Wow, what a year. Bad deaths, much travel, our first piano, INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH published, the quiet hybernation of THE DEVIL'S HIGHWAY film project, the possibility of an ITBN movie, travel, school, travel, school, Playoboy article, Bread Loaf, new agent, travel. I am grateful, as always, for all of it. Even the bad stuff.

I am so happy I met new friends all over the country; I am so grateful I saw old friends, too. I am sorry I missed people and couldn't find others. We had a big Twitter year! Lots of Tweetup action on book tour. I'm writing, writing, writing. Thinking of all of you this frozen holiday. Enjoying life. The neighborhood turkey now knocks on my front door to get me to come feed it. Somehow, that feels like the muse.

Next year? The Perpetual Book Tour starts its 900th leg; I deliver Hummingbird's Daughter II; the filme of the first volume (allegedly) starts filming; Christopher Cardinale's awesome graphic novel of Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush comes out; the paperback of Into the Beautiful North comes out; I teach for the first time at Squaw Valley. And Megan goes to college. We'll be taking the family to London to celebrate next summer.

Here's what I did all year 9doesn't include much local stuff or radio/TV/newspaper gigs):

January 24-25 ALA Midwinter Convention in Denver
January 29-30 ABA Convention in Salt Lake City
February 1-4 San Diego
February 12 AWP Chicago
March 14-16 Tucson Festival of Books
March 22-26 NYC
April 1-6 Pasadena One Book Celebration
April 15-16 U Kansas
April 25-27 LA Times Book Fest
April 28 Signing Books at Hachette Warehouse Lebanon, IN
May 11 Chicago: Ragdale Foundation Fund Raiser
May 19 Into the Beasutiful North released!
May 19-20 Kankakee, IL
May 21 Anderson's, Naperville
May 22-25 Denver
May 26 Tattered Cover, Denver
May 27 Changing Hands, Phoenix
May 28 Philadelphia
May 29-31 BEA, NYC
May 31 KGB Bar, NYC
May 31 Cinderella's Mother Passes On
June 1 Emergency Flight to Chicago
June 2 Family to Portland
June 2 Powell's, Portland--drive to Seattle for funeral
June 3 University Books, Seattle;Elliott Bay Cancelled
June 4-6 Funeral; kids home, tour continues
June 7 Our Anniversary
June 8 Cindy's Birthday
June 8 Two San Diego Events
June 9 Vroman's, Pasadena
June 10 San Fancisco
June 11 Berkeley
June 12 Kathi Kamen Goldmark and Sam Barry wedding
June 13 West Coast Live
June 13 Writers With Drinks, SF
June 26 Naperville Book Club
June 27-July 3 Playboy El Paso Assignment
July 10-20 Bread Loaf, VT
July 20-22 Florida
Sep 3 Boulder Book Group (phone)
Sep 15 Los Altos, CA
Sep 16 DePaul U
Sep 21-22 PEN Gala, Washington DC
Sep 24-25 U of Louisville, KY
Sep 29 Boston
Oct 2 Eugene, Ore
Oct 14-16 Fayetteville, AK, U of Arkansas
Oct 19 Columbia College, Chicago
Oct 20 Naperville Book Club
Oct ? Boston
Oct 29-31 Texas Book Fair, Austin
Nov 4 World Stream Radio
Nov 6 Immigration Panel, Chicago
Nov 9-10 Boston/PBS
Nov 14-16 Miami Book Fair
Dec 5 Chicago w. Stephen Elliott
Dec 7 Plainfield, IL, One City One Book
Christmas Week Belize, Guatemala, Mexico

See you around.
XXX, L

# posted by Luis @ 2:42 PM