From Big Spring, we Bookmobiled our way to New Mexico, making an early and hasty exit from the Man Camp to the friendly, welcoming Pecos River RV Park in Carlsbad. So hasty, in fact, that I forgot to latch our cargo bin where all event supplies are stored. I didn’t realize this until I hooked up to the power at Pecos and saw the side door of the cargo hold flapping in the breeze.

SHEEYUT!

My life flashed before my eyes. We had jounced and bounced the whole three hours from Big Spring. But nary an item had we lost. If it had been one of my kids who’d done that, I would have killed them.

Speaking of kids, I want to introduce you to my EXTENDED support staff:

• Eric (husband): king of advertising and promotion
• Marie (eldest stepdaughter): events, logistics, media, and two stints on-the-road
• Heidi (digital artist): covers, posters, bookmarks, ads, magnets, decals for Bookmobile, and billboard (yes, billboard)
• Stephanie (longtime dear friend): online/social marketing and research
• Liz (youngest stepdaughter): first stint on-the-road
• Clark Kent (son): stint on-the-road
• Susie (mom): stint on-the-road
• Susanne (daughter): stint on-the-road, LAST — mostly to give her two months to practice her driving, oh-she-of-UPS-truck-smashing fame
• Allie (Clark Kent’s long-suffering girlfriend): right hand to Marie

They are AWESOME! I am well taken care of.

I am, in addition to doing events, working on What kind of loser indie publishes, and how can I be one too?, proofing audio book files, conducting personal promotions, and handling the details of the two upcoming book launches (Leaving Annalise and Loser).

Speaking of audio files for audio books, Puppalicious is now on sale as an audiobook! My Dream of Freedom (by Helen Colin) is done! Saving Grace is done! How to Screw Up Your Marriage is done! In production: Clark Kent Chronicles, Hot Flashes and Half Ironmans, and Leaving Annalise! Many thanks to the awesome Sandy Weaver-Carman, the talented Hanna Dettman, the speedy and fun Debbie Andreen, and the silver-tongued Ashley Ulery, voice-over artists extraordinaire.

Radio interview for you to “enjoy” on Santa Fe radio: Click Here.

Major successes this week: we booked our New Jersey and San Francisco event stores. We’re almost done with the incredibly difficult and time-consuming task of booking locations.

So back to Carlsbad: we took Petey out for an afternoon run on the Pecos. Petey, who is a very black dog, scampered for 100 yards, then flopped himself into the shade on his side each time we reached a patch of it. No amount of coaxing worked to lure him into running again. We took him for an (unwelcome) river swim, then back to air conditioning. Thanks, Petey, for saving Liz and me from the heat, too!

After a great event in Carlsbad where we saw friends from my college and island days, and at which my incomparable husband arranged for tulip delivery, we drove on to Roswell for the night. Then on to Albuquerque the next day.

Well, it had to happen sometime, and in Albuquerque I finally bombed an event. To my credit, it was the wrong store for me. I didn’t have nearly enough nose rings to interact with the clientele. I knew as soon as we walked in that it was a bust, and the store management was politely intrigued about why I’d been sent to their store instead of the two perfect ones across town packed with my more conventional audience. C’est la vie. Hopefully they’ll transfer the books to the other stores.

We enjoyed our time with the store staff and with our dear friend, actor Patrick Juarez. He’s currently working as the stand-in for Lou Diamond Phillips on Longmire, a modern western which you really MUST see if you haven’t already (A&E and Netflix). We even dined at Twisters, the site of filming for some scenes from Breaking Bad, another series Patrick has worked on. Petey staged a protest over returning to the RV from Patrick’s lovely home. Petey, darlin’, I felt exactly the same way.

We redeemed ourselves in Santa Fe with a busy event, including the unexpected and delightful visit of my colleague Wendy, right before the onslaught of the book people. What fun!

We had a few hours off in Santa Fe, so we took patient Petey to a leashless dog park. From all appearances, it was the happiest hour of his whole life. We dined at La Chuza and bought Fandango tickets to Man of Steel, only to realize I’d typed my email in wrong. With no confirmation number, we had to buy the tickets AGAIN at the theater. Most.expensive.movie.ever.

And it got worse. During the previews, I had a horrible premonition that something was wrong. I didn’t know what. I sent Eric a panicked text, but he didn’t answer as he and Marie were at Man of Steel in Houston, a double-date with Liz and I in Santa Fe. Minutes later as I stared at my phone waiting for bad news, my ex called from the emergency room with Susanne who had a flare-up of leaky gut-driven allergies. Her skin got red and painful and she nearly passed out. She DID NOT go into anaphylactic shock, but she is back on the hard-core restricted diet and steroids.  I left the movie when I got this message, and I spent the rest of the movie-time alone in the RV. Yes, crying. It was very hard not to drive home that night, but, really, there’s nothing I can do that my ex, Eric, and Marie aren’t already doing. And ultimately, it’s up to Susanne to adhere to her dietary restrictions.

We made it to our campground at 11 to find that someone had accidentally (we hope) removed our late check-in instructions and packet. We decided that we’d take whatever spot was open and apologize the next day. And so we did.

And now, one long day of driving and listening to audiobook files later, we are ensconced in the Bookmobile in Kansas, me with double sleep meds down the hatch. I haven’t slept longer than five hours any night since we left home, 2000 miles, seven events, and one week ago.

Nighty night!

Pamelot

p.s. Be first to hear about new book releases, 1-2 times a year (don't worry, I won't use your email for anything else)! <-- click here

As I sit typing this in Big Spring, TX, I’m on Day 5 of Petey’s Big Adventure, aka the #SixtyCitiesinSixtyDays Nationwide RV Book Tour. Petey’s chomping an angry bird toy with a silent squeaker — hello! perfect for a one-eyed Boston terrier in a 24-foot RV — and Liz is sleeping in. We have 700 successful RV miles under our belt, and we’ve knocked out two TV shows (here’s the link to Mom’s Everyday in Waco), four radio interviews, and a print interview. We’ve held four events in four cities. We’ve conquered after-dark RV hookups like a boss. We’ve endured Petey’s early rising, and I’ve kept up my schedule of short Petey jogs each morning.

A few highlights:

On day one, we left only after attending the miraculous high school graduation of our ADHD WonderKid, Clark Kent himself. And this after his school counselor called to tell us three days before that he probably would not graduate. His English teacher took his late paper, gave it a 97, and wrote that it showed “creative insight” and “deep thinking.” THAT BOY!

Our 1st night in the RV we arrived to discover Petey’s leash had gone missing, and that Pamela cannot operate a simple flashlight. Oh, and that deer in the pitch dark by the light of a phone look shockingly like rabid alien wolves. Or something.

On day two back in Houston, Susanne got her drivers license. One hour later she backed out of our driveway into a moving UPS truck. I guess she meant it when she said, “#watchout.”

Our 2nd night in the RV Google Maps failed us and we only found the park thanks to a friendly resident of La Grange who obviously gives the same directions 36 times a day.

On our 4th night in the RV, we stayed in a great RV park in Big Spring which, in the current oil & gas boom in West Texas, has turned into a giant Man Camp, the roughneck capital of Texas, for sure. We were careful not to leave a red light on, and even at that we’ve never had so many offers of assistance in our lives.

It’s amazing how many times I can forget which side of the RV to line up for gas and hookups. I’ve racked up 100 of our 700 miles  circling gas pumps.

Despite a beautiful kennel that takes up 100% of the leg space under our table, Petey only allows us to sleep if he’s in bed with me. This is not good. Instead of Petey’s Great Adventure, we should call this Petey’s Great Spoiling. Liz keeps calling him a piggy and telling him he’s fat, but that hasn’t stopped her from slipping him potato chips

Hastings Entertainment has the nicest employees ever, and they give authors and their staff free drinks from the Hardback Coffee Bars. I’d do this tour just for the sugar free non fat iced caramel macchiatos!

Liz is such a great travel companion and hard worker that I don’t want to give her up in a week, but she has to get on the road to California as she has transferred to a Los Angeles-area school and will continue to swim there. I love getting the time to talk to her and just be with her. She’s a wonderful, wonderful young woman.

I’ve connected with friends I haven’t seen in 20-25 years already! I’ve made new ones too.

We’re giving out advance review copies of Leaving Annalise in June WHILE THEY LAST to the nice folks who come out to meet us and whisper CODE WORD PETEY. This was Eric’s brain child, and people love it. So, come see me and give it a try. They’re going fast, though.

I can’t believe we’re really doing this. Eric worked so hard to anticipate every problem I could possibly have, and things are going great as a result. I have the world’s sweetest husband, for sure.

A week before we left, my father sent me the nicest email:

Looks like you have taken to heart what I always told you as a kid — girls can do anything they dream to do, if they are willing to work for it.

I believed him then, and I believe him now.

Another person sent me a note about my “courage,” which I think is code for “what the hell are you thinking???”

I’ll see you all soon, I hope!

Pamelot

p.s. Be first to hear about new book releases, 1-2 times a year (don't worry, I won't use your email for anything else)! <-- click here

By Pamela Fagan Hutchins

An adapted and unedited chapter from my upcoming SkipJack Publishing book (release date August 15, 2013) What kind of loser indie publishes, and how can I be one too?

Good strategy makes you a soothsayer. It can capture profit when margins are slim. It’s sleek, it’s stylish, it’s sexy. So let’s get sexy together.

When it comes to indie publishing, your three main, sexy strategy choices are around 1) what format to publish your book in, 2) where to publish it, and 3) how to price it. Think of this as what you’ll be wearing, where you’ll be shaking it, and whether you’re the kind of date that needs dinner and a movie first.

To read the rest, visit the original post on SkipJack Publishing.

Until next time,

Pamelot

Pamela Fagan Hutchins is an employment attorney and workplace investigator by day who writes award-winning and bestselling mysterious women’s fiction (Saving Grace) and relationship humor (How to Screw Up Your Kids) by night. She is passionate about great writing and smart author-preneurship. She also leaps medium-tall buildings in a single bound, if she gets a good running start.

p.s. Be first to hear about new book releases, 1-2 times a year (don't worry, I won't use your email for anything else)! <-- click here

Hugs and kisses to Amazon today! I’m not even going to mention how badly I hate their review-gobbling machine or their gift-ebook policy FOR A WHOLE DAY.

Pamelot

p.s. Be first to hear about new book releases, 1-2 times a year (don't worry, I won't use your email for anything else)! <-- click here

What do y’all think of my new portrait? It was a selfie I took for Eric at a Seattle airport Starbucks, until digital goddess Heidi Dorey got hold of it!!!

Holy cow, only 4 days until I leave for my 68 day book tour. Our goal is 60 cities, and right now we have booked 44 store events in 44 cities, with 7 more yeses pending written confirmation. Yee ha! This is amazing, given that the stores don’t like to book more than 5 weeks in advance.

Our daughter Marie is doing a fantastic job. She’s booked 1 TV interview, 1 print interview, and 3 radio interviews in the first week alone. Some TV and radio is already booked as far ahead as July, thanks to proactive store community relation managers who arranged it on our behalf (knock me over with a feather). We are reaching out to contacts in a myriad of ways, one event at a time, putting up announcements on community calendars (thanks to my dear friend Stephanie for pinch hitting on this, fabulously), and contacting a multitude of groups, like book clubs, writers , Texas Aggie Former Students, Texas Longhorn alums, attorneys, triathletes, runners, special need parents, libraries, and stepparents. We’ve recruited people to put up posters around town for our events in each city. I’ve created Facebook and Goodreads events. I can’t think of anything else to do to make this a success. Whew!

We are putting the Bookmobile through its last few repairs/checks. I’m packing and staging. Petey got his booster shots. We put together a work list for my kids/employees. I bought a few new inexpensive outfits on ideeli.com. We’re booking our RV campsites, and Google Mapping our routes. Ugh — we’ve got some all-nighter drives, so luckily we have the ability to trade off driving and sleep.

One hitch: I’m driver/assistant/companionless from July 9th in Atlanta through July 12th in Raleigh. Anyone want to join me?????? I can’t begin to convey how hard this will be to pull off  by myself, even for just four events/cities. UPDATE: Position booked

I think this is really going to happen!!!

You know what the coolest thing is? I’ve had so many of you reach out and offer to let us park the Bookmobile at your homes. Some can’t b/c of their homeowner or zoning restrictions, which I totally get. But I am getting to hang out at Nan’s (http://lbddiaries.com/blog/). I’m parking at my bro and sis-in-law’s new home outside Chattanooga. We’ll park at old friends Danny Johnson in San Fran and Melissa Balaban in LA. How awesome is that?

Now, for the really good news. I’ve sent emails out to all my subscribers and contacts offering free books for those that bring in a printed copy of the email, even one forwarded to them by a friend. So forward those emails to friends and family. There is no purchase required. Our goal is to MOVE BOOKS, not sell books, and to attract happy crowds at each event. Don’t forget to check out the event dates and places here: http://pamelahutchins.com/signings-events/.

I’m so nervous and excited!

Love to all,

Pamelot

p.s. Be first to hear about new book releases, 1-2 times a year (don't worry, I won't use your email for anything else)! <-- click here