Photos and journal from
Susan Squires

This was a wonderful experience for me. We spent four days on a bus with nine authors and a wonderful set of Levy folks who took amazing care of us. Once they found out I was a Diet Coke addict, a Diet Coke appeared at every morning signing. And let me tell you about the chocolate that appeared in the afternoon! We all worried that we would go home and cause relationship problems by expecting that our families would appear with chocolate chip cookies at four o'clock! The Levy folks, Pam, Justine, Pat, and Ryan, made sure that we were on the bus, with all possessions, and having made all pertinent restroom stops right on time. And you know that taking care of authors is like herding cats. They were heroic.

The other authors were marvelous. We all wrote very different sorts of books, which gave readers a real choice as they came up to talk to us. We asked readers what kind of books they read and then directed them to the appropriate author. We got as good at pitching each others' books as we were at explaining our own. We shared writing experiences and all our hopes and fears over wine and wonderful seafood dinners. I did note, however, after all that seafood at the Cape, that most of us ordered steak or pasta the last night. There is something called "too much of a good thing." Talking to others who had done other tours, I confirmed that we were a remarkably congenial group. We all got a little tired toward the end, and a little silly. Long days, not quite enough sleep, and having to be "on" for readers, was exhausting. But the stories we shared, and the shared experience, will live with me for a long time. I made friends that will last a lifetime.

Susan Squires