Fun & Games Across America: The Tour

Everyone in publishing these days is talking about the futility of author tours, but Secret Dead Blog isn't listening to any of that jazz. Starting next Friday, I'll be taking off in the family truckster (along with the family) and driving across the southern half of America, first heading down the coast to Charleston, then Savannah, followed by one insanely long stretch on the I-10 all the way to Los Angeles. Along the way, I'll be doing drop-in signings and honest-to-goodness bookstore appearances, as well as writing postcards to 164 of you until my hand falls off.

If you don't live anywhere near the I-10, don't worry. You'll be able to follow all of the action from this blog. I've been inspired by reading David Dodge's classic travel memoirs from the late 1940s/1950s (as well as repeated viewings of National Lampoon's Vacation over the years), so I might try my hand as a sort-of travelogue thingy on this blog along the way.

Here's the formal schedule through mid-July; check back for updates beyond that.

Monday, June 27
Ocean City Free Public Library
Ocean City, NJ
7:00 p.m.

Friday, July 8
Noir Night 2011, with Megan Abbott and Sara Gran
Murder By the Book
Houston, TX
6:30 p.m.

Saturday, July 9
MysteryPeople Presents Happy Hour With Duane Swierczynski
Book People
Austin, TX
5 p.m.

Sunday, July 10
The Twig Book Shop
San Antonio, TX
Time TBD

Wednesday, July 13
Signing with Harry Dolan, Michael Wiley and Thomas Kaufman
Poisoned Pen
Scottsdale, AZ
7 p.m.

Along the way, there will be stops in Charleston, Savannah, Tallahassee, New Orleans and El Paso, so if you know of any great indie bookshops (or giant balls of twine, stick insect museums, etc.) in these cities, let me know in the comments below.

By July 15th we'll be in L.A. No appearances scheduled there yet (I'm still in a weird denial about the Mystery Bookstore closing), but I'll definitely be stopping by some of my favorite shops, such as Skylight Books in Los Feliz and The Iliad in North Hollywood as a civilian.

I'll also be at San Diego Comic-Con for one day only (Thursday, July 21), signing at the Mulholland Books/Hachette Booth at 2 p.m., and then heckling Charlie Huston at his panel at 3 p.m. More details to follow.

Hope to see some of you on the road...

(Clark Griswold image from DoBlu.com.)