A dizzying few weeks later, the Design for Dying roadshow has come to an end. We went, we saw, we signed books aplenty, and most importantly, we wore every article of clothing we packed, which is the hallmark of any successful voyage.
It was a whirlwind series of trips, three of them in four weeks. Our transcontinental travels kicked off with a long overdue return to the Malice Domestic conference, where Lillian and Edith made their debut several years ago. We were thrilled to be back, greeting old friends and making new ones. Then it was off on a tour of some of the country’s finest bookstores. Murder by the Book in Houston; The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, Arizona; Vroman’s in Pasadena, California; The Mysterious Bookshop in New York; and finally, a gala event in San Francisco staged through the ingenuity of Green Apple Books.
A few thoughts from the road –
We were blessed to have familiar faces everywhere we went, particularly all the friends and family at our “hometown” signing in New York. What truly moved us was how fellow writers turned up to support us at every stop outside Seattle. G.M. Ford and Skye Moody in Bainbridge Island. Bill Crider and Stephanie Jaye Evans in Houston. Anne Wilson in Scottsdale. Maria Alexander, Christa Faust, and Julie Rivett in Pasadena. Lawrence Block, Hilary Davidson and Elizabeth Kerri Mahon in New York. David Corbett and (guest interlocutor) Eddie Muller in San Francisco. Their presence smoothed the way for us everywhere we went. Never before have we felt more like members of a tribe.
If you ever go on a book tour, bring paper dolls. People can’t get enough of paper dolls.
Our first order of business in Los Angeles was a pilgrimage to Edith’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We left bookmarks. Twenty seconds later, we watched a man get arrested on the same spot. Hooray for Hollywood.
Fashion highlight: another patron calling Rosemarie brave for wearing a white jacket to our unscheduled visit to a Texas barbecue joint. She shucked the jacket and chowed down on brisket.
History highlight: meeting a woman at the Pasadena signing whose mother had worked for Edith Head at Paramount from 1936-1940. She told stories and even brought photographs.
Our grand finale was at Stookey’s Club Moderne, San Francisco’s gorgeous 1930s-style Art Deco bar. The staff had prepared not one but two signature cocktails, the Alley Angel and an alternate Renee Patrick. Dennis Hearne, the peerless shutterbug whose photographs from the Noir City Film Festival capture the flavor of that event perfectly, was on hand to snaps pics of us and our host and mentor Eddie Muller. We even toplined the Stookey’s newsletter!
It was a phenomenal, exhausting few weeks. And we can’t wait to do it again.
We have some local events scheduled for the summer, chief among them Edith Head Night at Noir City Seattle in July. There are glimmerings of other festivities in the fall. Plus work on Lillian and Edith’s next adventure(s) proceeds apace.
While we were away, the Seattle Times named Design for Dying a crime fiction pick for May, calling it “charming and gossipy.” And the wonderful Jungle Red Writers blog ran Rosemarie’s post on the power of wardrobe in life and in art.
