I’m happy to be home after my first leg of my first-ever tour, which will be two-legged when it’s all said and done unless you count SLC in which case it’s a three-legged tour, a three-legged tour. (Can you tell I’m still tired and a little punchy? Yeah.)

First: On the blog tour, Becky at Becky’s Book Review hosted me yesterday, and I think my favorite question to ponder was the one she asked about how I define or measure success.

Second: I am very proud of my friend Ann Dee Ellis who oh-so-casually mentioned that her wonderful book This Is What I Did: was named YA book of the year by the Association of Mormon Letters (an organization to “promote high-quality writing by, for, and about Mormons”). More importantly I am excited that her second novel has a title and a cover and that means it’s really truly going to come out, but not soon enough.

Third: It is now okay to admit that I was so nervous about the school visiting part of my trip to the Bay Area. In two days I talked to over two-hundred students at Analy High School, Menlo-Atherton High, and Henry Gunn High. And I didn’t die! In fact, I kind of loved it. All the students were great and made me feel welcome and had some very thoughtful questions about books and writing. All three schools had incredible libraries and librarians. When I was in high school, the library was a Serious Place with Stern People behind the desk. Does Ms. Abbott look Stern?

Do these cookies look Serious?

I’m lucky I got a picture, because as soon as the boys saw these I blinked and then there were nothing but crumbs.

Fourth: Either every single person who works with books and authors is cool, or I just got really lucky on this trip. Jenn and Shannon at Books Inc. on the first day, Sarah at Kepler’s on the last, and everyone in between were simply awesome.

Fifth: This stuff is very, very tiring. If I feel dead after only one half of a two-city tour, I don’t know how some authors do this for like half the year.

If you live in the Bay Area, there are now signed copies of my books at Kepler’s, Books Inc. (Opera Plaza & Burlingame), Book Passage, Green Apple, Booksmith (on Haight), and Copperfield’s. And I hope I’m not forgetting about anyone else!

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this trip so fun (and well organized!). I will leave you with one more image from Henry Gunn High. I meant to ask why there was a giant replica of an iPod with “Ice Ice Baby” featured on the screen in the library entryway, but I forgot. So draw your own conclusions.