From Nora -- added Thursday,
April 19, 2001 @ 1:45 P.M. |
GB
added @ 2 P.M. |
Suzanne
@ 2:15 P.M. |
JB
& Company on 4/23 @ 11 A.M.
Thanks to the Two Jeans, I leaned the signing in
PA was about an hour from Philly. Hmm, in which
direction, I wondered, and set Publicity Amy to
finding out. South. Woo-hoo.
Amy went to work on shifting things around so I
could be driven home after the event instead of
heading back to the Philly hotel and leaving for
home the next morning. Can't say it exactly put a
spring in my step--lost my spring somewhere in
Buffalo, I think. <g> But it sure pumped me
up.
The escort picked me up in the afternoon for my
stock signing at the distributors. I remembered
being there before as soon as I say the place. A
really great crew. Signed four hundred stock for
them.
Back to the hotel to gather all my stuff.
Good-bye hotels!
Nodded off briefly on the ride to Chester County
Books, which I also remembered visiting as soon as
I saw it. This is such a cool store. Huge, with a
nifty little cafe. Event coordinator had some holds
but was nervous about me signing any stock. She'd
gotten lots of phone calls today, and was afraid
she didn't have enough books to go around.
I had a quick bite to eat in the cafe--and I
believe I told everyone who would listen that I was
going home. LOL.
Big crowd, happy faces. One really sweet older
lady got all misty on me and gave me a kiss.
Another big group of sisters. Fun.
We did indeed run out of books somewhere along
the line. Signed some paperback stock, and I was
out of there!!
Nine-fifteen. Discuss route with driver, call BW
to confer. Agreement is made and off we go. Try to
call Leslie at home as I knew she'd been in sales
conference all day and wouldn't know I'd checked
out for home. No answer. I know Les, so keep my
phone on. Within the hour, it rings. Where are you?
What happened? LOL. Told her I was already in MD,
and on the way home.
I'd've been home sooner but my driver was a
slow-poke. Had a hard time keeping up a steady
speed. What's up with that? Not a smooth-goer like
the others on the trip. I think he had to pee. LOL.
I just keep reminding myself I'm heading home and
not to a hotel, and that gets me through the three
hours.
BW and dogs are thrilled to see me. Sweeney
didn't even bark at the driver when he came in to
use the bathroom. The dog was speechless with joy!
Slept in my own bed, warming my cold feet on
BW's legs. Ahhh.
Woke up this morning, forgetting I was home.
Opened my eyes and saw my own room. One moment of
total confusion, then bliss.
It's pj's all day today!
On a last note, I want to thank everyone who
came out to see me along the road. It really makes
a difference to see familiar faces, or new faces
from the boards or the Net. It's a tough trip, and
that's the biggest perk of all. Even beats out room
service.
Nora
From GB
I got a little confuse on how to get to West
Chester County Book store. There are two of them
and guess which one I went to? Yup, the wrong one.
I called the right store and get the direction. I
got to the signing with 10 minutes to spare. So no
harm done. :)
The store gave out number so people don't have
to wait in long line. They called up 10 numbers at
a time and picked 1 number for a free t-shirt. I
got lucky No. 53 and won a sign Villa tour t-shirt.
Yah! I never actually won anything before. The
t-shirt was too big for me :( But I don't plan to
WEAR it anyway.
NR started the Q&A section with the usual
questions. How and when she started writing? Which
is her favorite book? etc.... Below are some
interesting questions that I remembered. I'm
paraphrasing NR's answers.
* Why Hidden Riches set in Philly? Did
she know someone there?
- No, she just thought Philly was cool and she
can see Dora's shop in South Street.
* What happen to Gallagher's theatre?
- She was surprise that lot of people asked her
this question. Even BW wanted to know what happen
too when he finished the trilogy. Usually when he
finished, he said it was nice but what for dinner?
(Everyone laughed here!) She can guarantee that the
theatre was a resounding success. Everyone lived
happy ever after and having babies left and right.
* Would she consider sending Eve & Roarke
off planet and make McNab and Peabody the main
characters?
- She said something about nobody remembered
spin-off TV show. McNab and Peabody made strong
supporting characters but they could not hold a
book by themselves.
There were no questions about baby Roarke and
Seth's stories.
From Suzanne
Hello!
I met Nora at her stop in West Chester, Pa. It
was a dream come true for me as I was a "book
signing virgin!" Luckily, I arrived early enough to
get a seat. There were about a 100 people there.
Before Nora came out I made some new friends in the
crowd and we chatted about Nora and her books. One
woman had hard cover editions of the "...in Death"
books. She said she bought them in the UK. They
were cool as there was a picture of "Eve Dallas" on
the cover!
Nora came out to speak looking wonderful. I'll
try to give a good fashion report for those of you
who are interested. She wore dark slacks, a dark
turquoise turtleneck, a plum colored vest and a
plum colored blazer with a pin on the lapel.
(Sorry, I didn't notice what it was) And a diamond
bracelet dangling from the left wrist. But as far
as I'm concerned, Nora could have worn jeans and a
flannel shirt and I would still have been thrilled
to just sit there and listen to her speak.
Her voice is deeper than I thought. A very sexy
Kathleen Turner-ish quality. From the start it is
apparent what a professional and kind woman Nora
is. She answered questions with humor and honesty;
making the audience feel like she was having a
conversation with us rather than giving a lecture.
Most of the questions I've already seen covered in
other reader postings. One woman asked if there
would be more about the Gallaghers of Ardmore and
the theatre. Nora replied, "You want to know about
the theatre? It was a big success, I promise you!"
Nora said that she writes relationship stories and
all the Gallaghers are married and having babies so
there's nothing else for her to write about them.
Another question was if Eve and Roarke would ever
"go on vacation" and Nora could write an entire
story about Peabody and McNab. Nora said she loves
the characters of Peabody and McNab, but she's not
sure if they could carry and entire book. "What
happens when popular characters leave a series and
get their own show? There aren't that many
'Frasiers' in the world."
When it was my turn to meet Nora I was nervous
that I would babble like an idiot. (I hope I didn't
embarrass myself too much!) I told her I loved
The Villa and she replied, "Thank you" with
sincerity; not like a rehearsed line from saying it
probably a thousand times, or like a stewardesses
on a plane. (You know, "Buh-bye.")
I gave her some chocolate (Hershey's hugs &
kisses) and she said she would take them in the car
with her. Nora signed my copy of The Villa
and I asked if she would mind signing two others
for me. She graciously signed my copy of the
Born in... series and the first J.D. Robb
Naked in Death. Then I asked if she would
mind taking a photo with me and she turned and
smiled. (I hope to send the pics soon if I can
figure out how to do it!)
After my turn in line I hung out for awhile just
watching Nora work. If there was ever a sweeter and
more patient woman than Nora Roberts, I haven't met
her.
From JB, Momma Jean, &
Mary
Tuesday evening Mama Jean, Mary and I found
ourselves in Freehold, NJ. The place was
packed at 6 P.M. (for the 7:30 P.M. signing!!).
Thank God we got there early and scored 4th
row seats.
After a nice intro by the lady in charge at the
B&N, Nora opened the floor to questions.
BTW, Nora looked great in a pair of black
slacks and black blazer and a white or maybe cream
mock turtle neck sweater. Sorry, Nancy D, we didn't
notice her shoes!
Mom waited patiently for her turn and then Nora
caught sight of her hand waving madly, gave us both
a HUGE smile, and then said "Hi Jeans"!
Glowing, Mom asked her question, yet ANOTHER
wonderful one provided by our beloved Wym. Mom
said, "Nora, you have created so many terrific
heroes in your books. Now, if you didn't already
have one of your own, which hero would you make a
play for and why." Without missing a beat, Nora
replied, "I don't have to make a play for any of
them because I've had sex with ALL of them -- all
150 of them!!" Then she said, "As you know, I
do have a hero of my own. But, I've been away
from home and him for four loooooong weeks now, so
thanks in advance for the dreams I'm going to have
tonight!"
It brought the house down!!!
Mom laughed and called back, "Great answer!" and
Nora said, "That was a GREAT question!"
When we finally got to talk one to one with
Nora, Mom fessed up and told her that the question
actually came from Wym, and Nora laughed and said
again, that it was a really good one. We asked to
see the bracelet everyone's been talking about and
it is gorgeous!! We told Nora she looked great,
that we loved the new hairdo. She shushed us,
saying, "Don't let Pam (her escort) hear that, I've
been telling her I need some pampering!" or words
to that effect. LOL After chatting for a few
minutes more, we said our good-byes, adding we'd
see her on the 27th back down in Boonsboro.
Oh, I almost forgot! While sitting waiting for
Nora's arrival, we heard our names called and
looked up to see Vicky's smiling face! On the way
out, Vicky, who was waiting in a long line that ran
through the store, called us over and introduced us
to her handsome hubby Tom. How nice to meet a
fellow Broad while out on the road <g>! Also,
B&N raffled off several Villa Tour
tee-shirts autographed by Nora. Guess who's number
was called out?
ME!!! Yep, JB is now the happy owner of a signed
Villa shirt!
So, all and all, it was well worth our drive to
Freehold. We met Nora, got to ask one of the best
questions of the night , won a tee-shirt and met
Vicky. Now onto Boonsboro to see Nora and LINDA
HOWARD!!!! Yahooo!!!!
Mama Jean, JB & Mary
ADWOFF > NORA'S
TOURS >
THE
VILLA
TOUR > West
Chester
Nora's The Villa Tour
2001 