Friday, March 28, 2008

Traveling (Wo)man

Jess’s post and the replies fed nicely into a dilemma I had this week. How much do I do to promote Wild Goose Chase? When is enough enough?

I’d planned to be at the Quilters Heritage Celebration in Lancaster, PA for four days this week, signing books. An all expense-paid trip. Paid by me. Like LCC, I would have spent over $1000 to get there. And no witty crime writers in the bar.

After American Airlines cancelled my flight the second day in a row, I was stuck. Getting east from the left coast isn't easy and connecting flights to Harrisburg happen once a day. I was willing to go after a one-day delay but a two-day delay, I decided the trip wasn't worth it. I needed to cut my losses ($60 in cabs going back and forth and back and forth to the airport), and stay the heck home.

But should I gotten there somehow? Isn’t that the American way? It’s clearly not the American Airline way.

Ironically, I’d planned this post to be about the Amish. Lancaster is the original home of the Amish. They never have these kinds of travel problems. They only go to places that the Mennonites can drive them to. Niagara Falls is a big destination. The Grand Canyon. Last time I was there, Rueben Yost told us about his trip to California. Even though he was a farmer, he couldn’t name the spiky leaved plants he was seeing from the bus. Artichokes, we told him. He’d never seen an artichoke.

Traveling by horse and buggy has its limits. Left turns are a bitch, evidently. And horses can only pull a buggy about fifty miles a day. Anna, Rueben’s wife, got misty-eyed when she told us how much she missed seeing her daughter. She lived 55 miles away. 55 miles! I’d drive that for the right piece of fabric or a new book. Or to watch the pelicans dive bomb. I’m three-thousand miles from my mother. For Anna, her daughter might as well be on the left coast.

I didn’t get to go the quilt show and meet my new fans, but I did save a lot of money. I think I’ll spend some of it on gas and go to the ocean. Next week, I’ll fly to NY to see my mother.

13 comments:

Nina Wright said...

Nice post, Terri. For what it's worth, here's my vote: You made the right choice. While I've enjoyed many of my marketing appearances, I certainly can't say that they've proved cost-effective. Not at all.

On the other hand, the ocean never fails to rejuvenate this writer. And speaking now as a motherless daughter, do savor whatever time you can spend with your mom.

Traveling mercies!

Nina

Terri Thayer said...

Thanks, Nina. I really couldn't justify spending the money, but still felt like a slacker.

I like the traveling mercies. That's all I wish for.

Mark Terry said...

In that your editor, publicist and publisher may very well read this blog, the correct response is probably:

As much as I can, all my life savings, empty my bank account, cash in my IRA, give a pound of flesh, sell my first born and turn over the lease on my soul.

But then again, maybe not.

Keith Raffel said...

Gee, Terri, Wild Goose Chase seems to be selling pretty well even without a trip to PA. It's 4,522 on the Amazon list as of now.

Terri Thayer said...

Silly me. I was spending my life savings on food, rent and the first born so I can spend my time writing.

Thanks, Keith. Lucky for me, quilters love the internet.

Mark Combes said...

I'm a big fan of self-delusion. So I convince myself that when I travel to conferences, I would have wanted to go anyway so the cost doesn't matter. So you see, having a bolt loose is a positive trait as a writer.

Bill Cameron said...

There's your problem. Feeding that whole first born thing. Cut that out, and you can probably hit two or three cool conferences a year!

And I have to say, I had no idea left turns were so tough with a horse and buggy. But then the last time I rode a horse, it threw me into a pen with a big, mean goose that proceeded to beat the hell out of me.

Felicia Donovan said...

Bill, big tough guy like you can't handle a goose? Come on...

Terri, great post. It's a question we all have. There's no telling sometimes what the turn out will be either. Sometimes when you least expect a crowd, they show up in droves. Go figure.

Bill Cameron said...

Oh my god! Have you ever faced an angry goose?!?!?!

Terri Thayer said...

I get it, Bill. I have been chased by a pissed off goose. They are relentless.

But look at the title of my book - Wild Goose Chase. Of course I get it.

No geese were harmed...

Felicia Donovan said...

Bill, in fact I have been chased by an angry goose! I was on a farm with my kids and the goose came out of nowhere and grabbed on with its beak between my legs. Don't ever underestimate the strength of those beaks. Fortunately, I had gloves on so I grabbed it by the neck, tossed it as far as I could (not far and it wasn't injured) and we all ran like hell to get back to the safety of the car, goose honking and chasing us all the way. So yes, I've been goosed!

Just couldn't help teasing you.

Bill Cameron said...

I am humbled! My goose took me down with extreme prejudice. Verily was I smoten.

Jessica Lourey said...

Do we have to add "hurting geese" to the list of topics you absolutely cannot cover in mysteries? And did you know they poop every twelve minutes? My daughter heard it in a trivia game. More importantly, I had no idea the Amish buggies were not good at turning left. Probably that's why we don't see them in NASCAR events.

Terri, I'm sure there was a good, cosmic reason you didn't end up on the East coast, and so it'll work out in the long run.