I’m very excited! In just a few weeks now, I will be traveling back to Kansas (the non-magical way in an airplane) for a mini book tour. For those of you in and around the northeastern area of the state, come by and say hi. Below is a consolidated list of scheduled events during the trip:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2ND

International Wizard of Oz Club’s 2009 National Convention – a private 5:00 PM reception at the Oz Museum in Wamego, KS, is followed by a dinner and after-dinner presentation at 6:00 PM for club members and attendees at the Columbian Theatre (521 Lincoln Ave., Wamego, KS, 66547), where I will be speaking along with other guests about the “Wonderful Witches of Oz.” Also scheduled to appear: Hamilton Meserve, son of actress Margaret Hamilton. Grant Hayter-Menzies, author of “Mrs. Ziegfeld: The Public and Private Lives of Billie Burke.” Kurt Raymond in-character as the Wicked Witch. For my portion of the program, I will be sharing fond recollections about my second-grade pen pal, Margaret Hamilton, MGM’s iconic Wicked Witch of the West.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3RD

Kansas State University’s English Department’s Academic Conference called “Recreating Oz.” At 10:30 AM at Kansas State University’s Student Union Little Theatre in Manhattan, KS (N 17th Street, Manhattan, KS 66502), I will be giving a speech entitled, “Re-Imagining the World of Oz For Contemporary Audiences: An In-Depth Analysis of the Creative Process for the Novel ‘Silver Shoes.’” I will also be selling books at this event.

OZtoberFest – Co-hosted by the Oz Museum in Wamego, KS, I will be signing, selling books, and reading from my novel “Silver Shoes” in the Swogger Gallery at the Columbian Theatre (521 Lincoln Ave., Wamego, KS, 66547) from 2PM to 3PM.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6TH

Lawrence Public Library – A joint-event for “Silver Shoes” in my hometown of Lawrence, Kansas, co-hosted by the Lawrence Public Library and The Raven Book Store. It will be held in the library’s auditorium (707 Vermont Street, Lawrence, KS, 66044) at 7:00 PM and will include a “booktalk” presentation with Q&A, a reading (roughly 15 minutes) hosted by the library, and a book-signing hosted by The Raven Book Store.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8TH –

Louisburg Library – For those of you in the Kansas City area who can’t make the Lawrence event or live closer to this one, I will be giving a repeat performance of the “booktalk” presentation with Q&A, a reading (roughly 15 minutes), as well as selling and signing copies of “Silver Shoes” at 7:00 PM at the Louisburg Library (206 South Broadway, Louisburg, KS, 66053).

If any new information should arise, or if any changes need to be made to these dates, times, or locations, rest assured I will post them here first! I’m looking forward to a wonderful visit in Kansas with my friends, family, and acquaintances old and new.

See you there!