noticed that I was favoring one shoulder and managed to get me to fess up about having a crick in my back due to sleeping on a couple of couches and doing a lot of driving. As it turned out, a young lady by the name of Lisa was in attendance, and she happened to be a massage therapist. Tish insisted that I let her have a go at the crick, and I am so glad I did! Lisa worked wonders on my shoulder and upper back, and while the next day I had the usual soreness that follows a good, deep tissue massage, I was actually able to move for a change. Thanks, Lisa!

We also got a nice surprise... Well, not so much surprise, since we already knew it was going to happen... But, anyway... Our friend Rachel, the kitchen goddess from Huntsville, came up to visit at the store, so we got to spend some more time with her. Too bad Doug couldn't come along.

As we were talking, Rachel pointed out that in all the years we had known one another, we had never had our pictures taken together. Pretty much because of the fact that the only time we see each other is when we are working - me doing the author thing, and her doing the cooking thing. So, since there were camera's there we made it a point to correct that oversight. Pictured at right is me with Rachel the Kitchen Goddess at none other than Goddess and the Moon.

After signing books we topped off the evening by having a terrific dinner with Tish and Patrick at Chappy's on Church, a fantastic creole restaurant. Larry, our waiter, actually volunteered to stay late and serve us since Patrick had called ahead with reservations and told them that we were caught up in a booksigning. Larry was fun, and we had a great time. Oh, and yeah, the food was terrific too!

After a great breakfast prepared by Patrick, we packed up and headed out on our scheduled mental health day and a half. Morrison and I arrived at my home in St. Louis in the early afternoon, and basically just sat there staring at the walls. When you've been going all out on tour, living out of a suitcase, you tend to survive on adrenalin, and it seemed that the minute we hit my front porch, we were both running on empty.

That evening, after my wife and daughter arrived home, we arranged to visit with some good friends - Johnathan Minton, our cover artist through WillowTree Press, his S/O, Sherry, and their two month old son. Anastasia, co-founder of the "Murv's Stalkers" the Official M. R. Sellars Fan Club* and language guru was there as well, along with her husband Mike, one of the coolest, most laid back dudes you could ever meet. We ordered pizza, relaxed, and regaled the folks with silly stories from the road.

The next day Morrison had some shopping to do, I took care of some stuff around the house, and then we had lunch with my publicist, Scott McCoy aka "Chunkee"... After that, it was more relaxing and preparing to head out yet again...

* For information on Murv's Stalker's the Official M. R. Sellars Fan Club, contact S_McCoy@sbcglobal.net, and ask Scott to put you in touch with Anastasia. Hopefully an official fan club website will be up in the near future with complete contact info, etc.

So, after another bout of "don't know why I say hello," I bid the wife and child goodbye and we hit the road. Due to scheduling, we had to be up and moving by about 4:30 AM, which was less than pleasant, and while it was only a 5 hour drive, we almost succumbed to an attack of Barrelepsy.

But, we made it through and the next thing we knew we were pulling into Louisville... The only problem was as we cruised down the street, we saw no sign for Widdershins, the store where we were doing the signing. We had been there before and we knew what it looked like, but the sign was gone. Fortunately, I recognized the building so we turned around and got ourselves back there. Turns out the reason we didn't see the sign was because they had changed their name to Gaia's Spiral.

All good. A rose by any other name, correct? :)

The afternoon and evening were a blast, with lots of folks to visit with, and an interesting new set of views on our Magickal Ethics workshop. We signed books, had a bit of wine, and then crashed at the shop owner's house. Lisa, the shop owner, is a pretty amazing cook herself. By the time we arrived at her house the sun was down, of course, and it had started to get a bit chilly outside. But, that didn't last long. We warmed up with a couple of bowls of her homemade tortellini soup, along with some fresh bread and dipping oil. After visiting for a bit, we headed off to bed, because our drive the next day was nearly 8 hours.

Early in the AM we were up and packed, and Lisa hooked us up with coffee, fresh fruit, and bagels with cream cheese for breakfast. Before we left she asked if we might be able to come back for Pagan Pride day in 2009. We are working on our schedules so we will keep you updated on that one, because we definitely want to come back to Louisville!

Our next to last stop on the tour was bittersweet in a way. A Fairies Circle was a store where we had visited in the past, and the folks there were absolutely wonderful to us. Unfortunately, the store is closing as of 10/31. The reason is actually a good one. Mary, the owner received a promotion at her regular job and it was quite simply a deal she couldn't pass up. The problem being, that it wouldn't allow her the time to keep the store open, so she had to make the hard decision of closing the doors. Even so, she is a driving force in the community there, and while it might have been our last hurrah at A Fairies Circle proper, I suspect we will be back to Waynesboro in the future.

As had become the norm for this tour, there was an incredible spread of food to keep us plugging along, and a store full of great folks to visit with. So, even with the "bittersweetness" of the store closing, we had a great time.

Since Waynesboro is only a few hours from where Morrison and her husband, Mark, live, we hightailed it for "home" into the wee hours of the night. Made it in by 12:30 AM, had a sandwich and a drink, then hit the sack until the next morning.

The final stop on the tour wasn't actually planned... Well, it wasn't planned in the original incarnation. Since Morrison doesn't live far from 13 Magickal Moons, we decided to drop in for an informal signing on Sunday. That way we got to visit with folks - one last time for the year for me since I was heading home to St. Louis on Monday - and just kick back. As it turned out, we signed several books, and bored the folks in attendance to tears with stories of our adventures and misadventures on the road this year. Even so, they laughed a lot so i think they'll have us back...

And so, weary and exhausted, (both of us) Morrison dropped me off at Dulles and I waited in line for a while before finally getting to ride the silly, jacked up, elevator bus thing to my terminal. I found my gate, grabbed myself a large root beer, then settled in to watch as my flight got progressively delayed in 10 minute increments.

Fortunately, unlike some of my other experiences, this one stopped at a 50 minute delay and stayed there. Then, after a while, it did the unthinkable. It backed up and turned into an only 40 minute delay. WooHoo!

So, after a two hour flight on a half full Embraer 145, I touched down at Lambert International, claimed my luggage, and was home.

Here I get to stay for another week and a half before jetting off to Florida for FPG. Fortunately, the feisty redhead gets to come with me, and the munchkin gets to hang out with her aunt and uncle who spoil her rotten... So, everyone is happy. After that, I'm done for the year. Time to plan for Thanksgiving, then Yule, and what else? Oh yeah... Write another book. :)

Blood Moon - Rowan Gant Investigation #9

Speaking of books, Blood Moon has been making a more than respectable showing on the Amazon.com Genre Fiction Occult bestseller list. I'm pretty stoked about that!

"Sellars does it again, giving us a wild ride on a roller coaster of grief, humor and fear!"
--Jodi Lee, Editor LBF Books, Apex Digest

"If you enjoy mysteries; if you enjoy books with an occult theme by people who know what they are talking about; if you enjoy well-written books, you don’t want to miss this book, or any in the series." --Mike Gleason, Nationally Syndicated Reviewer

Blood Moon readily available at the publisher website, www.willowtreepress.com, as well as at Amazon.com, B&N.com, etc... (Oh, and so are the rest of the RGI books as well!)

The horror anthology, Courting Morpheus, mentioned in my previous newsletter and containing a one-off RGI short, has been put on indefinite hold. I've been in touch with the editor and she assures me that it will see publication in the not too distant future, so I will keep you updated as soon as I hear anything.

The good news is, she is already planning for a Courting Morpheus 2, and I've been asked if I'd like to participate in that one as well.

 

 

I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together...

Okay, by now I am certain to have bored you to tears. I'll sign off for now, and leave you with my tour schedule for the rest of the year. As always, for the latest and greatest updates on what kind of silliness I may be getting into, visit my website, and especially my official blog - Brainpan Leakage: From The Warped Mind of M. R. Sellars.