Regular readers know the Wickeds were on a mini-tour last weekend, sponsored by three fabulous independent bookstores. A million thank yous to Jabberwocky Books in Newburyport, MA, The Country Bookseller in Wolfeboro, NH, Wolfeboro Public Library, White Birch Books in North Conway, NH, and Larissa Ackerman, our publicist at Kensington Books.
Wickeds, tell us your best memory of the tour.
Edith/Maddie: Where do I start? The three fabulous booksellers? Sue Little, Karen Baker, and Laura Cummings were so generous to advertise our visit and host us.
The fans at every stop were enthusiastic, friendly, and keenly interested in us as authors. And they bought books!
The scenery was stunning.
As were Liz’s shoes!
And, as always, it was a treat to hang out with five of my very most favorite authors and closest friends.
Liz: LOL! My shoes made the photo gallery – how about that? So where do I start…what a treat to be able to spend the weekend with all five of you, along with all those other people – readers, booksellers, librarians – who love books so much. New England in the fall, local bookstores, there was so much to love!
Seeing our names in lights…sort of…
Also, meeting Sam the poodle was pretty cool too….
Jessie: Sam the poodle loved meeting you too, Liz! I think the thing I loved most about the tour was getting to chat with the readers that turned out. Somehow when you meet other people who love books you never really seem to start out as strangers. There is just so much common ground with fellow look lovers that it feels like chatting with an old friend! And this weekend introduced me to a whole bunch of them!
Sherry: I agree, Jessie! Meeting readers is so much fun. Julie used to go to Lake Winnipesaukee with her grandparents so she shared her memories of that beautiful place with us. The Wickeds have known each other a lot of years, but Edith shocked us on one of our panels. She said that she has to find the perfect sentence before she can start writing her book. Five jaws dropped. We’d never heard her say that before. It might not be the sentence that ends up being the first one, but it’s how she starts. Thanks to everyone who put the events together and to everyone who came. I was thrilled that another Air Force spouse who I knew at Hanscom Air Force Base was able to attend one of the events!
Julie: As Sherry mentioned, my grandparents had a cottage on Lake Winnipesaukee, and my happiest childhood memories are there. Using the as my base of operations and showing Sherry around was wonderful. As was the dinner at Harts Turkey Farm with Barb and Sherry after our last stop. But my favorite part of the weekend was that we did a mini-book tour. Together! Honestly, how flipping cool is that? The bookstore owners were all so generous and supportive. The friends of the library in Wolfeboro were lovely, and fierce. Friends of the blog came out to say hello. I can’t believe how quickly the entire weekend went. So grateful to Larissa for putting this all together.
Barb: I have to agree, meeting readers is the best part. My husband’s cousin Donna and her daughters came to Jabberwocky, along with Friends of the Wickeds Margaret and Claire. I was especially touched that FOW Lisa came to Wolfeboro and Darcy, who always honchos the Wicked’s donation to the New Hampshire Public Television auction. Seeing old friends and making new ones is the essence of these tours.
Readers: The Wicked mini-tour turned out better than we ever could have expected. Have you ever participated in something that outshone your wildest expectations?
Looks like you had a great time!
We did!
What a fabulous tour, ladies. Wish I could have been there!
It was a blast. See you at Bouchercon?
Yep, I’ll be there!
I was thrilled when I learned you were all coming to my neck of the woods! I live 3 hours from Boston and so many book events are down that way. The discussion was great fun, could talk all day about craft and the industry! So glad I got a chance to meet you.
Thank you so much for coming, Elizabeth! It was so great to see you in North Conway. I should have mentioned you as an FOW above! Forgive me, the weekend was a whirl.
I’m so jealous. Wish I could have been along for the fun.
It would have been a blast. Someday, west coast!
Cool shoes, Liz!
Nice to read the recap of the tour. I’m glad that the mini tour went so well for everyone. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to go to any of the stops (just too far for my preferred driving distances…I hate driving believe it or not).
I did get to see Edith at my local library on October 10th though so that was a blast!
As for participating in something that surpassed expectations, I sure did. I’ve been a huge fan of the singer Beth Hart since the very start of her career. But I had never been able to see her in an official concert. That changed in early 2017 when she came to play in Boston. It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had at a concert. I had built it up in my mind so much that I figured there’s no way she could meet those desires. She didn’t. Beth Hart SURPASSED them!
And when she played my favorite song from her catalog (a song she hardly ever performs live), I just about lost my darn fool mind.