HOVER East Coast Book Tour Highlights!

My editor, Kristin Sevick, and I at R. J. Julia Booksellers

My time spent on the East Coast to promote HOVER was amazing in so many ways.


I started with a talk and signing at R. J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT, where I had the privilege of being introduced by my very own editor, Kristin Sevick! I can't tell you how special that made the event for me.

The historic Flatiron Building -
Home of Tor/Forge and other
Macmillan imprints

I also spent a day touring the offices of my publisher, Tor/Forge, in the historic Flatiron Building. I learned that most of the building is occupied by Macmillan Publishing and its imprints. And the building itself? It's, well, flat.

During my tour, I had the distinct pleasure to meet Mr. Tom Doherty, the head of Tor/Forge. You might not know this, but Tor is the most successful science fiction and fantasy publisher in the world. The Forge side--where I'm published--encompasses the other genres, like women's fiction, thriller, crime fiction, etc.

View from Tom Doherty's office window - Broadway
on the left, 5th Avenue on the right

Mr. Doherty's office sits right on the spine of the Flatiron Building, about 12 or 13 stories up. This is his view of Broadway (on the left) and 5th Avenue. Pretty cool.

View from Patty Garcia's office - a loooooong way down!

Building codes were different way back when, I guess, because you can open the window completely in Patty Garcia's (Tor/Forge Director of Publicity) office. I leaned over, stuck the camera out the window and aimed down.

Emily Mullen, me, Kristin Sevick

I also met my publicist, Emily Mullen, in person for the first time. This is a photo of Emily, Kristin, and I in front of the Flatiron Building (the building is behind Bess Cozby, who was taking the photo). Next time, Bess, we'll make sure you're in the picture, too! Nice to have the Empire State Building as a backdrop.

Kristin and I editing on the beach!

The highlight of the day, believe it or not, was the commute between Madison and NYC. I had the rare experience of doing "live edits" with Kristin. We sat on the train, Kristin had her computer on her lap, and we walked through my entire manuscript (the one scheduled for release this next summer). Even though we had a three-hour train ride one way and a three-hour train ride back, we still weren't finished. So we found a spot on the beach in Madison and finished the edits there. Unbelievable experience.

Signing books at the U. S. Naval Academy
in the Midshipman Store during
Parents' Weekend

I spent a commuting day driving to Annapolis and then did a signing at the U. S. Naval Academy Midshipmen Store on Saturday, August 15th.  That was a surreal experience, to be sure. It was Parents' Weekend and I saw many of my 89 classmates, who were their for their children (Class of 2019). Crazy.

Fountain Bookstore owner, Kelly Justice

I finished my tour in Richmond, VA, at Fountain Bookstore. This is a photo of the owner, Kelly Justice, and me. Kelly has been a professional independent bookseller since 1989, the same year I graduated from Navy. Great karma! Oh, and Kelly's name is just too cool not to use as a character name in one of my future novels.

My touring partner, Laura Seidelman!

And finally, my touring partner and navigator for this trip was my super cool mother-in-law, Laura Seidelman. Thank you, Laura!




Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better tour experience. I met so many great people, while re-connecting with old friends. It's my hope that I'll be able to return next year!