Okay, here goes.

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.

Finishing up the next draft.

Should I divulge the title?

As much as touring around and talking about ghosts  is a wonderful thing, coming home is pretty sweet as well.  But the tour isn’t quite over.  I’ve been doing radio interviews for a few days, and then there are still some events on the schedule.

Turns out I will NOT be going to Salt Lake City.  I guess the store that was trying to put it together…couldn’t.  (Too close to Memorial Day or something)  But I know there are lots of readers in Salt Lake, so I’m going to try and get there on the next tour.  Thanks to everybody from Salt Lake who has written to me to ask me to come, and I’m going to try my best to get there.

Where I WILL  be headed is to Los Angeles (The Borders in Torrance), Vancouver (KidsBooks) and San Diego, CA (Mysterious Galaxy)    Check the appearance schedule for the specific information.

Got to the airport early this morning for the flight between Cincinnati and Columbus…only to find that I wasn’t booked on the flight.  Oops.  After a little scrambling I managed to get on the flight anyway.  Good thing I got there early enough.  I started sweating, thinking I wouldn’t make the flight which would have messed up the whole day.  But I did get on, and the day was far from messed up.

I visited St. Mary’s Elementary school in Columbus.  They are in the middle of their “Read” week, and have a yearlong program going where the entire school is studying great artists and artwork.  The entire school is covered with student-interpreted masters.  Today, each and every kid wore a t-shirt that they decorated in the style of Jackson Pollock.  That’s a lot of paint splatters.  It’s great to see that a school has put such high value on art.

The store I visited was Cover to Cover.  Thanks for the fun event, Sally.  And a big thanks to all the readers who came, especially those who drove from so far.  Unfortunately I didn’t have a public event in Cincinnati yesterday, so one dad and daughter drove all the way from there to see me.   And Amanda drove all the way from Bowling Green.  (Sorry you had trouble finding the store, Amanda.  I guess I had the wrong address on the website)

I also met several guys who grew up with Bobby Pendragon.  They were twelve when the first book came out and pretty much mirrored Bobby’s age in each book.  We talked a lot about Pendragon, and of course Morpheus Road.  It was a terrific event.

That was the last public event for a while.  Tomorrow I visit two schools and then…drum roll please…I get to go HOME!  Yay!  There are more events coming up, including San Diego, Vancouver, Los Angeles, and I believe I might be going to Salt Lake City as well.  If you are near any of those places, check the appearance schedule every so often because I’ll post the dates as soon as I get them.  (The only one set right now is Vancouver)

Pretty easy day today.  I was at the Hill school in Denver where I spoke to 8th graders, and then a PACKED auditorium of 6th and 7th graders.   Beth of the Hill School was kind enough to give me a really great t-shirt.  It spells out H-I-L-L in sign language.  (There were several hearing-impaired kids there who had a teacher signing my presentation for them)  It was great.

I then shot right over to the airport for a flight to Dallas, Texas.  Temps in the 80’s!  Back to short sleeves!   The flight out of Denver was almost as rock-and-rolly as the flight in.  I hear that it’s always that way flying in and out of Denver.  Kind of…scary.  And not the good kind.

Tomorrow I’ll be at Legacy Books in Plan0, TX at 3pm.

Spent a great day in Denver.  First I visited two schools:  the Bruce Randolph School and St. Mary’s Academy.  Both visits were arranged through the awesome Bookies bookstore.  I met a guy named Brandon at Bruce Randolph who everybody said didn’t like to read, but he got a Morpheus Road (to the gasps of everyone) and I’m really hoping that he likes it and becomes a reader.  C’mon Brandon!

St. Mary’s was packed with four grades of enthusiastic kids.  I met the son of one of the teachers who had read all ten Pendragon books in a few weeks.  wonder when he ate?  My favorite moment was when I read the excerpt from Morpheus Road, got to the spooky climax, and got huge gasps from the kids.  That was great.

I ended the day at one of my favorite bookstores:  The Tattered Cover.  Last time I was there they recommended a few books for my daughter that became two of her favorites.  Those guys know their stuff.  I had a fun time with some old and new friends.  Lots of Pendragon readers who are deciding to walk The Road.  I met a guy from the old forums, Saint Kane.  Looking forward to seeing his website.  Thanks to the parents who braved rush hour traffic to get there, and to the girls from Castle Rock who got lost, but still made it.

Tomorrow morning I’m visiting one more school in Denver before blasting off to my next stop…Dallas Texas.   No public events on Friday.  Next one will be at Legacy Books in Dallas on Saturday.  3pm.

I got to sleep in until 7a this morning!  Woo hoo!  It was a unique day today because it wasn’t about school visits and store events…and getting up way too early.  I attended the International Reading Convention in Chicago.  I first hung out on the exhibit floor where I signed some books for teachers who stopped by…including a few Monster Princess books, which was cool.  I then spoke on a panel of two…me and a terrific author named Mike Thaler who has written dozens of books for kids over a lot of years.  His books are for younger kids, and he had some folks from the audience come up and do sound effects as he read.  Very fun.

One surprise was that I ran into a friend I’ve made because we travel in the same book circles.  His name is Loren Long and he is an incredible illustrator.  If you’ve never seen his books, check them out.  My daughter loves them.  He did an update of the classic “The Little Engine that Could” that is really special…among many others.

Then in the afternoon I had a fun experience.  I went to a book warehouse…the kind of place that distributes books all over the country.  The place was immense.  It looked like the warehouse in the last scene of Raiders of the Lost Arc.  It’s a vast space with three stories of books that are moved around by forklifts and on conveyor belts and by hand…all to get them to the stores and to you.  It gave me a new appreciation of how complicated the process is to get a book from the author to the reader.  I went there to sign a bunch of Morpheus Road books that will be distributed, randomly, throughout the country.  It’s kind of like a Willy Wonka golden ticket kind of thing.  So if you happen in to a store and there’s a signed copy of The Light there, chances are I signed it today.

I then hit the airport again and flew to Denver.  It was a real white-knuckle flight.  I don’t think I’ve ever been bounced around so much.  I had to hold on to the armrest to keep from being thrown around.  Not fun.  But I arrived safe and sound.

Tomorrow I visit a few schools in Denver, then there’s an event at the fabulous Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch.

Went interstate today.  Though I’m staying in Chicago, I drove about 2.5 hours this morning into Wisconsin.  (Home of many restaurants with very big signs for CHEESE and BRATS)   I visited two schools and spoke to a couple of very packed rooms.  Thanks to Whitman Middle school in Wauwatosa and Frank Lloyd Wright Middle School in West Allis.  (And a special thanks to the Whitman Wolverines for the t-shirts)

A fun thing that’s starting to happen on this tour is that kids are telling me about some of their own supernatural experiences.   I love that stuff!   The story about the white lady with no head and arms kind of freaked me out, though.

I ended the day at the Shorewood Public Library where they hosted an event with lots of Pendragon fans…soon to be Morpheus Road fans.  A special thanks to Boswell Books in Milwaukee for setting it all up.

Luckily the drive back to Chicago was a bit faster…2 hours.  Tomorrow I get to sleep in!  Woo hoo!!  There won’t be any public appearances because I’ll be attending the International Reading Convention to speak on a panel.  Then in the afternoon, I toddle out of Chicago and fly to my next stop…Denver.