Day 2 of the RV Tour in Florida is now over, but not before expanding the parameters a bit. In addition to bookstores, my father has now branched out and is talking to people carrying books, in one case, on a motorcycle. Turns out the gentleman is a big fan of my military history series so it worked out well.

Thanks to all the friendly folks they met today:

Wilhelm at BAM in Kissimmee; CRM Mary Ramsey at B&N in Orlando (Orange Blossom Trail); Assistant Manager Yolanda at Walden’s in Orlando (Orange Blossom Trail); Store Manager Kenneth Curillo at BAM in Orlando (Kirkman Road South); Store Manager Tracy at Borders in Orlando (Sand Lake Road); Merchandise Manager Debbie at B&N in Orlando (West Sand Lake Road);
Marianne and Linda at Borders in Ocoee (West Colonial Drive); and last but not least, some guy on a motorcycle.

And for those patiently waiting, the cover for The Light of Burning Shadows and the world map are coming soon to my website. In the meantime, there are a lot of great books about to hit the scene, like CC Finlay’s new historical fantasy series which launches next week. I was chatting with CC’s editor today who told me Del Rey are really excited about it, and rightly so. Go get ’em Charlie!

Armed with flyers, books, and a fierce pride, my intrepid parents spent the day driving around Tampa Bay, Florida and area talking up their son, the author. You can’t see it, but I’m blushing. I’m also a little concerned I might be contravening retiree labor laws, but for them this is a fun hobby. They love telling everyone they meet about their son, the author (at some point, I suspect that’s going to become my actual name which, on reflection, beats the previous one of “our son, who hasn’t given us grandchildren yet”).

Day One went swimmingly. They hit eight stores in about as many hours. Everywhere they went they met friendly and helpful staff, and I’d really like to thank everyone involved:

Store Manager Marianne at Books-A-Million in Palm Harbor; Dara at B&N in Clearwater; Nicole at B&N in St. Petersburg (2501 Tyrone Blvd North); Marco at B&N in Tampa #213; Service Supervisor Jesus at Borders in Tampa; Catherine at B&N in Brandon; Assistant Store Manager Rita at B&N in Lakeland; Store Manager Armand at Books-A-Million in Lakeland

I met a friend at the MET Friday night where we strolled the exhibits and were surprised by not one but two different musical events going on. A choir was singing in the large glassed enclosure of the Temple of Dendur. The acoustics were great. Another area featured what sounded like 20s-30s era music, but with a bit of a Beat rhythm going on…but what I know about music resides almost entirely in turning the amp up to 11.

As it’s only a few blocks away from where I live I get there a lot and just wander, sort of my own night at the museum…except there are a lot of other people there doing the same thing. I must be in a very museum frame of mind as I just finished reading Dry Storeroom No. 1 about the British Museum of Natural History. It’s a mix of memoir, history, social study, and science overview that, while not always riveting, was filled with enough brilliant nuggets that I kept reading to the end. A few of the real live scientists profiled in the book mirrored all too eerily some of the mannerisms and drive of my Prince Tykkin character (who in addition to being heir to the throne is a noted compendiast). I had researched that aspect of the Prince’s character for Darkness, but it was fascinating to learn – in detail – just how driven some of these scientists are in their quest for knowledge, or the sometimes less than noble reasons for that quest.

The first changes are underway. Very soon I’ll be able to post the British cover for Darkness, and the American cover for The Light of Burning Shadows. I love them both!

In really cool news (and after much negotiating with lawyers…ok, no lawyers) the marketing phenoms better known as my parents will once again head north, this time from their winter tanning grounds in Florida, to tell everyone they find how wonderful their son is (tough luck for my brother, all he does is save children for a living). Publicity Tour 2.0 “This time it’s parental” gets under way in another week. They’ll be stopping in at bookstores all along the eastern seaboard as they trek back to Canada, armed with all sorts of free goodies courtesy of Pocket Books. I’ll be charting their progress here and giving a shout out to the friendly bookstore staff they meet.

My folks really are aces for doing this, especially when you factor in the monster RV they’re driving around in. Last year’s tour took them from Texas to Canada, this year they start out in Florida…maybe next year I can convince them to winter in California…

C.C. Finlay’s new historical fantasy series, Traitor to the Crown, goes on sale later this month (the first book, The Patriot Witch, has been available as a free download for a few weeks now). A Spell for the Revolution and The Demon Redcoat follow in May and June respectively. It’s a brilliant melding of magic and the Revolutionary War and not to be missed. I’ve been a fan of CC’s for years, all the way back to when he was the author known as Charlie. I love his approach of injecting fantasy into a well known historical setting. Both genres will benefit from this cross-pollination.