Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Change the World Tour: Day 3


Sorry, folks. Today is going to be awfully boring compared to yesterday. And tomorrow, actually. You see, we kind of hit a glitch on our first week. Originally, I was supposed to spend 2 full days in Virginia, travel on Wednesday, then spend Thursday and Friday in Georgia. But Virginia ended up having testing or something, so Tuesday didn't work out.

So I flew to Atlanta today and have nothing planned tomorrow. Which is fine by me because I have a lot of family here and will enjoy myself thoroughly. Plus, then I'm going to have the craziest 9 days of my life, with 6 booksignings and a couple dozen schools.

I love how today started in the airport. Angie and I are sitting there waiting to board, and the Delta Dude announces that all traffic has been grounded in Atlanta due to "severe weather." He followed this statement by saying "we hope to leave in 15 minutes."

Say huh? Let me get this straight. At this very second, the weather is so dangerous in Atlanta that no planes can land or take off. But oh well, I reckon it'll all be safe and sound in a few minutes. Needless to say, it didn't make me feel too excited to get on the plane, and Angie made fun of me ruthlessly. She has no compassion or tact whatsoever.

We took off, and it was pretty rough, but not nearly as bad as I thought it'd be. For those of you keeping track at home, I listened to the complete albums of Van Halen 1984 and U2 Unforgettable Fire on my iPod. For some reason I wasn't in the mood to read. Then we landed without dying.

So now I'm in Atlanta. Angie went on home because I convinced my publisher to let me try to do it by myself in Atlanta and Phoenix. The more money we save, the more they'll have to spend on other marketing stuff.

I have to admit, it was VERY nice having Angie with me, so I kinda wish I hadn't agreed to this. We'll see how it goes. At least they made sure that someone at the bookstores will be there to help me during the signings.

My sister Sarah picked me up with her cute boy Isaac. He informed me several times on the way to my mom's house that I'm his best friend. By the way, in case you didn't know yet, I was born and raised in Georgia, and it's great to be home. I'm in hog heaven right now, sitting around with my sweet southern mama, my sisters Lisa and Sarah, my niece Rachel and her husband Minho.

Quick plug: Sarah is freaky good at photography. Check her out: CLICK HERE.

Not much else to report. I promise tomorrow to give a detailed account of the presentation I'm doing at the schools.

Oh, 2 quick cool things. I had a nice surprise today when I found out my publisher arranged an interview with the Atlanta Journal and Consitution, the biggest paper here. We did it over the phone and Patrick "The Dashner Dude Publicist Dude" Muir sent them some photos. I can't remember if I mentioned that the Salt Lake Tribune also is doing a story on me. Sweet! 2 major papers.

Also, my good friend and Farworld (coming soon) author J. Scott Savage told me he heard a really nice radio ad for The 13th Reality out in Utah. That's not too shabby.

Okay, sorry the picture thing in Virginia was a bust. The only one I got from Angie is up above, and you can barely see me. Maybe that's a good thing. But my sister Sarah has started a place on Flickr to download any and all photos associated with The 13th Reality. All of you awesome people who took pictures last night (I'm looking at you, Cat!), please check it out and share. Here's the link: CLICK HERE.

Well, thanks for checking in. Talk to ya tomorrow.

10 comments:

Dedee said...

Glad you are having fun at home. I bought my book today at the Seagull Book and Tape in Pleasant Grove. I'm done, and I enjoyed it. When does book two come out?

Irish said...

kids say the cutest things don't they? my heart just melts everytime my honorary niece says she loves me out of the blue.

oh if you really want to give people up to the minute music updates you might want to sign up for an account at www.lastfm.com - fun sight and you can sync it with iTunes and have a widget put up on your blog that shows people what you're listening too.

Have fun in GA...if ya'll have some nice weather going on there please send it up north. Boston is getting dumped on by rain and I'd much prefer to have some sun.

Anonymous said...

Wow you're having a great trip!

Your sister's photos rock by the way.

Stacy Whitman said...

Your sister does good work. I'm working on getting a similar gallery site up for my own photography (which I freelance on the side), and I like her style--it's very much what I go for, too.

Tristi Pinkston said...

James, you have any idea how cool you are? Of course you had people waiting knee-deep for your signing! Stop worrying, silly boy!

Luisa Perkins said...

Thanks for not dying, Dude. Keep us posted!

Anonymous said...

That's awesome that you got the tour to coincide with visiting family! Hope you're having a wonderful time!

Also, you'll be pleased to know that I went to my local Border's last night and they were SOLD OUT of Journal of Curious Letters! At first I thought they hadn't gotten any copies in yet but the clerk told me they were sold out! That's good news, right? For you at least... ;)

Anyways, I ordered a copy for myself off Amazon (*CHARITY DRIVE ALERT*) and since I had a gift card I splurged and got Book One of the Jimmy Fincher saga too. Looking forward to (re)reading them!

Cheers,
lisa :)

Angie G said...

In my defense.. I'm not cruel or tactless, just indifferent to a plane crashing with me on it. (Don't tell my mother.) Second of all, the "severe weather in Atlanta" didn't stop with our being delayed in Richmond. DD (your new nickname, it's short for 'Dashner Dude').. DD.. I was at the airport for HOURS. I missed the first one by mere minutes. I was rescheudled TWICE, then becuase of the storms our "equipment was diverted" no less than three times. But I finally made it on the flight just after 4 p.m. and home to Salt Lake by about 6:15 or so (you know.. time difference, etc.)
But I thought you should know I made it.. and that I still feel bad about that poor kid who may or may not have shown up...

James Dashner said...

Thanks for the comments, guys!

I see that Angie finally graced us with her presence and a comment. You can now all see what I had to deal with in Virginia. Kidding, of course. Oh man, I'm really sorry you had such a cruddy time at the airport. Bleck. Glad you finally made it.

Dedee, Book 2 comes out in March of 2009. I think.

Lisa, that is good news about it being sold out, definitely. Much better than the alternative. I just hope the stores reorder when that happens.

Stacer, good to see you here! Everyone, meet Stacer. She's one of the best editors on the planet.

Ron Simpson said...

What do you mean, the picture was a bust? The building looks great.