Or really, Seattle to Ft. Worth, and then to Houston. Very long day today. Up at 6 to be picked up at 7 in Bellingham, WA (where I read at Village Books last night), and taken into Seattle (1 ½ hour drive) for a 9 am radio interview. Then drop-in stock signings until noon, when I tooled on over to Seattle Mystery Books for a more formal signing (but no reading). Then to the airport, for this flight that'll get me into Houston, my last tour stop, at 10:30 Houston time, so to my hotel by 11. Which I believe is 9 west coast time, which I'm now on.

Called my home machine from the airport, got a message that ABSENT FRIENDS got a glowing review in today's Wall Street Journal. And me in the air over... I wonder what the hell I'm over at the moment? Utah? Colorado? Anyway, must wait until I get to the hotel to get online, see about that and about anything else my publicist has seen fit to send me. (And to post this.) Very weird, being out of touch as the reviews are coming in.

All in all, this has been a good tour. Reasonable-sized crowds at all stops except Book Passage -- that was debate-and-playoff-game night -- but even that one was definitely a stop worth making, because I met the manager and the mystery buyer, schmoozed a little, signed a million books. This book and the associated marketing, of which this tour is part, are unquestionably raising my profile, putting me in a bigger league. I'm thrilled because, hell, I'm thrilled; and because, though Bantam did whatever magic they do to make this happen -- pushing for reviews, dealing with the independents and the chains, trying to create buzz and get the book noticed -- that stuff doesn't always work. So to have it appear, now, that it actually was effective, is very gratifying.