Powder Puff Girl on the Book Tour

I’ve been driving Jon around on his Book Tours for years.  I don’t know exactly how many, since his book Dog Days I think.  When I first started we barely new each other and Random House paid me (that stopped when we got married, although now they pay for me to stay in hotels and eat, an even better deal).

I remember on the first book tour I was worried that our new friendship would change because I was essentially working for Jon.  I worried that he would get bossy and become a different person when he was giving talks and meeting his fans.  I reluctantly  agreed to bring him coffee during the readings, only because in the past,  he had often brought me tea. ( I refused to take his shirts to the dry cleaners)  I would drive him around, but I wouldn’t be his Girl Friday.   As you can see I was a bit insecure about the whole thing.  But I had worked for lots of men and honestly, most of them were assholes.

But a part of me always trusted Jon and I liked the idea of getting to know him better and making some extra money.  The night before the first Reading I had a dream that I was driving a black limosine and Jon was sitting next to me in the passenger seat.  In the dream he called me  Powder Puff Girl. I know the words may not sound like it, but when I woke up I felt like a super hero.  I was Powder Puff Girl, hands on my hips, cape blowing in the wind, just like Superman on the old TV show. (hmmm sounds like a potholder)   That dream,  and Jon’s reassurances gave me enough confidence to at least give it try.

And I learned on that book tour that Jon was not one of those people who changes depending on who he’s around.  He’s always Jon, thoughtful, encouraging, generous and loving.

And now we’re off again.  Tomorrow we leave for Boston.  I’ll drive.  But now the book tours aren’t just about me driving Jon around, because I get to see so many of the people I email and sell my work to during the rest of the year.  Tomorrow I’ll see Cindy and Ron, in California I’ll see Barbara, and I’ll miss seeing the poet Veronica Hallissey in Illinois (I’m coming home between Boston and San Francisco for a couple of days, while Jon makes his way to Chicago)  but I’m sure to see more people from my blog and those who just know me from Jon’s photos.

And I love it all, meeting the people whose  names I know so well from my email and comments in person and seeing different parts of the country.  I’m a bit nervous about leaving my work for a week, but, as Jon reminded me,  getting away is always good for our work, to expand the mind and be inspired.

I’ll be blogging from my ipad, so come along on Jon’s Dancing Dogs book tour with me.

(And don’t forget, tomorrow is the first day of the Common Thread Give-a-way, where you’ll have a chance to win a couple of my potholders.)