For aspiring writers wondering what a "glamorous" author does after a 2.5 hour signing, let me enlighten you. It involves sitting in your hotel room with a glass of Chardonnay and getting misty-eyed while looking at pictures of your baby on Facebook. But here's what happened before that.

I kicked off The Golden Lily Tour in Lansing, Michigan, not far from where I grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Lansing is also the home of one of my alma mater's biggest rivals, but we were all friends tonight. To prove it, I even wore some local colors.



I was at Schuler Books, which is an indie store that hosts some really wonderful events (they'll be hosting the Fierce Reads Tour later this week). We had a really great turn-out tonight, made even better by the fact that some family and friends were there--including my mom!



The event kicked off in the usual way, with me reading one of my very favorite passages in The Golden Lily. That particular passage involves Sydney and Adrian visiting a character you'll soon grow to love, named Malachi Wolfe. I had a hard time keeping a straight face while reading because Malachi is awesome like that.



After some Q&A involving a potential series starring Zombie Rose, it was time for the signing to begin!



As usual, good times ensued. People often think it's hard for me when these signings last a long time (this one went 2.5 hours), but it's actually pretty awesome. I get to hang out there and talk to amazing people the whole time, so I feel pretty lucky. There were both familiar and new faces there, and I had a great time chatting with everyone.







At last, things wrapped up, and it was time for me to head on back to the hotel. See earlier comment about me wistfully looking at baby pictures. Of course, since I'm in my home state, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring my son back some memento from his parents' homeland. Since my husband and I went to rival colleges, I decided to do the fair thing and get the baby gifts representing both sides of his heritage:



Thanks so much, Lansing and Schuler Books, for an awesome start to my first tour in 1.5 years! It's a big adjustment being on the road again, but you guys made everything so wonderful. Tomorrow (June 13), I'll be in Lexington, Kentucky. If you're in the area, I hope you'll come visit!