Gary is home

I'm back home from the US tour.  I had a wonderful time, but it's unbelievably good to see my womenfolk again, and to sit in my own comfy little office, writing blog posts and books.

I tried to break the jet lag in one go, which meant staying awake throughout the day.  When I couldn't stay awake any longer, at 9pm, when I'd been awake for 45 hours, I collapsed and slept for 10 hours.  It seems to have worked though because I feel more or less normal.

I nominate these awards from the trip:

Best public transport system while on tour:  the Seattle buses.  Especially the cool way they turn into electric trams in the tunnels underneath the city.  Why doesn't every US city have these?

Best intercity trip:  the Amtrack from Ann Arbor to Chicago.  Comfortable, cost-effective, and incredibly convenient.

Best Airline:  Frontier Airlines.  Flew with them from San Diego to Detroit.  They have real people at real check-ins!  No machine replacements for people!  Staff who seemed genuinely happy to be there!  Totally crushed both United and American. Well done, guys.

Best coffee and muffin:  Bakery, (that's its name) in San Diego.

Best non-private-friend place to stay: Inn at Michigan League in Ann Arbor.

Career highlight: the ancient mystery panel at Bouchercon.

Weirdest moment: every time I walked into a store and saw my book on display.  A huge thank you to "M" is for Mystery, the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Mysterious Galaxy, Aunt Agatha's, and Centuries and Sleuths.

11 comments:

Stephanie Thornton said...

Glad you're back and the trip went well. And yes, those buses in Seattle are pretty darn nifty!

dolorah said...

I think that would be a weird moment for me too. My dream is to see my novel on a book shelf - as is every writers dream - but somehow the reality of it is almost intimidating to think about.

How sweet of you to pass awards to all those nice people :)

......dhole

Gary Corby said...

I've always enjoyed comparing the different systems in different places. It's astonishing how often good ideas fail to propagate. For example there's a massive improvement in London from 20 years ago. Yet other cities don't seem to want to pick up on what others have learned.

C. N. Nevets said...

Glad you had a good trip, Gary. Enjoy being back home!

And with all those wonderful things from the cities you visited on this trip, I'm hesitant to beg you anymore to visit Indiana. hahaha

L. T. Host said...

DANG. 45 hours? I'm surprised you only caught up by 10! Still, glad you had some good times, and I dream about how weird it would be to walk into a bookstore and see my name on a book on the shelf... it must have been both weird and satisfying!

Sean Wright said...

Any book tours set for Oz, when you've recovered of course :)

Gary Corby said...

I'm sure Indiana has its wonderful points too, Nevets.

I'm missing all my US friends already, LT!

Hi Sean, nothing is set for Australia, but I certainly hope there will be. Your proximity to the Barossa Valley adds a certain enticement. Release is in January though, so still a little time to go, and touring in the dead middle of the summer holidays might be a loser. With a debut book you have to be really targeted.

ssas said...

You could bring the family on the tour of America in the summer holidays. :)

I'm 2/3 finished with TPC and it's super fun! Not loaning it out though since it's all signed and special.

Gary Corby said...

Hey Betsy, yes, we're thinking something like that.

Glad you like the book!

Trisha Leigh said...

Still so so so so so sad I missed you. : (

Can't wait to read the book, though!

Gary Corby said...

Hi Trisha, unfortunate, yes. But I know we'll catch up eventually, maybe on your own future author tour!