Finalizing the calendar for next week

So my mother and I got together, looked at a bunch of maps of the Salt Lake area, and scheduled a bunch of drop-ins at Seagull Bookstores for next week. Some surprises when I called around: 1) They'd all heard of my book. Often they didn't know my name (not at all surprising) but when I said Time and Eternity I always got an, "Oh!" and immediate increase in friendliness. Rather shocking to me. I gather the book's sold well, but a lot of these store managers are guys. Not that I mean to be sexist. I just think they'd be entirely justified to not pay much attention to a chick novel with a pink cover. One of the managers I had to call back had a copy of the book in hand when he picked up the phone. 2) Several of them sounded rather excited to talk to a Real Live Author. I know, I know, I sound completely jaded. Rather than basking in the attention, I'm thinking, "What? Are they new to their jobs or something? Where's the bored contempt?" Maybe they are new to their jobs, or maybe all the LDS authors favor one certain group of stores and I managed to hit a few that they don't often go to. Or maybe these store managers really like that aspect of their jobs.

The full calendar's over on my E.M. Tippetts site. I made sure to do a bunch of drop-ins in the Provo area since that's where many of the readers in my target age group will be. One manager forewarned me that there weren't likely to be big crowds of them there to meet me, and I assured him that I wasn't expecting that. For the most part, I hope to meet bookstore employees during the drop-ins, though readers are of course welcome.

Then, on Thursday night, I'm flying over to Denver for WorldCon. Rather a change of pace. My mother is coming on this trip with me - she was kind enough to keep me company on the long car rides up to Utah and back. WorldCon should be a fun experience for her, if a rather strange one. I've got one panel at 4pm on Saturday, and the rest of the time I just look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones. I've got two roommates that I've never met before (not uncommon). I wonder if I'll actually get to see them, or if we'll be out at such crazy hours that our paths won't cross.

After WorldCon I'll fly back to Salt Lake, get my car, and drive home. By that Tuesday, I should have successfully spent all of the money I'm likely to earn on writing this year :-).