riley on lifetime, sun 12/24!

if you didn’t catch the first airing, lifetime is re-airing my tv movie!  “christmas at water’s edge” is on tomorrow, sunday, december 24th! 

3pm on the east coast and 12 noon on the west coast!

check your local listing on the west coast b/c some cable companies might have different airing times. 

i play an angsty, rebellious, pierced and all-around cranky girl named k.c.

oh…and i also wrote the movie!  it’s a good little dorky holiday movie that will put you in the spirit of christmas!

)

riley

first of all, i’ve been so bad about blogging.  and seriously there wasn’t one thing i could do about it until right now!! 

after ten weeks on tour, it was great to get back home.  the second i did get in, i worked for one week straight on a tv movie script that was overdue.  i finally finished and that was a huge relief, at least for a few days…

then it was all about the christmas shopping and decorating.  i shopped in literally ONE day.  yep.  and then spent the next day wrapping and shipping.  in between that i wrote out about 200+ holiday cards!!  yesterday and today was all about the christmas cookie baking and fudge making.  i am about to fall over.  i was so hoping to have the time off between christmas and new years…

bringing me to the paragraph before last…i have to do another “polish” on that tv movie script.  bringing me work during what is a vacation for most of the country.  oh well.  maybe time off in january?! 

i’m deciding what book to write next.  i’m torn between two ideas.  i am completely attached to each one and really am not leaning towards either.  something will tell me which one is the one to write.  just not sure which one yet!

if i don’t check back in before the holidays, hope you all have a great christmas!  and a happy and healthy new year!

miscellaneous fun facts while-on-tour for-10-weeks

number of weeks on tour: 10 weeks (and one day)

number of miles traveled: about 13,000

number of states traveled through: 29

number of states repeated driving through: 24 (some states we drove across 2, 3 or 4 times!)

number of states traveled through all combined!: 59

number of egg whites ingested by just me: 420

number of poop bags used by cleatus: est. 147

number of times i was injured in the rv: 2 (my teeth bit through my bottom lip on a HUGE bump and then i cut the bottom of my foot on broken glass. i know. attractive.)

number of times i made everyone watch parts of “the notebook” in the rv: 17 and counting

number of pounds of broccoli and eggplant cooked: 73 pounds

number of magazines read by riley: 0 (i still have them from august packed)

number of pages written for my next book: 0

number of times i saw snow: 2 (south bend, indiana and fort smith, arkansas)

number of times the publishers and driver swore when they saw snow: too many times

number of gumballs chewed by me: 230 and counting

largest number of people spoken to at an event: i spoke to 430+ girls at st. agnes in memphis

number of magazines before i go has been in: 2 (ok! magazine, 12/04 issue and justine magazine dec 06/jan 07 issue, on stands now!)

number of tv interviews i did on tour: 5

number of radio interviews i did on tour: 5

a new number for the times i saw snow: now 3! (webbers falls, oklahoma, sun. dec. 3rd)

i am currently in new mexico. i have today and tomorrow of travel and then will see the light of day in los angeles. sadly, i still haven’t convinced anyone to take me grocery shopping in the rv. quite frankly, i don’t understand what the big deal is.    

today was my last signing for the year.  it was at a wonderful store in fort smith, arkansas called books-a-million!  i have to say a HUGE thank you to carol and all of the awesome employees too.   i can’t even tell you how great it was to meet everyone…megan, i look forward to reading YOUR stories!  and patricia!!! WOW!  i know we were meant to meet.  i have to thank jana for introducing us.  you’re an inspiration and a doer of all things crazy and wonderful! 

i cannot believe this wonderful experience of mine is over.  well, except for the three days straight of traveling back to los angeles.  but i don’t consider that part wonderful.  )  i am supposed to be arriving in los angeles on tuesday.  of course, i’m not exactly sure i will remember what my house looks like.  it’s been soooooo long!  now that i AM headed home though, i have started thinking about things i DO miss, just a little.  i even made a little list of things i miss and look forward to!  a list.  me.  go figure. 

1. like my sushi restaurant, owata.  i cannot wait to get my veggie cucumber rolls. 

2. my little gym in my garage.  cannot  WAIT to get on the precor and run on my treadmill!

3. my office.  love my office.  it’s filled with cool signs like “never, never, never give up” and “believe” 

4.  costco.  costco is one of the most awesome stores in the world.  whether or not you need a year’s supply of coffee filters or not.  it just rocks. 

5.  my 7-egg white omelet at the cheesecake factory.  only on a sunday afternoon.  in the bar area, at a hightop, watching the lakers on tv.  and of course, bill bringing me the perfect meal. 

6.  my big grocery store, ralph’s.  i love knowing where everything is.  i can zip up and down the aisles and once i saw ashlee simpson in there with her then boyfriend.  i wanted to ask her to sing live but the timing wasn’t great as she had just (not) performed on saturday night live…not uh, yeah.  not so live after all. 

7.  can’t forget to give props to the two other grocery stores i LOVE!  whole foods and trader joe’s.  a little of everything from both of them.  trader joe’s, so cannot wait to get more of my favorite tomato sauce.  and whole foods?  my high protein bread.  mine in the freezer is beyond freezer-burned. 

i think that’s about it.  although i do love my SUV, i also appreciate being driven around.  i asked the driver if there is any way he would want to drive me to the grocery store in the rv, just once, so i could experience the joy of that.  i can’t repeat what was expressed by him.  apparently, he saw no joy in that for him. 

i also cannot WAIT to decorate for christmas.  i am usually finished decorating by thanksgiving night.  clearly i am far behind.  and before decorating, there’s the issue of cobwebs and dust in my house.  and then there’s the excitement of cleatus and i getting our christmas card picture taken.  that’s always a nice, easy, stressless day.  oh, yeah.  i’ll keep on dreaming.  this year i think the card will somehow involve us reading before i go.  quite possibly draped in christmas lights.  not the book.  me and cleatus.   good times. 

every good thing must come to an end.  and sadly, this part of the tour is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  the GREAT news is…after a few weeks off, i get to go back out for more events and signings!  so…keep checking my website often!  i’ll still be blogging about before i go press, news and happenings!  and as more 2007 dates get confirmed…who knows!?  maybe your town will show up on my website!

thank you, thank you, thank you.  to every bookstore who supported me and before i go…to everyone i met in the last few months in all those great towns, thank you so much for coming out to meet me and writing me throughout my tour.  your letters have meant the world to me.  i am just beyond thankful for every experience i have been blessed with on my first book tour. 

thank you all from the bottom of my heart. 

just when i thought my tour and life in general could not get ANY better!!  IT DID!  i had THE GREATEST TIME IN MEMPHIS!!!  thanks to justine magazine and i cannot tell you how unbelievable it was to work with them! 

okay, before i tell you about my extraordinary day on thursday, the 30th, i absolutely have to say thanks to ron and karen in the morning on FM100 for the wonderful radio interview on wednesday the 29th!  i wish i could hear you guys in los angeles!!  my day started yesterday with a TV interview on WREG live at 9!  that was awesome.  everyone at WREG was so cool. 

OH!  and we found out in the memphis area, the movie i wrote and co-star in (christmas at water’s edge) is airing on december 19th on lifetime.  check it out!!

i then went to the beautiful hutchison school!  they were decorating for christmas when i walked in.  it is so pretty.  and the girls there were soooo wonderful!  thank you katy burke for setting this event up with jana and justine mag!  i had so much fun.  after the BIG group talk…by BIG i mean like 240 girls!  we narrowed down to a group of about 20 girls chosen from an AP writing group.  that was so much fun. 

we then went to st. agnes academy where i was honored to speak in an auditorium full 400+ girls!  st. agnes is amazing!  and everyone i met was so great.  a huge thank you to dr. joy maness for scheduling this with jana from justine!  your academy and the st. agnes students i met were so fabulous!!  AND!?  my NEW favorite article of clothing is my st. agnes sweatshirt!  i have already told some of your students…i put it on last night after my events and i haven’t taken it off yet!!  yep.  slept in it.  )  

not done with the day yet!!  one of the best independent bookstores, davis-kidd, hosted my book signing in memphis with justine magazine and we had SUCH a GREAT TIME!!  katherine and carley at d-k, thank you for everything!!  you girls are awesome.  and to all the girls and the parents from hutchison and st. agnes, thanks for coming by and supporting before i go!  another thanks to all the people from memphis who stopped in to pick up a book and everyone that came by from justine.  it was so wonderful meeting all of you! 

no, not done.  then campfire press, justine magazine and i had a quick meeting about something SOOOO EXCITING!  it looks like justine magazine and campfire press are teaming up to co-sponsor the 2007 before i go tour!!  WHO-HOO!  this will most likely begin mid-march and go through april!  )   for me to be able to work with such a great magazine in reaching so many people…i am BEYOND THRILLED!!! but don’t worry, there will be many more stops before that.  we’re planning on going up the west coast in january if any of you in southern and northern california are waiting!  we also hope to be heading to seattle in jan 07 as well.  

AND?!?!  NOT DONE YET PEOPLE!!!  after my signing at davis-kidd, i got to go to my first book club meeting!!  it was SO GREAT!!  i met the coolest women who have been together in this book club for 20 years!  i made myself an honorary member and i hope they’re all okay with that.  hehe.  i had one of the best meals in a long time and had my first key lime pie!  :o)  i cannot tell you how much i look forward to coming back in march to see you all!!!  

i am almost to fort smith, arkansas.  i have my last signing of the year tomorrow in fort smith at the books-a-million in town.  if you’re in the area, come say hello.