Saturday, March 15, 2008

Change the World Tour: Day 13

The Tour is not over. In fact, it will never be over. But our first 2 weeks are done, and the Change the World Tour is officially paused. I thought I'd be so relieved at this point, but I'm actually sad because I had so much fun with the students, teachers, librarians, foundation folks, bookstore employees, etc. It was an awesome experience that I'll never forget.

Yesterday, Day 13, I went to Hooper, Riverdale, and Pioneer Elementary Schools. The amazing Cathy and Rachel from Deseret Book were the poor souls who had to go around with me, and it was great to have them along. I feel like I'm out of superlatives to describe these school experiences, so I apologize to those toward the end of this 2 week tour. But I loved being with you just as much as those at the beginning.

A huge thanks to everyone for making this an unforgettable time (especially Cathy Blaisdell, who has supported me from the Jimmy Fincher days and is one awesome lady).

Last night was a great way to end it, too. We'd sold 60 or so books at the schools during the day, so I expected a repeat of the slower signing the previous night. Instead, we had a big crowd that lasted a couple of hours. Even then, we got a call from a parent asking me to stay just 10 more minutes. I did, of course, and luckily got to meet the Official Last Person to Buy a Book from James Dashner on His Two Week Tour That's Not Really Over but is now Paused. Congrats, Lucas.

Here are the official stats of the past 2 weeks. Most of these are estimates, but should be pretty close:

States Visited: 4
Schools Visited: 24
Students Spoken To: 6,000
Book Signings: 7
Books Sold (with me present): 900
Posters Signed: 1,000
Total Signatures: 1,900
Carpal Tunnel Injuries: To Be Determined
Unhealthy Meals Consumed: 8
Somewhat Healthy Meals Consumed: The rest
All You Can Eat Sushi Meals: 1
Traffic Tickets: 1 (Photocop in Duluth, GA for running a redlight. I have no memory of doing this.)
Blog Posts: 13
Airplane takeoffs: 5
Airplane Landings: 5
Obnoxious Snoring People Within Three Feet on Airplanes: 1
Miles Travelled: 5,632
Books Read: 0.5
Pages Written: 0 (This is my most shameful statistic.)
Wives Missed: 1
Kids Missed: 4
Friends Missed: 1 (You can all fight over which one it was.)
Episodes Behind in "Lost": 4
Total Books Sold So Far: No idea
Times I Thought This is Too Good to be True: 1,534,846
Days Until Book 2 Comes Out: 350

Well, as promised, I posted about every day of the tour. I kinda got lazy toward the end, but I felt like I was just repeating myself. My final conclusion is that being an author is the best thing on the planet, especially a children's author. I have no doubt that never in my life have I had so many fulfilling moments jam packed into such a short period of time.

To all of you elementary and middle school students I had the fortune of visiting, thank you. And a big thanks to all the "old people" I met, too. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Look for details on more tour dates, coming soon.

And next week, I'll resume regular blog posts, talking about anything and everything, no matter how stupid. Bye!

12 comments:

Scoops Mangum said...

James, I know you are behind on your LOST shows, but these cartoons will help get you in the mood. One potential spoiler, but you may already suspect it. Welcome back! Lisa and I will try to get to the King's English and say hi!

http://scoopsmangum.blogspot.com/2008/03/fantastic-lost-cartoons.html

Anonymous said...

Your book is awesome and so are your book presentations. I'm extreamly sorry you missed Lost :)! You have cool t-shirts but we have to take turns wearing it:)...

p.s.- I'm your nephew who lives in AZ (the oldest)

Ron Simpson said...

Get yourself a DVR and you will no longer miss Lost....I have asked a local author, Mel Odom (who is also my freind and teacher) about how to get the local schools in touch with your publisher. His wife is a teacher in the Moore school system (where my son goes to school) and he has forewared all the info on to his contacts in Moore schools. I don't know if it is too late to get on your dancecard and get you to come to Oklahoma, but I tried. I would sure like to meet you in person.

zoot said...

I just wanted to pop in and say that I'm running a giveaway today on MY blog for one of your autographed books. (I have a copy for my son and I - I'm giving away the extra.) I wish you nothing but success and am very excited to have discovered you and the 13th Reality.

Tristi Pinkston said...

Thanks for sharing all this with us, James. We've been living vicariously through you.

LaFemmeSimple said...

I'm still laughing about the ticket. I tried to rationalize it with Mom ala "surely the light was YELLOW" and Mom goes "Nope! 2 seconds!!"

So funny..Welcome back to Duluth dude! George Orwell would be so proud!

Lauren said...

Yes! Only 350 more days. I finished your book Friday night, and I loved it. I even dedicated a whole post to The 13th Reality. Keep up the good work.

-Love your newest fan,
Lauren

P.S My mom commented earlier.

Unknown said...

You can always go for an engaging tour if you are bored of your daily routine. Spend some quality time with your loved ones and feel the magic of the place. So do not miss out on the major attractions of the place and make sure you make your trip count.

Kullu Manali Tour said...

The world tour must have gone through the taxing journey. With just two weeks gone by, the expedition seems to have reached its final destination. But the end is yet to come.

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