This Is My Secret: The Blog and Website of Writer Kristin Cashore

So, am I insane if after traveling from Vail to Denver to Seattle to Palo Alto to San Jose to Austin to Houston to Miami to Jacksonville all in one week and doing lots of events and not getting enough sleep, I'm ecstatic that today I'll be spending the day in a very small house with my sisters (secret codenames: Cordelia and Apocalyptica), my brother-in-law (scn: Joe), my newborn twin nieces (scn: Phoenix and Isis), my mother, my father, two cats, and one flying squirrel?

In other words, it is Monday; I am in Jacksonville; my parents are here from New Jersey; Apocalyptica is bringing her flying squirrel all the way from Massachusetts; and I remember my pride. And tonight everyone will (tentatively) be at my event! BEST DAY OF THE TOUR.

:o)

In other news: I love the way Jay Smooth thinks, and I love the way he talks. This time, his subject is Roman Polanski.

Here are some song lyrics a friend emailed me on the day my tour began:

I never wanted to be a star, I never wanted to travel far
I only wanted a little bit of love
So I could put a little love in my heart
I never wanted to be la-de-da, go to parties avec le bourgeois
I only wanted to sing my song well,
So I could ring a small bell in your heart.

- from "I Never Wanted" by Cat Stevens

I've been carrying that around in the copy of Fire I read from. I like being reminded of the little love and the small bells. :o)

All's going well! And I'm even getting to do some sightseeing. Monday I was in Denver; Tuesday, Seattle; Wednesday, Palo Alto; and today I fly to Austin. I have no idea what's going on in the news (Cordelia had to explain the David Letterman thing to me via text message) and my email is out of hand... but things are going well.

If you're going to be in the Houston, Miami, Jacksonville, or DC areas in the next few days, please check my Appearance Schedu…

Extra points if you recognize today's title.

WARNING: Today's post is all business, so if you don't want to read about release dates, my blog tour, my regular tour, reviews (with stars upon thars), interviews, how to read the first 3 chapters of Fire online, etc., etc., please just skip this BORING post and scroll down to read about cool stuff like babies and translations or to vote in my extremely relevant birthday poll.

Okay, here goes! Firstly, I am proud to report that Fire has received starred reviews from The Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal, and a gold star from the Romantic Times. *blushes* I've finally gotten around to creating a page of Fire review excerpts; see the link on the left or just click here. (BTW. If you notice that it or any of my other Quick Links are dated 2/28/08... that's just the date I randomly give Quick Link posts, so that they don't pop up as new posts and clog people's read…

All dates are 2017 unless otherwise specified.

All of my events will involve an "in conversation," a Q&A, and a signing – and possibly also a very short reading (no more than two minutes! Because I zone out if it goes longer!). Details:

Tuesday, September 19th at 7 PM -- hosted by authorTui Sutherland!
Harvard Book Store
1256 Mass Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138

Wednesday, September 20th  at 6 PM -- in conversation with my very own editor, Kathy Dawson!
Oblong Books & Music
6422 Montgomery Street
Rhinebeck, NY 12572

Friday, September 22nd  at 6:30 PM
Parnassus Books
3900 Hillsboro Pike, Ste 14
Nashville, TN 37215

Saturday, September 23rd at 4 PM 
Barnes & Noble
12193 Fair Lakes Promenade Drive
Fairfax, VA 22033

Sunday, September 24th at 2 PM
Quail Ridge Books & Music 
4209-100 Lassiter Mill Road
Raleigh, NC 27609 

Monday, September 25th at 6 PM  -- with Stephanie Perkins!, author of There's Someone Inside Your House
Malaprop’s Bookstore
55 Haywood St.
Ashev…