Signings are getting a little weird.   I’ll be talking to a Pendragon or Morpheus Road reader, and the next person in line will be a mom with a sweet little girl in a princess dress all excited about The Monster Princess.  I have to change gears pretty quickly.  But you know, it’s really fun.

If anybody is going to Comic Con in San Diego, I’ll be there on Sunday.

Next month The Monster Princess publishes.  I know that most of you readers won’t be running out to get that because it’s a picture book, but if you know of some little ones…

We’ll be posting a book trailer on the site in a few weeks.

I’m psyched for summer, myself.  My little girl is finishing first grade and we’re going to be doing a lot of traveling.  (Because I just didn’t get enough of it on my book tour.  Yeesh)  The most exciting trip will be to Italy for two weeks.  (Let the pasta-load begin)  I plan on taking lots of books . . . it’s a long plane ride.

What’s on your reading list for this summer?  (Don’t feel compelled to say my books because I’m sure if you’re reading this you’ve read them all already, right?  RIGHT?)

My friend is Johnny Pacar.  You may know him from Flight 29 Down, among many other shows and movies.  He’s now on the show “Make It Or Break It”.

If you’ve read “The Light”, then you can pretty much figure out what the title of the second book in the trilogy is going to be.  We learned that the place where Marsh (and the rest of us) live is referred to as:  “The Light”.  In trying to get Marsh to find the poleax, Damon says that it’s in the Light, but the answer to where it is can be found is somewhere else and he threatens to send Marshall there.  So the next stop along the Morpheus Road is the title of the second book:

Morpheus Road:  The Black.

Many of you figured that out, though most thought it would be called “The Dark”.   So the titles aren’t descriptions, they’re references to actual places.  Which raises the question:  What will the title of  #3 be?  I won’t discuss that until The Black comes out next year.  But I will say this:  As with “The Light”, once you’ve read “The Black” you’ll pretty much know what that title is going to be.

Should I divulge the title?

I’m now headed home after spending a very memorable month travelling all over and meeting so many readers, both young and old (er).  (If you like my books, you can’t really consider yourself “old”)

Many, many miles were covered on this trip.  There was snow in Denver and 90 degrees w/humidity in Texas.  I wish I could calculate how many kids in school I spoke to.  Many thousands.   Too many to count.  Each event was unique and special in its own way.  Someone once asked me what my favorite thing was about writing books.  That’s easy.  It’s when somebody comes up to me and says:  “I loved your book”.  It doesn’t get better than that, and I was fortunate to have that experience many times over in the stores and schools that I visited.  Thanks for that.

As the tour progressed it was fun to see how the questions from readers no longer became solely about Pendragon.  As a few weeks went by, I met many readers who had already read The Light, and it was fun to be able to discuss a new story.  (Though I’ll never get tired of talking about Pendragon)

I want to thank all the booksellers, teachers, librarians, principals and hosts who made the tour so much fun and go so smoothly.  And of course a big thank you has to go to my friends at Simon & Schuster who put the whole tour together.  It’s tough to piece together a puzzle like a book tour, and Paul and Bernadette did an amazing job.  Thanks guys!

What’s next for me?  Rest.  Ha, actually not.  Now I get to go back and do what I love best . . . write.  I’m finishing up a re-write of the first Equinox Curiosity Shop book.  (It’s called:  “The Teller of Tales”)  Then I’ll get right on to the next revision of Morpheus Road #2.  (I’m not saying what the title is yet, but many readers have already guessed.   It ain’t hard to figure out . . . kind of like “The Soldiers of Halla” was)

THEN, I’m going to write the second Monster Princess picture book.  The first book is coming out in August, so for all those out there who know little ones who you think will enjoy my brand of storytelling but in a completely different form, check it out.    I can say this because I didn’t do the illustrations, but I think the book is great.  The illustrator is Alexandra Boiger.  She’s a star.

To all those who I met on the tour, thanks for coming out and saying hi.  To all who have followed the tour on my blog, I hope to get to meet you in person some day.  It’s only about 11 months until the next tour.  I’d better rest up.

It was great seeing her and the event she and her staff put on was terrific, as usual.  On the way back to the hotel I was treated to a small tour of the Olympic Village.  Made me wish I had actually been here for the games!

Early morning tomorrow (as usual) and a flight to…San Diego to another of my favorite stores, Mysterious Galaxy.  Thursday night at 7.  This is the last official event of the Morpheus Road Tour.  I hope to see lots of readers there!

Now that The Light has been out for a month, I figured it was okay to start a topic to discuss it.

For those who have read my Pendragon books, you know that I write stories that don’t always go where you think they’re going.  Morpheus Road is no different.  At the end of “The Light” there are some very big twists and story shifts . . . not the least of which is the reveal of what Gravedigger is all about.  Or not about.  Who thinks they know where the story is now headed?