Rollin', rollin', rollin' ...

By Beth Groundwater

Move 'em on, head 'em up,
Head 'em up, move 'em out,
Move 'em on, head 'em out Rawhide!

That's the song that's going through my head as I write this post on Monday to pre-schedule it for its appearance today, when I'll be on the road for a week-long whirlwind book tour back east to promote the new release of Wicked Eddies, the second book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series. Monday I was planning, packing, printing, and pre-scheduling blog posts. Tuesday I drove from Breckenridge, Colorado, to the Denver airport and flew from there to Newport News, Virginia, to be picked up by my parents. Yes, I'm squeezing in a visit with them on the trip!

However, while I'm staying with my parents, I will stop by the nearby Barnes & Nobles Booksellers store to sign stock copies of Wicked Eddies, as a "hometown gal made good" author. Also, I'm speaking tonight to the Chesapeake Bay Writers about "Series Writing for the Organizationally Challenged."

Rain and wind and weather
Hell-bent for leather
Wishin' my gal was by my side.

Friday, I pick up a rental car to drive to the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, DC, where I'll drop off the car and ride the Metro to Bethesda, Maryland, for the Malice Domestic conference. This is one of my favorite mystery fan conferences, and I'm looking forward to attending. I just hope I don't have to deal with rain and wind while I wrestle my luggage from house to car to airport to Metro station to hotel. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

At Malice, I will be on the "Three Strikes, You're Dead: Sports-Related Mysteries" panel at 1:30 PM on Saturday. I'll also attend the Guppies luncheon, the Sisters in Crime breakfast, and other conference events. Then on Sunday I'll hop into a car with some other Midnight Ink authors to drive up to Oakmont, Pennsylvania, for the Festival of Mystery that will take place on Monday.

Don't try to understand 'em,

Just rope and throw and grab 'em,
Soon we'll be living high and wide.

Monday is packed with a librarian's tea, followed by the festival, then a pizza party for the authors at the Mystery Lovers Bookshop, the host for the festival. The Festival of Mystery draws in the most avid mystery fans that I have ever seen. They buy armloads of books and love talking to the authors who come. And I love talking to the readers! Of course, the goal is to sell as many books as possible so I can soon be living high and wide. ;-)

My heart's calculatin'
My true love will be waitin',
Be waitin' at the end of my ride.

Finally on Tuesday, May first, I'll fly and drive home. And yes, I'm looking forward to seeing my true love at the end of the ride!