ROAD TRIP!

I’ve spent the day alternating between packing everything but the kitchen sink in the black ride I fondly call the Bookmobile in anticipation of the long awaited Sue Ellen’s Girl Ain’t Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy Tour that starts TUESDAY (yikes!), doing interviews and guest blog posts, and reading/staring at the mounting Facebook birthday wishes in pure-dee amazement. However does a girl go about thanking everyone who took their time to post a greeting, (or an original poem)?! 

A blanket thank you seems so…ungrateful, but Lordamercy, if I start responding to every comment I’ll never make it to a single book store and something tells me my agent/editor/publicist would FROWN on that after all the work that’s been put into this thing to get us to this point. And, of course, I’d miss out on meeting all the FUNderful readers and we can’t have that so– here’s the deal, y’all, it’s gonna have to be a blanket note after all! Thank you, thank you, thankyouverymuch! (Couldn’t resist throwing in a bit of Elvis!) If I see you on the tour, I’ll give you a big old personal hug. How’s that?

It’s hard to believe the tour is here. I’ve learned not to develop any preconcieved notions about this sort of thing as nothing in my imagination is ever able to produce anything even remotely similar to the experiences that await! Just the other evening my fellow author/radio host River Jordan wrote asking a bunch of authors for a quick “tour story” for her radio show the next day and just-like-that, the question uncovered a story that’s been buried by other stories and almost slipped away.

I remember during the Suck Your Stomach In Tour of 08, my BFF and traveling buddy, Red, and I made a stop at a bookstore in a small FL town (do not even remember the name and that is just as well). The town and store seemed deserted ( this was shortly after Katrina remember) but for the two young staffers who were NOT expecting me.  I sold zero books. My sole guest that evening was a very interesting drifter who spent the entire night making me somewhat uncomfortable, which apparently was fine with the staffers who were  otherwise occupied designing their next tattoos and bemoaning the lack of a decent tat parlor since Katrina wiped out their fav. My guest regaled me by showing me the flip book he had made — and by showing me, I mean explaining each page, why he had chosen to cut out and paste the picture of Heinz Ketchup where he did and what the significance was of displaying it after the Confederate general but before the pic of Martin Luther King, (forgive me, but I fear I have forgotten the theory). I do remember him soliciting my advice on how to best go about getting his work published and my total loss as to how to help him proceed. 

So, what will the next few weeks hold? No one knows but the Good Lord Himself. All I can tell you is that I will capture the stories, stack ’em high in my head and my heart, and bring ’em back to share with y’all. Right now, I’ve got to get ready for my birthday supper! My family is taking me out to eat fried fish, a treat I don’t allow myself that often. There will be no holding back tonight. It’s my party and I can be fat tomorrow if I want to. 🙂

I hope to see y’all on the road. I’ll be the one with the glass of sweet tea looking for a refill, always looking for a refill since I gave up Diet Coke, (asparatame, you know– it kills the brain cells. And really, can I afford to spare any more? Don’t answer that.) Take care, folks! I love y’all like a zillion times two.

Oh, and if you posted one of the pics to your wall to help me with marketing, please leave a comment reminder so I can make sure you’re in the giveaway! THX!

Hugs,
Shellie