What an adventure! I have recently returned home to Georgia from my seven-state book signing tour. Although my husband and I are still exhausted, we were thrilled to get to take such a journey and meet with all the readers who came out to see me!
Our tour began on Tuesday, August 11 with an appearance on Fox 5 Good Day Atlanta. We had a signing that evening in Norcross, GA at the Barnes and Noble. There was quite a crowd, as you can see in the video my husband took. The next day, I had a signing in Nashville, TN, and the day after that in Plainfield IN. Here are my reflections and some shots of these signings!
On Friday, we headed to Illinois, and on Saturday and Sunday we had two signings in Michigan. Here‘s the video from that weekend. Ann Byle wrote a great article about my visit in the Grand Rapids Press, that you can also find online here.
Monday began our visit to Ohio with a taped interview on Central Ohio Public Radio at Ohio State University. Afterward we met up with my editor, Shannon (Hill) Marchese. We then went to a book signing and Q & A at Barnes and Noble in Columbus. On Tuesday, we had a signing and lunch at the Der Dutchman, which is an Amish restaurant in Walnut Creek, OH. I met my editor’s mom, an Englischer and an Amish woman who always help provide the clothing for the models for my books’ covers, and I even met one of the models. We had a great time and a delicious meal.
Also on Tuesday, I traveled to Joseph Beth Booksellers in Pittsburgh, PA. I had a really fun time getting to know the group, and I was able to discuss the writing and story aspects of my book with one aspiring author. On Wednesday I had an in-depth interview with Pennsylvania Public Radio at Temple University. Here‘s a link to the audio. That evening, we had a signing at Hackman’s Bible Bookstore in Whitehall, PA, during which I was joined by a journalist from the Wall Street Journal.
Our final stop on the book signing tour was on Thursday Rachel’s County Store, which is an Amish dry goods store in Newburg, PA. About five times more people came to that signing than we’d planned for. I signed over 250 books before we sold out of certain titles. We were thrilled to meet so many readers!
The tour felt like a whirlwind, but I was helped along the way by my husband and editor. It was my first experience at having so much time with my editor as she traveled in the vehicle with us. I could not have received a better blessing! She shared so many helpful insights about the book I’m currently writing–book two of Ada’s House series. After all but one of the signings and interviews, we all went to one of my Amish friends home for supper, where we had some precious time to catch up and an unbelievable delicious meal.
Huge, huge thank you to readers who contributed to The Hope of Refuge hitting the #29 spot on the New York Times best-sellers list!
Sheryl of Lawrenceville, GA and Grace of Jamestown, NY are our winners from the August 5th drawing for a copy of the Hope of Refuge! I’ll begin a new contest next week so check back to enter!
Here are some photos from our signings and visits throughout Amish Country!
Driving through the PA countryside
The Der Dutchman Restaurant
Meeting with people at the Der Dutchman
Signing at Rachel's Country Store
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