A quieter day, crowds-wise. Went to Stony Point 9th Grade Center in the morning. The event had been arranged by the Texas Book Festival, and they hadn't bothered to liaise throughly with us. I thought I would be doing just one event, but the people at the school had been told I'd be doing two events. I was furious -- not with the folks at the school (who were great, and well organised) but with the organisers at the festival who hadn't bothered to run their plans by me first. I'm looking forward to my events at the festival tomorrow, but I'm VERY unimpressed with the communication levels of the people running it -- in addition to this boo-boo, they've signed me up to do a panel event without asking me about it first! I'm perfectly happy to do the event, and quite looking forward to it -- it just would have been nice to have been asked first!!! Festivals are devilishly difficult to organise, I know, and this is a BIG festival, so I appreciate the effort that's gone into setting it all up, getting so many authors together, and trying to make all the times and venues fit. The organisers seem to have done a top-notch job on that score, so it's a pity they've shot themselves in the foot by not actually communicating better with their visiting authors -- or at least with ME!!! (And for all I know, I'm an exception and every other author has received in-depth briefings on their events!! But I doubt it!!!!!)

Anyway, the events at the school went well. The kids were on the old side, which meant they didn't get as involved as younger teens probably do, but they listened quietly and asked some good questions. I'm getting better at doing events for older teens. On my last tour of the States, I struggled at events like these, since all my talks were geared towards younger readers. Now I have some material prepared which plays well with 16 and 17 year olds too, so I feel more confident and I think they enjoy it more.

Went to the O Henry Middle School later. Had a larger crowd at this one. It was held in a large hall in the school, and I was on stage. The kids were well behaved (I sometimes have to quieten them down at larger events, since I can get kids who don't really have any interest in the books, just in skipping class), and I put on an enjoyable show.

Finished up at Barrington School. This was a very small group, of quite young kids (10/11 year olds). They were very enthusiatic, and even though I don't really like doing such close-encounter events most of the time (for me a tour like this is all about publicising the books, so I like to cram in as many kids as possible), it was kind of nice to have a relaxed, small-scale end to the day.

I don't have any events tonight -- my first night off in what feels like an age!!!! (Of course it isn't, but when you're on the road, your perception of time can warp!) My lovely media escort, Sabrina, is taking me to the cinema, to see the new George Clooney movie. My bullying publicisit, Jennifer, on the other hand, is hitting the town to paint it red with an old friend of hers. It's at times like this that you find out who your true friends are!!!!!    :-(

p.s. only joking about Jennifer -- she's a star!!! But don't ever tell her I said that!!!!!!!!