Hometown Visit
Well, not quite hometown, but hanging in Philly has been great (not to mention highly caloric). Yesterday was a fantastic brunch party at the Four Seasons, where it was wonderful getting to catch up with so many Allentown folks and a take a breather from the book tour for a couple hours. Sending out a huge hug to Eric Allen, the catering manager there, for making everything so wonderful for us--it really was a perfect party.
Don't think that heaping quantities of pastries, blintzes, Bloody Marys, fruit, bagels, lox, and the most incredible omelette bar I've ever laid eyes on was sufficient, though--no, no, no. A mere three hours after brunch was over, a group of us made our way over to Geno's for cheesesteaks (and Diet Cokes, natch). For you purists who would appreciate this, I ordered mine with onions and Cheese Whiz, and finished the whole gigantic disgustingly delicious thing. This morning I finally got back to work (this is a book tour, after all, and not--as I seem to think--a reason to eat my way through every sizable city in the continental United States) with an interview on Good Day Philadelphia. I panicked slightly when Chanel asked "Do you think there's a readership for books like yours?" ( Uh, I hope so. I'm praying that it's not only my immediate family buying those books out of guilt and obligation), but overall it was quick and painless. Went directly from there to Marathon Grill, my all-time favorite brunch place in Philly with my friend Alli for--you guessed it--yet another meal, and I'm headed out now to read tonight at the Barnes & Noble on Walnut Street. Come say hi if you're nearby, and if I miss you tonight, there's always DC tomorrow night.....xxxx
Canada AM
I won't go so far as to say Canada AM this morning was fun, but it definitely wasn't torturous either. Which is something. Everyone I met who worked for the show--in the green room, make-up, on-air--was absolutely lovely and welcoming. However, just as a teensy point of constructive criticism: next time it would be great if you could keep the gaggle of 6-foot, 115-pound models there for a different segment in a separate room from the rest of us. Live television is stressful enough without having to face an entire pride of leggy girls at 7:30 a.m. Thanks :)
Click here to watch me saying the exact same thing I've said in the past 2,000 interviews.
I spent the rest of the day recovering from my run-in with the models at the super swank Spoke Club in Toronto. Simon & Schuster kindly installed me there for the day to have lunch, do another round of interviews, and drink my body weight's worth in coffee.
And thanks again to last night's Indigo crowd! Sending a special shout-out to the guy who's making an imminent trip to Tiffany in preparation for popping the question (you know who you are). Congrats in advance on your total rock-star plan! xxx
Go Indigo!!!
 I'm delirious with exhaustion and happiness, but I wanted to send a quick thank you out to everyone who joined me earlier tonight at Indigo. You Torontonians are pretty great, eh? Seriously, it was awesome getting to meet each and every one of you.
Tune in tomorrow at 8:40 a.m. to watch me deer-in-headlights on Canada AM....
More when I recover from the inevitable humiliation. xxx
CBS Early Show
 Grinning maniacally through the terror. Maggie was as nice as they come, but television scares the hell out of me....
As luck would have it, my recent visit to The Early Show at CBS was taped instead of live (and I'm sending out huge thanks to whatever cosmic force caused that to happen). As a result, the producers kindly edited out my stammering, flustered one-word answers and cut the clip in such a way that viewers could possibly believe that English is actually my first and only language.
The Road Show Hits San Diego...finally!
 Getting ready to head into Warwick's, nervous as always before readings Rick and Kiley came by to say hello and show us the ropes in La Jolla (note: terror on Rick's face at the thought that his wife might force him to read this book) Answering great questions from a lively San Diego crowd.....
There are definitely worse places to visit on a book tour than San Diego, and not surprisingly, we had a great time. Granted, it was absolutely freezing (San Diego has the world's best PR--ask anyone who doesn't live there, and they'll swear it's got the best weather in the country), but we survived so-called June Gloom like champions (translation: we complained the whole time to anyone who would listen).
Mike met me at the airport and we proceeded downtown to the W Hotel, a super trendy place with an awesome terraced "beach" complete with fire pit and all sorts of beautiful people. Or so we heard. We spent most of our time there alternately huddled in multiple layers of all the clothing we'd packed and riding the pitch-black, disco-fabulous elevators up and down, all the time wondering who thought to put strobe lights in hotel elevators.
When we finally forced ourselves into the harsh cold world, we headed to the hills for the night's reading. Warwick's, an awesome independent bookstore in La Jolla, hosted a great event. Afterwards, we had dinner at George's with friends Rick and Kiley (featured above), and while gazing out over the majestic Pacific, briefly wondered--as every New Yorker who visits San Diego inevitably does--why the hell we don't live there. Then a blast of arctic air hit, and we remembered: New York might only have two decent weeks of weather a year, but when they happen, they're heavenly.
That, and you don't have to drive. I hope the Hertz people aren't reading this--or, come to think of it, the S&S publicity department--but we returned to our trusty rental car after dinner only to discover we'd lost the keys. Rick finally noticed that the idiot New Yorkers (who haven't driven on a daily basis in ten-plus years) had left the keys in the ignition and the car doors unlocked for no less than five straight hours. And no one took the car! If that's not reason enough not to love La Jolla, nothing is....
Sweltering in Houston But Good Times All Around
Signing the author wall at Blue Willow Books
Blue Willow put together a gorgeous window display, complete with a ring-stacked stiletto
 My friends Dan and Taryn came out to say hello (and thankfully refrained from asking any questions during the reading). Hopefully LaDainian had fun too...... Houston was on fire (it felt like 100+ degrees with 100% humidity), but Blue Willow Bookshop put on one hell of a great event last week. Almost a hundred people turned out for wine, Champagne, and an excerpt or two from Chasing Harry Winston--one of the most fun events of the entire tour. Afterwards, a group of us went out for dinner and had a blast. After weeks of bland hotel chicken Caesar salads, I pleaded for something with some taste, and Houston more than delivered. We hit up El Tiempo for fajitas and queso, the undeniable best purveyor of both in the continental United States, and the margaritas weren't too lousy either. All in all, Houston rocked. And if anyone can figure out how to package and ship that queso.....
Dreams Do Come True: CHW in US Weekly
US Weekly hits my mailbox every Thursday, which means 2 p.m. rolls around and I can be found in my building's mailroom with outstretched arms and an embarrassingly eager smile. However, the one week I'm late to the game--and five days late at that, thanks to highly outdated issues in a remote mountain hotel gift shop--is the only one that really matters. Although I still haven't seen a hard copy, a friend was kind enough to forward me this little clipping from this week's US Weekly (apparently, Andrew Firestone is on the cover....why, I have no idea). I've been lucky to have my books mentioned in every publication from The New York Times to People magazine to The Atlantic Monthly to USA Today, but nothing--and I really mean nothing--gives me more pleasure than seeing Chasing Harry Winston nestled comfortably in the pages of my all-time favorite publication. Stay tuned for updated tour pictures, and if you're in the San Francisco/Corte Madera area, come say hello! I'll be reading at Book Passage tonight in Corte Madera and tomorrow night at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Click here for all the info.
Chasing Harry Winston Goes Underground
If you've been on a subway in New York lately, you might have caught a glimpse of the Chasing Harry Winston ad campaign. There are posters plastered all over the stations and trains (making for some unnerving morning commutes for my friends and family who innocently glance up, only to find me maniacally grinning at them from above). Mike snapped a picture of one such poster where a creative rider had blacked out my two front teeth, and he can't stop showing it to people, all the while cracking up and saying things like, "That was a couple weeks ago. Can you imagine what they've done to her now?" I'll spare you that one, but check these out:  Chasing Harry Winston in the NYC Subway  Chasing Harry Winston in the London Underground  Chasing Harry Winston in--where else?--a Harry Winston storefront!
Loving Life in Austin
 Some of my younger readers offered to sign books in my place (an offer, incidentally, I was very tempted to take them up on) My dad helped keep the usual pre-reading nerves at bay with his always calming logic....("Hey, La, it's not like you're David Sedaris and hundreds of people are going to show up.....") Which was of course, wise AND true.
Also, I owe all of you a HUGE thank you. I just got word that Chasing Harry Winston will debut at #6 on the New York Times Bestseller List on 6/15, and I could not conceivably be more excited! Thank you all for all for making it happen—I have the best readers on earth.
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