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| The Writing Writer |
 Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:28 pm |
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Random House
Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 118
Location: London
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Monday, June 5, 2006
US Day 16
Flew into LAX from NYC Monday morning—early. Hit the ground running. Lee's flight from San Diego was an hour and a half late so the Hudson News folks met him at the gate, arranged an assembly-line signing of a huge stack of The Hard Ways, and then we rushed out to meet media escort (tour guide, fount of all knowledge, and genuine charmer), Karen Hebert. The late start meant we'd have to reschedule some of the drop-ins for after the nooner at Mysteries to Die For and I was thinking, "Oof, he's this busy all the time and has to put up with me nagging him to write the blog? What a saint!" At the time, I was running on only 4 1/2 hours of sleep and one paltry cup of coffee, so perhaps you'll understand why I hadn't anticipated I'd be writing today's blog...OOh, you should have Lee's smug expression when he gave me that news!
Karen drove us over to the Westwood Borders where the amazing Lita Weissman fed us coffee (bless you, Lita) and lemon pound cake. Lee signed three stacks of books that were taller than me (if I stoop a bit; I need three cups of Java to stand up straight) and we ran back to the car hoping traffic would be light enough to get us to Thousand Oaks on time.
Aah, Mysteries to Die For—lovely store, friendly staff, an enviable selection of books, and—what could be better?—Cornelia Read! I was yakking with Cornelia and her media escort, Ken Wilson, when I overhead Paul Levine and Lee discussing the upcoming ITW "The People V. Jack Reacher" trial by jury. THAT should be interesting.
Before we knew it, Karen was whisking us off to The Mystery Bookstore for a stock signing. Lots of vintage paperbacks to peruse while Lee signed books for Linda and Bobby. It was about 3:45pm by then; we were thinking we had a free minute to grab a coupla sandwiches when CBS let us know they needed Lee on the lot 45 mins. sooner. So we jumped back into Karen's car. For those of you with no experience of LA, let me just explain that it's a huge, sprawling city. You don't get from point A to point B in under 30 minutes ever.
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Being on a tv set is old news to Lee, but I'm a LLSwCF junkie so was soaking it all up. We were ushered upstairs by one of the staffers. Every guest gets their own room and the studio is a warren of hallways...you really need a guide to get around. Lee's room was right across from the green room (lots of food and, best of all, COFFEE!) so we felt a bit more human by the time Craig dropped by to welcome Lee personally. Craig gave Lee a copy of his book, Between the Bridge and the River, inscribed with "Reacher could kick the ass of everybody in this book!" 'Nuf said, yeah? Did you catch Lee's appearance? If you missed it, don't worry—we'll get it up on the website soon.
Next up was the signing at Vroman's in Pasadena. Lots of people (notably, Dan M—hi Dan!) and a great big signing space. Almost everyone got a chair. Someone suggested I sit down and that's when I realized I was truly a New Yorker. With the six hour flight followed by all the driving, I hadn't walked more than 20 feet in almost 20 hours...antsy doesn't even cover it!  It was a great crowd, good questions, and lots of people brought cameras so we should have some fine shots posted to the Scrapbook soon. Michael Stradford (see photo above) brought along an illustration of Reacher done by his friend Howard Chaykin—Lee says it's an excellent likeness; don't you agree?
Did you think the day was done? Au contraire! Dinner with Lee's film & tv people came next. Before you ask—sorry, no new news on the movie front. Nonetheless it was a lovely dinner with enviable company, the best way to end a busy day. In fact, if the day had only ended then, instead of with getting the news that there'd be a car waiting to take us to the airport at 6am, it would have been perfect.
— Webmaven Maggie (www.leechild.com) |
_________________
Holland asked, 'You want to explain why I had to call for two ambulances?'
Reacher said, 'Becasue I slipped.' |
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| The Writing Writer |
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:28 pm |
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Random House
Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 118
Location: London
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Tuesday, June 6, 2006
US Day 17
So, Maggie and I rendezvoused before 6am in the Four Seasons' lobby ... pre-coffee ... short sleeps ... scary (for her—she looked sweet, if a little wan.) Then to the airport for our respective flights—she back to work in NYC, me onward to Denver. Fairly quiet day (which I needed) and a great event at 7.30 at Tattered Cover. Usual SRO audience, lots of old friends and new converts. |
_________________
Holland asked, 'You want to explain why I had to call for two ambulances?'
Reacher said, 'Becasue I slipped.' |
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| The Writing Writer |
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:28 pm |
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Random House
Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 118
Location: London
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Wednesday, June 7, 2006
US Day 18
The final day of the US part of The Hard Way tour ... and in itself a perfect microcosm of touring as a whole. The alarm goes off—breakfast arrives—I shave and shower (full 22 minute routine, including brushing my hair)—find last set of clean clothes—room phone rings for Court TV Radio (huh?) interview—slam the phone down ten minutes later and run straight to the car—drive to local CBS affiliate for morning TV—drive to neighboring city of Boulder—sign Borders' stock—do lunch event at High Crimes—race to airport to try to make flight home ... it's delayed by hours ... no reason, no explanation ... domestic airlines are going bust? Well, duh! But no big disaster—the Denver airport has a sports bar with smoking. Yankees were rained out, so had to watch some team I've heard Deanie mention.
Then ... get home at 2.30am and ... write the blog. Do I love you guys? Of course I do. And I'm scared of Maggie.
Seriously, a great way to spend three weeks. Highlights? Too many to list. But among them would be seeing so many people—like Deanie and Rae and Janine—who over the years have almost without my noticing become good, close friends. A real reward for me (as well as the money, fame, fast cars, swimming pools, etc) which I treasure. Seeing Maggie in LA was fun. She looked right at home at CBS. And having Cornelia Read around was a real blast. People assume I was doing her a favor, but as I said at every event, I was doing myself a favor. She's going to be a huge star, and now she'll be nice to me on her way up and my way down.
So that's it for now ... next up is Italy, and I ain't blogging from there. The UK maybe, which will start July 11th. Thanks for tuning in. You've been a lovely audience. |
_________________
Holland asked, 'You want to explain why I had to call for two ambulances?'
Reacher said, 'Becasue I slipped.' |
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| The Writing Writer |
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:29 pm |
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Random House
Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 118
Location: London
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Wednesday-Friday, June 21-23, 2006
Italy
Every year I tour the US and the UK and I try to fit in a couple of extra countries, one of which this year was going to be Italy ... and then it wasn't—or so I thought. At the London Book Fair party in March, my Italian publisher said that June availability was no good, because the pub date in Italy was May, when I would be on the road in the US. So I thought, OK, that's a few days off that I wasn't expecting. Except that they changed the pub date ... imagine my surprise when e-tickets arrived for June 21. So I packed hastily and headed out.
Not a good first few hours: I drove myself to the Nice airport on the A8— where I got a speeding ticket the last time out. This time I paid attention to the posted limits. It's a toll road, and at the first cash basket I slowed and fished around for my 2 euros 60 and hit the window button ... and heard a sound inside the door like a bag of nails being dumped into a zinc bucket. The window glass sank all the way down, never to return. Ah, Peugeots. Who needs them? Had to drive the rest of the way with the window jammed open. That kept my speed down a little. Good, in a way, I guess. But then I had to leave the car in the airport lot with the window open.
Then the flight to Milan was canceled.
Had to fly in via Rome, which compressed the schedule a little. And it was tight to start with. 15 working hours, 20 TV, radio, and print appointments. Plus two dinners with a total of 48 guests.
First (kinda) surprise was I was talking about ... Without Fail. Italy is 3 books behind, but they went out of order and published The Enemy after Echo Burning. Which meant the 6th book was out in the 7th slot, after a month talking about the 10th.
The media was very serious—it always is in Europe. I ended up discussing Reacher with reference to Virgil, Ovid, Plutarch, Cicero, Seneca and Dante, with a little Umberto Eco thrown in. I speak a very little Italian, enough to exchange pleasantries, but most of the pressure was on Paolo, my interpreter, a very nice guy who is heading for California to marry an American woman and live in the Bay Area. I told him to watch out for Rae and Cornelia. One interview was over lunch on Thursday, and to let Paolo eat, we did the whole thing in French.
The dinners were fine—Italy truly does have great food.
The book is beautifully packaged and will do well—they're expecting high top ten, which works for me.
Left again after lunch on Friday, for my 41st plane of the year so far.
The 42nd and 43rd will be Tuesday, Nice-London-Phoenix for Thrillerfest. Looking forward to seeing some of you there. |
_________________
Holland asked, 'You want to explain why I had to call for two ambulances?'
Reacher said, 'Becasue I slipped.' |
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| The Writing Writer |
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:29 pm |
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Random House
Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 118
Location: London
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Sunday, July 9, 2006
UK Day 0
I had three days off after Italy and then flew to Phoenix for the inaugural ThrillerFest—my twelfth major convention (although it feels like twelve hundred.) This was one of the best—amiable, competent, professional, lots of good company, including our own Rae and Janine ... Rae drove us all over Arizona in Louise Ure's rental, looking for restaurants. I may hire her as my driver ... well hey, I lived through it. Then the flight back to London was late, which meant I missed my connection and had to spend the night in town ... got back to France a day late. Four more days off, and then the 46th plane of the year back to London ready for the week ahead ... should be fun, and I'm hoping to see plenty of Reacher Creatures along the way. |
_________________
Holland asked, 'You want to explain why I had to call for two ambulances?'
Reacher said, 'Becasue I slipped.' |
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| The Writing Writer |
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:29 pm |
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Random House
Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 118
Location: London
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Monday, July 10, 2006
UK Day 1
Gentle start with a late morning interview with a Norfolk newspaper ahead of Friday's visit ... then signed a few hundred selected firsts of The Hard Way for collector sales. Then off to Sky TV for their book show ... and every day has something new: Sky is all High Definition now, which means the old sponge-and-Max-Factor makeup doesn't cut it anymore ... they use a spray machine, like painting a car. I'm used to wearing makeup—for TV, guys, not in normal life—but I've never been literally airbrushed before. Took ages to get off—had to take a shower. Then dinner at L'Escargot on Greek Street in Soho, with publishers, trade, and journalists. Night cap with my agent ... late to bed. But a good time was had by all. |
_________________
Holland asked, 'You want to explain why I had to call for two ambulances?'
Reacher said, 'Becasue I slipped.' |
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| The Writing Writer |
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:30 pm |
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Random House
Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 118
Location: London
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Tuesday, July 11, 2006
UK Day 2
Today was 60-something degrees and dry, as opposed to yesterday which was 60-something degrees with 100% humidity (aka raining.) Started at Gatwick airport ... so nice to not be getting on a plane. Then a quick print interview and the evening event at Foyles, the famous London bookstore. I'm there at last ... they always said it would take ten years to become an overnight success. Famous Forumite Dot was there, plus about 80 others. Fun event, even though folks had to pay to get in. Time was, they'd pay to get out. The Hard Way will be #2 on Sunday's list. Works for me. |
_________________
Holland asked, 'You want to explain why I had to call for two ambulances?'
Reacher said, 'Becasue I slipped.' |
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| The Writing Writer |
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:30 pm |
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Random House
Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 118
Location: London
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Wednesday, July 12, 2006
UK Day 3
Beautiful weather this morning in London ... maybe 68 degrees and low humidity (aka not raining.) Did stock signings and a lunch time event in Enfield (North London) then drove north to Manchester in Brad's gadget-rich Grand Caravan ... listened to the new (to me, anyway) Planet Rock digital radio station ... excellent, Floyd-heavy playlist (the whole nation is mourning Syd Barrett) ... then watched the Floyd DVD "Pulse" as a further tribute on the new (to me, anyway) M6 Toll Road, which bypasses the congestion of my old hood Birmingham. Got to the achingly hip Lowry Hotel in time to check in and then we headed straight out to the Waterstones gig ... big SRO audience full of friends ... Dot, Bryony, Ali, Andy P, Lindsay, and Jack H. Went out for dinner afterward at the Gaucho Grille. Another great day on the road. |
_________________
Holland asked, 'You want to explain why I had to call for two ambulances?'
Reacher said, 'Becasue I slipped.' |
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| The Writing Writer |
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:30 pm |
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Random House
Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 118
Location: London
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Thursday, July 13, 2006
UK Day 4
Lincoln is in, well, Lincolnshire, which seems to be outside of cyberspace, hence the day-late blog. The day started with four Manchester drop-ins and then a leisurely drive over with the second Pulse disc playing ... arrived in Lincoln with time for tourism, but took a nap instead. There's always tomorrow morning, right? The evening event was at Ottakers and was well attended—Zo#235; Sharp and husband Andy were there—and lots of fun as always. Dinner afterward at the hotel with Zo#235; and Andy. |
_________________
Holland asked, 'You want to explain why I had to call for two ambulances?'
Reacher said, 'Becasue I slipped.' |
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| The Writing Writer |
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:31 pm |
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Random House
Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 118
Location: London
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Friday, July 14, 2006
UK Day 5
Lincoln has a cathedral—right outside my window, used as a stand-in for Westminster Abbey in the Da Vinci Code movie—and a castle with one of two extant copies of Magna Carta in it. So did I do tourism? No, I rolled over and went back to sleep. The Bradmobile left for Norwich at 11am ... early enough for me. We dropped in for a cup of tea with fellow author Andy McNab on the way ... signed some stock and did the evening event at the Norwich Ottakers ... back to London with Saw 2 on the DVD ... tour officially over by 10.30. Almost 2 months on the road, on and off. Thanks to everyone who showed up. I had a blast. Now I'm going to have a rest ... just Backspace on July 21, then nothing until I start Reacher #12 some time in September.
Thank you all for making The Hard Way such a success.
Lee |
_________________
Holland asked, 'You want to explain why I had to call for two ambulances?'
Reacher said, 'Becasue I slipped.' |
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