Back from California!

New England-born gal that I am, I am surprised to find myself writing these words: I have fallen in love with Northern California. It happend during the most recent leg of the Stages on Pages book tour -- and in the marvelous company of Elise Allen, Gretchen McNeil, Kim Culbertson and Katherine Longshore.

Our first event was at the Belmont Library hosted by Dolly, librarian extraordinaire.  She and her staff were awesome and the kids who attended were bright, interested and a ton of fun. Oh, and did I mention there were strawberries?

trading books with Katherine Longshore

The next day involved a nearly three-hour drive from San Francisco to Grass Valley, CA (thanks for doing all that driving, Gretchen). It was so much more than worthe the trip! We had a magical day exploring Nevada City's wine and chocolate shops, meeting (for the first time in-person) the remarkable writer-teacher Kim Culbertson, and finishing with a SoP event in a delightful black box theater at Grass Valley's Center for the Arts where the staff, along with folks from local indie The Book Seller made us feel so welcome. I must mentioned that I ate my first In-and-Out burger on the way home--so yummy!

Wine tasting in Nevada City
with Elise Allen & Gretchen McNeil

The fun continued in Pleasanton, where dinner with some fantastic writer-bloggers preceded our program at Towne Center Books.  Owner Judy, who has created a very special home for writer people, put out a great spread of treats (and wine!) and the event attendees made the Q&A just fantastic.



with Elise, Katherine, Gretchen & Kim
at Book Passage

As if things couldn't get any better, our final tour stop was Book Passage in Corte Madera.  If you haven't been there, go now!  The place is an absolute hive of book activity including author events and a dynamic teen book club, and a delicious cafe.  Again, the warmth and generosity of the staff, and the enthusiasm of the audience made it a day I'll long remember.  Here's a little write-up from Shelf Awareness.

THANK YOU, Northern California! I cannot wait to return!