Sunday, January 5, 2014

A new year. A new adventure.

by: Joelle Charbonneau

Welcome to 2014!  I hope you had a great holiday season and that the new year has gotten off to a great start.

For me, the new year is kicking off with 2 books hitting shelves and me hitting the road on my first major publisher sponsored book tour.  EEK!

I mean - hooray.  12 days.  10 cities in various climates.  One carry-on suitcase in the middle of winter.  What could possibly go wrong?

To be honest, I'm a combination of thrilled and excited and terrified of going on tour to promote INDEPENDENT STUDY.  I love that in each city I get to meet readers and chat with students at various middle and high schools who have already read The Testing and are excited about the newest book in the trilogy.  That is awesome.  And for the performer in me, there is something really excited about getting up on a stage and putting on a show about writing and books.  But because I've never done this kind of tour before, I am a little nervous about how things will go.  There are so many things I have no control over - planes schedules, weather...you know...travel stuff.

The travel stuff is the reason that I've chosen to heed the advice of authors who have gone on many a tour before me - No Checked Luggage!  I mean, why tempt the travel Gods.  With that many flights checked luggage is bound to go astray.  Hence, for this trek I will be taking with me one small carry-on suitcase and the attache cache that used to belong to my father-in-law to hold my computer and Cold Eeze.  (Yes, I will be writing on planes....at least that is the plan.)

Because of the limited space, I find that I am incredibly grateful to my love of Tetris and my lack of love of shoes.  (Trust me...not loving shoes means less footwear and more room for clothes.)  Some people have said rolling clothes is a good way to go, but I have yet to master the skill and have found I can fit more clothes into the suitcase by folding.  I have also found the world's smallest curling iron and checked my itinerary and the hotels I'll be staying to make sure I have a day for laundry.  So if you see pictures of me wearing the same clothes in more than one location on tour - I promise that they're clean.
Sadly, I won't be wearing my favorite jeans pictured to the right since I know the nifty sparkly designs on the butt will set off all the bells and whistles at the airport.  I'm hoping to avoid pat downs by the TSA.  Do you want to take bets to see if I can do it?

Needless to say, 2014 is kicking off with a huge adventure.  And really, it is only because of you and your support that this adventure is happening.  I hope I get to see a bunch of you on the road.  If we haven't met before, please introduce yourself so I can put a face with the name.  And while I'm gone, please be nice to three amazing ladies who will be guest blogging in my stead.  I have a feeling you're going to love them.

Okay - time to finish packing so I can prepare to get this show on the road.  While I'm fretting over whether to pack another pair of pants, let me know what adventures you are planning this year.  I can't wait to hear all about them!

4 comments:

Aimee Hix said...

Joell's Big Non-Sparkly Butt Tour has a nice ring to it.

Mary Jo Burke said...

Good luck with your travels!

Lisa said...

So very excited for you Joelle! I'm looking forward to hearing all about your adventures along the way! Even if you hit a snag or two along the way, I'm sure you can roll with it! Have fun!

David Cranmer said...

Happy New Year, Joelle. And safe travels on the book tour.