Writer Craig Johnson, one of the few human residents of Ucross, Wyoming, sends out monthly "Post-Its" that not only are entertaining and informative, but good for you, too. Here's the latest about his book tour:
This year's book tour for Another Man's Moccasins is the largest with thirty-four towns and cities, and I thought I'd address a question that's asked a lot-"Isn't it horrible doing those extended book tours?" Yep, it is. It's really tough to go jetting across the country, mostly on the
publisher's dime. Viking/Penguin has these people called escorts who pick you up at the airport and whisk you away to your a) Hotel, b) Restaurant, c) Asian Massage Parlor or anywhere else you might want to go. They call me Mr. Johnson, and I keep looking around for my dad.
It's really depressing to walk into bookstores all over the country and see piles of your books sitting there on the A tables at the door or with little signs under them that say STAFF PICK--it's so debasing.
I like talking to people, which drives my wife up a wall. Maybe it's a by-product of living on a ranch where the closest town has only 25 people and by spring they're all tired of talking to me, or that I live in a place where people still wave at you on the road-personally I'm not so sure
it's friendliness or just sheer surprise that there's somebody else out there. But I like talking to people, which is a problem, because then the lines start moving slowly, and I get yelled at by my wife and the book store owners, because I'm being forced to deal with intelligent, insightful people who want to speak with me about one of the great passions of my life.
Speaking from a working experience --I've dug ditches, cleaned stables, picked strawberries for gas money, and been shot at while crouching behind cruisers --signing my name a couple of thousand times is a true hell. Readers bring me gifts, going so far as to weigh me down with bottles of vintage liquor and cold beer, which is so unfair. I consider it a terrible invasion of my privacy when newspapers, magazines, and radio and television stations quote me and show the covers of my books and even go so far as tell people where I'm going to be.
Yep, it's a real trial but somehow I find a way to bear up under all these incredible pressures.
Another Man's Moccasins got another Booksense Pick (four for four) and a Starred-Featured review in Publisher's Weekly so we're off to an amazing start-but rather than choke up your email with all the details, just check out the TOUR OF DUTY section on the website at http://www.craigallenjohnson.com/
But here's a state list, just for fun. Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, California, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and Utah. I'll be keeping in touch-you do the same. And I hope to see some of you soon.
