The first stop on my autumn mini-book tour is where the book began: Boston, Massachusetts.

Well, not quite my first stop; on the evening of my flight I’d found out Armistead Maupin (of Tales of the City fame) was speaking about his new book, another installment in his Tales universe set in the present day, Mary Ann in Autumn. The event was at A Different Light Bookstore, the same spot where I’d had my launch event several months ago.

I had good turnout for my event, but it was dwarfed by what Maupin got — the place was packed to the rafters. Then again, he’s been writing books for almost as long as I’ve been alive, so chalk one up to the power of gradual fan-building; he discussed his early days of having to churn out 800 words on a regular basis for the San Francisco Chronicle back in the day, and the endless process of negotiation of what he could and could not include in the newspaper serial that would one day become these bestselling books. I even managed to meet the man himself, had him autograph a copy of his book, and gave him an autographed copy of my book. A bit weary from the deluge of fans, when he learned I was flying out that night to do a couple of events he nodded and said “good.” The man’s a pro; he knows the drill.

One MUNI Metro, BART train, red-eye Virgin America flight, and cab ride later, and I found myself at my friends’ Sean and Kyle’s front door in the really cute Savin Hill neighborhood of Dorchester, in Boston. I had to hurry my ass over there as I had a scheduled radio interview with CIRR, 103.9 PROUD-FM, Toronto GLBT radio station. In true book tour fashion, here I was, bleary-eyed in advance of an event that night while talking up my next event with hosts Richard & Chris in Toronto. Believe me, it’s not as glamorous as it sounds! Check out the podcast of the interview here.

Some serial napping with my pals’ uber-friendly cat, and I was ready to head out for my event. I was, understandably, a bit trepidatious after my not-so-fantastic turnout at my event in Berkeley a couple of weeks back. Would this be a reprise of that fiasco?

I arrived at Trident Booksellers & Cafe to find the place almost as packed as A Different Light was the night before. No, alas, the crowd wasn’t, for the most part, there explicitly to see me… though a number of folks loped in as the evening wore on, having seen the piece in the Boston Globe that ran earlier that day. But it didn’t matter so much, given the overall bustle of the joint; although starting out felt a bit like a comedian at an open-mic night, by the end of my reading a number of otherwise-preoccupied folks were listening with interest, and a number of fence-sitters were convinced enough to buy the book. Mission accomplished!

Best of all was the venue itself and its friendly, warm, and wonderful staff: Trident has really taken the bookstore/cafe hybrid model to its logical apex, with a full-service bar & cafe that fills up evening after evening. This is the secret for emerging indie authors like myself who are only starting to build a following: partner up or ally with retailers and groups where you can build synergy. In the case of Trident, they really ran with the event and had their chef prepare selections that matched chapters in the book… you can guess what I had for dessert last night.

The best part, however, came afterward, as I segued from speaker to guest and caught up with my Boston posse late into the evening. As with my world trip itself, these book events offer the opportunity for a global nomad like myself, with commensurately far-flung friend circle, to reconnect with the latticework of compadres scattered far and wide.

Riding back to the airport, where I now sit, brought back a flood of memories and associations; the Silver Line bus was a route I took weekly back in the days before my world trip, and I was again transported to those hurly-burly days of consulting-driven travel, liver donations, and all the other forces that led me to where I am today. Funny how a gunmetal-gray piece of mass transit can hold so many associations.

To all of you who came to see me, my hearfelt thanks; for those in the Boston area and interested in buying the book, copies are still available at Trident now and into the holiday season.

Next up: Toronto!

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