Postcards from the road

The DOGLAND road trip begins, plus my weekly shareables: The voice in Trump's ear, the new life of a rodeo star, and Conan eats hot wings

May 04, 2024

#6 on the Southern Indie Bestsellers hardcover nonfiction list. Hope those authors below me make something of themselves one day.

Before we get into the highlights from the last few days of the DOGLAND book tour, a reminder about the coming week:

On Monday I’m doing Books Over Drinks at the beautiful M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, SC. Tickets are $35 and include admission, a copy of DOGLAND, and a cocktail. A slightly buzzed audience—that’s right in my wheelhouse.
On Tuesday I’m at Hub City Bookshop in Spartanburg, SC, for an event in conversation with my dear friend Bronwen Dickey. This one’s free but they do ask that you RSVP.
And on Wednesday I’m at the Wrecking Bar in Atlanta, sponsored by A Cappella Books, in conversation with my buddy Ernie Suggs. There’s a cash bar. So technically that’s two Books Over Drinks events in the same week.

My publisher, Avid Reader Press, is so happy at the response to the book that this week they ordered a third printing. That’s at least partly based on the turnout and excitement at these early events. So if you’re in or around Greenville, Spartanburg or Atlanta this week, come see us!

My favorite part about a book tour is how at every event I run into somebody I haven’t seen in years. Sometimes it’s a reader I’ve never met in person—somebody I’ve corresponded with over email and finally get to meet in the flesh. Other times it’s an old friend or colleague or running buddy who pops up in the audience and gives me an instant shot of happiness.

In Brevard on Tuesday night, Woody Mitchell was in the crowd. Woody was an editor at the Charlotte Observer when my wife and I worked there … he’s also a longtime musician who played in many bands in and around Charlotte. I had lost touch with him and hadn’t realized he’d moved to the mountains. He suggested we pose for a photo like we were a tag team of wrestling heels. I couldn’t hold the grimace. I was too happy to see him.

The next night, at Malaprop’s in Asheville, I had a rooting section made up of a bunch of former members of our church in Charlotte who had moved to the mountains themselves. The whole night was a kind of spiritual experience for me—not in the theological sort of way, but in the way a few hours with good friends can lift your spirits.

Every book event I’ve done has been a spirit-lifter. I have loved hearing people tell their own dog stories and show me photos of their dogs past and present. I’ve signed books in the name of people for their dogs, and in the name of dogs for their people. The tour, at least for me, is a warm and loving place. And now that I’m in full Dog Mode, I see them everywhere. We walked by these guys in an Asheville store window:

There was a ceramic cat in the photo, too. I cropped it out.

10 things I wanted to share this week:

A few more DOGLAND-related items to share … a Q&A with Theoden Janes for the Charlotte Observer; a conversation with Zibby Owens for the Moms Don’t Have Time To Read Books podcast; and a review in the Wall Street Journal.
I also wrote a piece for the newsletter on (sigh) Kristi Noem, and her dog story.
My friend Michael Kruse wrote a brilliant profile of Susie Wiles, the terrifyingly competent political operative who is trying to help Donald Trump back into the White House—and maybe sort out her own contradictions along the way. (POLITICO)
Speaking of brilliant profiles, Sally Jenkins wrote the hell out of the story of J.B. Mauney, a fearless bull rider who is having to find a new life after a bull named Arctic Assassin broke his neck. (Washington Post)
I read this a couple of weeks ago, but I’m still thinking about Howard Bryant’s deeply reported and thoughtful story on a high-school baseball team torn apart by race. (ESPN)
An eye-opening look at the innards of the book industry, where celebrity bestsellers and children’s books pay the bills of … well, authors like me. (The Elysian)
The work of art. (Austin Kleon)
My friend Matt Crossman’s love letter to 30 years in journalism. Even though sometimes it involves eating a goose that tastes like Nerf. (The Accidental Adventurer)
The thing that made me laugh the most this week was Conan O’Brien’s appearance on HOT ONES. I love that he brought his “doctor” along.
It was a hectic week, in a really good way, but this morning I finally had a few peaceful hours as a light rain fell outside. I put on some Van Morrison and “Into the Mystic” lifted my soul as it almost always does. I’m back out on the road in a couple of days … but when that foghorn whistle blows, you know I’m coming home.
Have a great week, everybody.