Nuns, Mothers and Others: 1999 Travel Diary

Book Tour Extravaganza '99

How we drove through the Midwest pursued by Star Wars characters and managed to visit 17 bookstores and libraries in 9 days

We sit in a row on a bench outside the Hitching Post, a dark, cavernous bar in the Wisconsin town of Manchester (population 45), waiting for a telephone call from a radio show host in Ohio. We would like to feel like famous authors in the spotlight of a media blitz, but that's hard to do with gravel trucks driving by and a cell phone that's out of range. Instead, we feel like the three wise monkeys, except there are four of us.

How did traveling mystery authors end up at nine in the morning outside a bar in rural Wisconsin, with no bookstore for miles around? Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the ten-day ride of writers you should revere.

It started with Jonnie Jacobs' new book, Motion to Dismiss, which was published last March. Lee Harris's new book, The Father's Day Murder, was due out in May. Valerie Wolzien's new book, The Student Body, would not be out until August, and Lora Roberts wouldn't have a new book in the stores until 2000 when Murder Follows Money will be released. None of us wanted to wait that long. And we had to go on tour together, because we are the Nuns, Mothers and Others—the traveling troubadours of mystery.

Jonnie heard from libraries and bookstores who wanted us to visit. It was hard to decide where to head, and because our time was limited, we couldn't go everywhere. We had favorite bookstores in the upper Midwest we wanted to revisit, as well as stores and libraries in the area we'd corresponded with but never been to. We settled on a tour that would start in Chicago, end in Detroit, and hit many towns in between.

The four of us met in Chicago on a bright May afternoon and ran into our first snag. There we were, surrounded by our large suitcases, each bulging with ten days' worth of weather-transitional clothing, plus the extra bags we claimed held important trip documents and not just our hairdrying equipment and makeup. And what do we discover? That the rental car agency didn't have in stock the Lincoln Town Car with a huge trunk they'd promised us. We ended up with a Buick, into which we finally managed to cram our luggage, but only after a taxing Rubik's cube exercise that involved more iron pumping than an hour at the gym. But we were all together, the most important thing and we were on our way.

At our first stop, the Wheaton Barnes and Noble, we met the characters who would be our constant companions at every bookstore stop on the tour—life-size cardboard cutouts of Jar-Jar and Queen Amidala from the new Star Wars movie. Our evening of mystery went well, thanks to the efforts of Bill Ezrin, the Community Relations manager. We enjoyed meeting readers, making them laugh and realize that they needed every book we'd written, plus extra copies for their friends and relations.

It wasn't until the next day that we discovered something awful about May in Chicago—it's roadwork season. Confronted with backed-up traffic and an endless succession of orange cones, we fled to Madison, Wisconsin, for a visit to one of our favorite mystery booksellers, Mary Helen Becker, whose store, Booked for Murder, is renowned among mystery fans. Mary Helen is always able to bring a good group of readers together to meet visiting authors. We had dinner with her first, enjoying some gossip and great food, then went to her wonderful store, where Corinne put out refreshments while people assembled. It was a delightful evening, and we finished it by sitting outside at our hotel, drinking wine and enjoying the balmy Wisconsin weather.

Mary Helen had arranged a talk for us at a mystery Elderhostel she and her husband Brooks were doing at Green Lake, between Madison and Milwaukee. It was a beautiful drive. We admired the farms, the cows, the rolling green hills, and waited for Valerie's cell phone to ring so we could do the phone interview that Doris Ann Norris, a librarian in Fostoria, Ohio, had arranged to promote our appearance there later in the tour.

The phone rang, and we felt thrilled to be on live radio. But our voices kept fading in and out. Mike McKitrick, the radio host, told us to find the nearest pay phone and call back, collect.

The nearest pay phone? We were passing through a very rural hamlet and had seen nothing but cows and farmhouses for the last half hour. With no stores or gas stations anywhere in sight, the nearest pay phone had to be miles away. In the midst of our despair, Valerie spied an old-fashioned Pabst Blue Ribbon sign down one winding side road. Lora made a quick U-turn and we ducked down to the Hitching Post, where the bartender very kindly lent us his own cordless phone, the only one in the place. The noise inside was not conducive to an interview (especially a live, radio interview), so we settled outside on a wooden bench under an overhang that protected us from the rain. With Mike, the host, setting an easy tone, we managed to pull off a smooth and entertaining interview, despite the parade of gravel trucks driving mysteriously, and noisily, down the road not three feet in front of us.

Continuing on to Green Lake, we found ourselves addressing an interested and interesting group of Elderhostelians who had come for the mystery/golf conference and found themselves confronted with roaming mystery writers. They were a most appreciative audience, and the conference grounds were beautiful. Instead of getting to eat lunch with our audience and row a boat out into the middle of the lake, however, we had to hop in our rental Buick and hot-foot it to Milwaukee.

There we visited Richard Katz at his delightful store, Mystery One. And there we first spied Lee's new book, The Father's Day Murder. Gleefully, we bought copies, which we proceeded to brandish in front of envious readers at the next few events, until other bookstores received their orders of Lee's book.

With our eye on the time, we left Milwaukee—where Bouchercon will be held in October (you can go!). It was 3 p.m., and our Oak Park appearance was at 6:30; we had been told this was a 1-hour drive. It started to rain again. The traffic was thick, and getting thicker. We were worried.

More roadwork. Lots more. We thought about stopping for dinner, then about driving through somewhere for dinner, and then we let the thought of dinner go altogether. At 6:15, we pulled into Oak Park. Could we find a deli, or anywhere to quiet our growling stomachs? We hadn't eaten since breakfast twelve hours earlier. A bakery! We jumped out of the car, ran in to see if there were sandwiches available, and found out there weren't. The bread and butter was free, though, and managed to sustain us.

Centuries and Sleuths, August Alesky's store in Oak Park, is full of wonderful books (history and mystery) and great ornaments. Augie himself is a delight and we enjoyed meeting him for the first time. We had fun talking to his customers, including mystery writer Alex Matthews and her husband Alan, residents of Oak Park.

Stomachs still crying out for sustenance, we hit the road for a quick drive to the hotel—and dinner. If we thought the driving had been difficult until then, now we discovered how difficult it could really be. Despite excellent directions from Augie, we once again found ourselves lost. Then more lost. And then impossibly lost. We were looking for 294 West (which we'd already been warned really ran north and south), but all we could find was the entrance to 294 East. After more wrong turns in gridlocked traffic, we remembered that we were women: we ask for directions! And that's what we did. We pulled over and Jonnie dashed into the nearest gas station. And came out shaking her head with disbelief. The highway entrance was less than a block away. It was the very one we'd passed several times. How were we to know it was 294 West when the sign said 294 East? Even the helpful man in the gas station hadn't had an answer for that.

You'd be amazed to discover how much food four starving authors can eat after fourteen hours on the road with only a slice of bread and butter for sustenance. And how little wine it takes to turn us giddy.

Saturday morning we hopped on the Interstate and again headed south, this time for a stock signing at 57th Street Books in Chicago—a wonderful labyrinth of a store stocked to the brim with every order of book, including a great mystery section. From there we headed north again for the event that was instrumental in setting the tour in motion initially—our appearance at the Schaumburg Township public library, arranged (to perfection) by the amazing Amy Alessio, a mystery-loving librarian (who in real life is the children's librarian). The library tour alone was worth the visit (any librarians who want to eat your hearts out, stop by and drool), but the afternoon event topped it. A large and enthusiastic crowd, with questions galore. Just what we love, and the and truly wonderful goodies afterward didn't hurt.

That evening the Buick pointed south again, along the same road, for a mystery panel at the Borders in Orland Park, hosted by the lovely Keloryn Putnam. Then north once more, back to the hotel (by now we handled this road like old pros). Sunday morning, when mystery readers and booksellers are quiet, we finally got a respite in our busy tour. We indulged ourselves in a leisurely, gourmet buffet served on the top floor of a downtown Chicago high-rise, with breathtaking views of Lake Michigan. Or so we were told. We ate in clouds of gray mist that parted only long enough to allow us to see the pavement directly below. Then off north once again, narrowly (and fortuitously) dodging a parade that had closed the major downtown thoroughfares.

Our Sunday afternoon event was at Something Wicked in Evanston, where we made the acquaintance of Linda deWoksin, another store owner we'd corresponded with but never actually met. It was at Something Wicked that we picked the lock to the ladies room (with Linda's help—seems they lost the key ages ago) and met the talking version of the cardboard folks we'd come to see as brethren—figures from The Phantom Menace.

Monday morning found us on our way to Kalamazoo and Jim Huang's Deadly Passions bookstore, one of the highlights of our trip four years earlier. Jim is wonderful, warm, knowledgeable, and (dare we say it?) cute. A man who not only knows bookselling like the back of his hand, but is also instrumental in working for industry changes that will benefit independent booksellers and authors. After a fantastic dinner (okay, okay—when you travel for ten days food becomes important), we talked to an equally fantastic group of readers at the store (and munched on some of the best home-baked cookies we'd ever tasted.) Kalamazoo is a lovely town. It saddened us to learn that several of the major employers in the area had recently moved or downsized considerably.

Tuesday found us in Ann Arbor for a stock signing at Nicola's, where we met the charming Nicola herself. This is a comfortable and homey general interest book store with a friendly and knowledgeable staff. We devoted a little of our day to searching out the house where Jonnie had lived during grad school, and to trying to get the lay of the land, which only got us totally lost. But with the womanly gift of being able to ask for help, we weren't lost long. Our inquiry was rewarded with kindness (and correct directions.) The main event that day was our evening signing and talk at Aunt Agatha's. Here we met owner Robin Agnew, her husband Jamie, and a host of readers, several of whom had driven almost two hours to talk with us! We felt honored.

Leaving Ann Arbor bright and early, we headed for Fostoria, Ohio, where librarian Doris Ann Norris had arranged for us to speak to readers at the Kaubisch Memorial Public Library. But first—you guessed it—lunch. A fun time hosted by Doris Ann and three visiting librarians. We had a lively crowd at the library, and signed many books provided by the local bookstore, Readmore. We also caught a glimpse of our radio host, the elusive Mike, who had to leave before we had a chance to thank him in person.

Then it was back on the road again heading to the suburbs of Detroit for an evening event at Murder, Mystery and Mayhem in Farmington.. There we had a chance to meet owner Yvonne Peaslee, and her son and daughter who also work in the store. Many interesting readers were on hand, as well as several boxes of delicious cookies. But we had to use restraint as we were going to dine after the event in celebration of Valerie's birthday! After a leisurely, beautiful Thursday spent sightseeing, we capped off our trip with an outdoor event at the Barnes & Noble in Bloomfield Hills where longtime mystery fan Suzze Tiernan is now events coordinator.

Then up very early Friday morning to drop off our rental Buick (just when we'd finally learned to pack the trunk in one try!) and off to our separate destinations—Lee and Valerie to the east, Lora and Jonnie to California. Nine days filled with appreciative and enthusiastic readers, booksellers, librarians—and perhaps best of all—friends. Who could ask for more?

Lee Harris ~ Jonnie Jacobs ~ Lora Roberts ~ Valerie Wolzien
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