Ficlets

Meet Ripley, the bookstore cat for Borderlands Books in San Francisco, where I had my reading and signing last night. No, there’s nothing wrong with the cat, not did the owners shave the cat in a fit of pique – Ripley is naturally hairless. This is ideal for a bookstore cat, since this way she does not trigger most people’s cat allergies. Also, it’s just generally an interesting look. Alan Beatts, the owner of Borderlands Books, tells me that new customers sometimes confuse the sleeping Ripley for some sort of wrinkly statuary, until the moment she actually yawns and stretches. At which point they freak out. Personally, I think she’s adorable.

The San Francisco area is actually my busiest area on the tour; so far I’ve had events in Half Moon Bay and San Francisco, and today, I have two events – the first at Google headquarters in Mountain View, and then in Berkeley, where I have a late afternoon signing. In between all of this I’ve been running around doing interviews and signing stock, so the life of an author on tour really is always on the move. The good news is tonight I travel to Los Angeles, and tomorrow I have nothing on the schedule. Which means my big plan for Saturday is: Sleep. I know, I am the very definition of excitement.

But, you know. At the moment sleep seems like a very good idea indeed. My body, after several days on the West coast, is still stubbornly clinging to the Eastern Time Zone, which means that no matter what time I fall asleep, my brain is popping awake some time between four and five in the morning, since that’s between seven and eight Eastern, and that’s when I take my daughter to school. After popping awake my body – which is still tired – spends a couple hours arguing with my brain – which is stupid and wants to get up – about this whole “being awake at 4am” thing. It’s a bit frustrating.

I have no doubt I’ll have it all sorted out over the next few days, at which time I’ll fly back into the Eastern time zone, and will thus become tired in the entirely opposite direction. I’m looking forward to that, I am.

When I’m “on” – doing the signing or reading – I try to keep the effects of being somewhat tired from showing, generally by caffeinating the hell out of myself beforehand and then cruising through the appearance on a bit of a buzz. When I’m not “on,” I’ve been walking around in (for me) a bit of a daze. I’m not sure it’s entirely noticable to people who don’t know me, but last night after my appearance I went out for a bite to eat with my friend Kevin, who has known me for almost 25 years, and he noted I seemed a bit robotic. I plead guilty; this is what hopping about from place to place does to you.

So yes. Tomorrow. Sleeping in. It’s the main attraction for the day, and I’m glad my tour has a hole in it that allows me to do that.