Notes from the Book Tour

So I did a crazy thing and scheduled six readings in one month.  It’s been hectic but fun–meeting other writers/students/profs has been the best part.  Come Home Chicago was a particularly fun event:  I was part of a lineup that included singers, bagpipers, and screenwriter Irvine Welsh (of Trainspotting fame).  The only problem was, I missed my train out of Michigan City, and had to wait 2 hours to leave, but I kind of liked the quiet of hanging in an empty train station.  The Northern Indiana Commuter train is one of my favorite things–love the range of people who ride, and some things I’ve overheard.  One young woman forgot her fare and two other riders chipped in…the conductor came back every chance he got and talked to another passenger about New Orleans, crayfish, and daughters…clearly the two were friends.

I’ve also read at Western Michigan University this month, and the school paper did this news report on the event, complete with a made-up quote by yours truly!  I for sure have never said the following:

“What’s obvious to you isn’t obvious to someone else and sometimes what’s obvious to you is objective,”

I never even talked to a reporter…ha!

View from the Northern Indiana Commuter Train

A bored selfie from 2 hours at the train station.

On stage at Come Home Chicago

An Edward Hooper looking image from out the train window. Her shoes, pose, and isolation fascinated me…