So I was recently in my hoity toity hometown of Palo Alto, California, and while I was there I did an interview with Don Kazak, the Books editor for the Palo Alto Weekly. He did a nice write-up of me for the paper. I especially liked it that he attended my reading, and said that the passages I read were “wickedly funny.” That reading was lots of fun, as my mom packed the Mountain View Books, Inc. with all her friends, and they sold out of books. A few of my friends were there too, including two high school friends I hadn’t seen in at least 15 years.

That is one of the best things about writing a book – all these people crawl out of the woodwork from your past. I’ve heard from several high school friends and at least one college friend that I’d lost track of. One reason I chose not to write under a pseudonym! Well actually the reason was more along the lines of “I want everyone to know I’ve hit it big.” Still, it has been great hearing from everyone.

So I just returned from the California leg of my book tour, which included three readings, two TV appearances, one newspaper interview, one party, and one bad cold that kept me whining all the way through and which magically disappeared as soon as I got back to Seattle.

Somehow I managed to buck up when it counted though, and there is a simple explanation for that, which is that I love the spotlight. I am also so thrilled when anyone at *all* shows up for my readings – be it 8 (like it was in San Francisco) or 50 (like it was in Mountain View) that I want to make my listeners happy. I get pretty nervous before the readings, showing up at the bookstores at least half an hour early for no good reason (since no one in the audience shows up until 5 minutes beforehand or twenty minutes after the thing starts!) and pace around, applying and re-applying lipstick, and worrying I will forget how to talk altogether, though I have been doing it since age 2.

Once the thing gets rolling, I’m pretty good after the first few minutes or so, and by the end I’m usually feeling bathed in a warm glow. That’s why I especially like the Q&A portion of the evening and the book signing. If you ever come to one of my readings, you should definitely get me to sign your book because I will shower you with luv!

Here I am bestowing luv on my audience in Berkeley. By the way, Black Oak Books was a blast. I loved the friendly staff, the receptive audience, and the rickety, wooden feel of the place. I expected it be snobby, but noo…they made me feel like a star.

OK so I’m not getting that much buzz, but even a little bit feels like a lot. Today I got reviewed in the Seattle Weekly and e-mail is coming in a steady stream from readers telling me how much they love the book. (I’m sorry if I haven’t responded to all your notes yet, but know that they made my day.)

Consequently I have changed my forlorn “Press” page to “Buzz,” which is more appropriate since I hadn’t gotten much actual “press” yet, though that is changing this week with the Weekly review and a Seattle P.I. interview that will be appearing on Friday.

I’ve started posting comments on this page from people who’ve written me about the book. I still have more to add, and will continue to do so as they flow in (she says hopefully).