If all the attendees of the LA Times Festival of Books got together, there would be enough of us to form a small town. We’d need a grocery store, a post office, a sheriff’s deputy or two and a volunteer fire department. We’d be the most literate, book-crazy town ever, and I would live there happily.

I started the day, hosting the Vroman’s Bookstore Reader Bus that took attendees from Pasadena to the festival site. Fellow author Charlie Schroeder and I passed the mic, telling jokes, sharing stories and answering questions as we rolled down the freeway, passing downtown’s enormous skyscrapers. (How many writers can say that?)

Once there, I had a fabulous time signing at the Sisters in Crime and Mystery Ink booths. So many readers came up to tell me they’d heard about LOSING CLEMENTINE and were excited to get the book. It made for a very happy author. Thanks, guys!

(Photo by fellow author Avery Aames. Check out her site.)