Get Your Author-In-A-Box!

It’s been a busy, busy week: many pages written, workshops taught, plus a visit to an area book club, which was the most fun of all. The delightful writer and SIU prof, Mary Bogumil, invited me to speak at her book club, Broads Who Love Books and Booze, on Wednesday evening. It was only their fourth meeting, and I felt very honored to be asked. It turned out to be a lovely party, with much food, many books and enthusiastic readers with insightful questions, and, of course, the aforementioned booze! (Wine, actually. Very nice wine.)

Since I’ve been off tour for a couple of months, I’ve gotten a little lazy about spiffing myself up during the day. It’s amazing how the term “dressed” can be stretched to include microfleece, Uggs, and ponytail holders. And so when Wednesday came around, I found myself in a bit of a panic. Thank goodness for all things black in my closet. Out came the handy black sweater dress, black tights and black motorcycle boots. Then, there was the black belt and the black tote that usually carries my laptop. When I arrived at my hostess’s house, out of breath, but on time, I realized that what I needed was an Author-In-A-Box kit!

Contents for women: Comfy dress, tights, boots (all black), hair rollers, make-up and toiletries, business cards, gifties, a book to read from, pens for signing books, tote bag, GPS for directions, tissues, a bottle of water, and breath mints. This was essentially the list I had for my ISABELLA MOON tour—but I also included anti-bacterial wipes for hotel visits. I think these kits should come with every book contract—editors should keep them stacked in their offices. They could be purchased quite economically if made up in bulk!

I have two appearances coming up in February: The University of Evansville on Valentine’s Day, and The Kentucky Women’s Book Festival at The University of Louisville on the 16th.

In the meantime, don’t forget Patry Francis Blog Day!

Back to work. Many pages to go before I sleep.