today is a short travel day to memphis, tennessee!  i am SOOO EXCITED TO GET THERE! 

i am working with the greatest YA magazine, justine magazine!  i am doing a few school events and then a signing at one of the coolest independent bookstores, davis-kidd!  i am thrilled to be working with jana and everyone at justine.  it’s a honor to work with people who continually give positive messages and great life advice to teens and young adults and some adults!!

right now you can log on to http://justinemagazine.com/dec_jan06/flipbook/dec_jan07.htm and get a sneak preview of the december 06/january 07 justine magazine article with me and before i go! 

you can also visit http://justinemagazine.com/dec_jan06/justine_talks.htm to read the cool interview i did for justine! 

i am working on my rewrite for a cable movie…still… but now i am feeling a little better about it so that’s a great thing! 

and two things to check out: the movie “little miss sunshine” is on dvd.  i really liked it!  also there’s a new song by a band called midnight hour called “running away”.  it’s hard to find (i found it under cbs’ “the ghost whisperer” website!)  WORTH IT!  it’s my favorite new song. 

if you live anywhere near the memphis area, come see me at the davis kidd bookstore!  i will be there thurs. november 30th from 3:30-5:00pm. 

on friday night, i met dana and bill, co-owners of coffee buy the book in roswell, georgia! this place is great. if you live anywhere around roswell, go visit dana and bill. they are two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. they’ve got all kinds of books and yep! coffee and drinks. we had a great time. i did a talk and then signed books. dana and bill, thank you SOOO MUCH for the awesome signing!!

i was also SO fortunate to see friends of mine from my hometown who happen to live there now! steven, barb, danielle, michael, ryan, darren and barb! THANKS so much for making time for me! steven, darren and barb, it was great to see you guys. and barb, danielle, michael and ryan, it was so wonderful to meet you all!

ON TO HIGHLANDS, NORTH CAROLINA!! OH MY GOD! this town is the greatest!! it is soooo beautiful!  little shops and restaurants and antique stores line both sides of the main street. it was beyond packed today. i had the most wonderful opportunity to do a signing at a great independent bookstore (what else!?!) called cyrano’s. claire, the owner had already pre-sold 30 copies of before i go!  and we sold another huge amount today!  it was so cool, she had my book all over her front window.  simply awesome.  i met so many wonderful people that were in town visiting and some who are fortunate enough to live there! if you missed the signing, go see claire. she had me sign a few books for anyone that was out of town for the holidays!  thanks claire!!

as soon as my signing was done… (although i did stretch it an extra hour!) …back on the road again. now i am headed to charlotte, n.c. where i have a signing on monday. if you are around the southpark mall in charlotte between 7pm and 9pm on monday, come on over to the joseph-beth booksellers!  i’ll be there signing copies of before i go and i would love to meet you.  if you’d like a copy of before i go and can’t make it to the signing, give them a call at joseph-beth.  you can purchase a copy over the phone and tell them you’d like it personalized.

i only have three more signings on the 2006 tour! i have had the time of my life. there are already plans for the 2007 before i go tour.  this will incorporate more events with schools, public libraries, book shows and book clubs too which is really exciting. if you’re a bookstore and would like to request a date, please email or call campfire press to request a date for 2007.

my thanksgiving night we stopped off in parking lot of a super wal-mart.  i have nothing but love for the wal-mart, but on thanksgiving night?  it’s weird to see any store open.  but thankfully it was!  i needed to get some necessities.  )   

i am doing what i love, and having so much fun on my tour.  so i took a quick detour to shop in wal-mart.  and there in the wal-mart, i bought a copy of the latest OK! magazine that featured before i go, giving it a great review!  

here’s my thanksgiving moment…

on my way out to my temporary home on wheels, a man was coming out of his own rv.  it was obvious he probably living in his, in the wal-mart parking lot.  i wished him a happy thanksgiving and he started telling me about his life.  (those of you who know me or those ones i have met on tour know this is an everyday occurance and one that i welcome…)  after a few minutes, i told him to hang in there and try to have a good holiday.  you know what he said?  he thanked me, many times over…for talking to him for so long.  (understand, it wasn’t more than ten minutes) he told me he hadn’t talked to anyone for a very long time and it meant so much to him that i stopped and said hello.  that, everyone, was why i apparently ended up at wal-mart on thanksgiving.  please give a smile and a hello to someone who looks like they might need it.  and you just might make a little difference in someone else’s life.  )

happy turkey day! aimes, a wonderful new friend of mine said for me, the vegetarian, it’s happy turnip day! i would have to agree and say, happy traveling turnip turkey day.

i spent most of this week in the greatest little town of fairhope, alabama. when i say great, i mean as in i could live there and just might someday! it was fantastic.  it’s like being in mayberry.  it’s all lit up already for christmas so that right alone is reason enough for me to move there! the people are amazing, the town is wonderful and they’ve got the most awesome bookstore called page and palette!!  (it’s at 32 south section street!)

on tuesday, i had a last minute event at fairhope high school. i had the most wonderful time meeting with about 50 girls there. i love hearing from you all! keep writing.  thank you so much to sandy from page and palette and leslie the librarian from fairhope high for scheduling the event so fast! 

yesterday i went to page and palette for a signing. i had such a great time meeting everyone from fairhope! this is the most fantastic store. if you are in the area, go to page and palette.  and besides cards, gifts, a children’s section, so much more and amazing books, they’ve got the greatest café too!  thank you so much to karin and kiefer, jennifer, jeanne, kimberly and sandy for everything!  i cannot wait to come back in the spring!  

i hope everyone is having a great thanksgiving with family and friends.  i am so happy and thankful to be doing what i love. and i am so grateful for the family and friends (new and old!) i have that support me every day.

so…from somewhere in the south, in a honking big rv, i wish you all a very happy thanksgiving!

i had a day “off” yesterday which consisted of returning emails, returning calls, writing thank you notes, cleaning the rv, cleaning myself, making festively plump cleatus run for 20 minutes…and discovered he would sleep forever if i didn’t make him get off the couch!  i then discovered as much as i don’t like working out every day, i do like working out some days. 

i paid bills that were way overdue…and discovered no one cares if you’re on your first book tour and your mail is getting forwarded to you in your rv!

i prepared for an event with justine magazine that’s happening at the end of the month…an event, by the way, I PUT TOGETHER!  here’s a perfect example of what i have been talking about at all the schools and libraries.  you wanna know who put this event together??  ME!  yep.  ME!  i am the one who emailed the publisher/editor of justine and told her about my tour and before i go.  i have scheduled it with her from the beginning.  not my publisher, not my publicist.  ME.  i discovered if you want something done, DO IT YOURSELF.  there are no rules.  and you never know what great things can happen!! 

okay, so here are a few more things i have discovered…(if you didn’t read the first list, look in my blog a few weeks ago!)

1. as i said in the beginning, i might not like working out every day, but i do feel better when i do.  mentally and physically.  of course, it didn’t help me with any “the black widow” ideas but i’m keeping the faith for my stroke of brilliance.

2.  i’m realizing that my stroke of brilliance is really, really hard to get when the idea is not from my heart!

3.  while cleaning yesterday and putting up pictures from MONROE, i discovered still love traveling in an rv.  i’ve come to the conclusion i am obsessed with it at this point. 

4.  i discovered i REALLY LOVE MONROE, LA!!  and i miss everyone there!! 

5.  i discovered i can function on even less sleep than i thought.  and quite frankly, that scares me.  (and mom, don’t comment on that discovery!)

6.  i discovered i still have a deep, serious affection for i can’t believe it’s not butter spray.  as in, i never, ever want to be without it kind of affection.

7.  i realize my love for i can’t beleive it’s not butter spray could potentially be considered a problem in most parts of the country.

8.  i LOVE everyone from MONROE, LA!  (ok, not so much a discovery but still!!!  i DO!)

9.  i still realize i have no control over anything…and i still hate that more than i can say.

10.  even though i said this exact thing last time…it’s even more important now that this first section of my tour is ending…

i discovered i have so much determination, persistence, faith and belief that my little dream, which turned into before i go, will touch so many people, of all sexes, all shapes, all colors, all religions and all beliefs!  more people than i ever thought possible…

…and i have discovered i still have that determination, persistence, faith and belief…even when i think i don’t.

in a million years, i could never imagine meeting so many wonderful people!  i had the greatest time with everyone here in monroe!
 

my day started with a wake-up alarm at 4:15am.  yeah, i am not even kidding!  FOUR FIFTEEN AM!!  not complaining!  at least once my eyes were all the way open i wasn’t.