It's been fun, exhausting and it ain't over yet:

Flew into Los Angeles on Monday night, got picked up by media escort extraordinaire, Ken Wilson, early the next morning. We headed over to the NPR studios so I could do a live interview for Nevada's KNPR (no, I'm not disoriented - I said NV NPR in Los Angeles. Bear with me.) The show is State of Nevada with Dave Berns and you can listen to a podcast of our intervew here.

Yep, I'm wearing a QUEEN OF THE ROAD shirt, because after this, Ken and I are off to do stock signings at all the area bookstores we can. A lot of people want to know, "Why do you need a media escort?" If you had my sense of direction (or rather, lack of one), you wouldn't ask. The last thing a publisher wants is to score some great show or signing for an author, only to have her get lost on the way because she's unfamiliar with a city (personally, I would have ended up in Utah). Media escorts will then take the author to do stock signings at bookstores in between bookings. Ken is so good and has been doing this so long, he's Janet Evanovich's personal media escort: when she travels on tour, he goes with her all around the U.S. He told me they even traveled by bus a few years ago. Janet doesn't do stock signings, though. Since stores carry around 150 copies of her books (sigh), she'd be at one all day. Instead, he just takes her to events and media.

That night, I did my very first reading/signing and royal shtick at the wonderful indie, Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse in La Canada. The even was covered by the local paper, The Outlook.

That's Ken and me. Flintridge was quite queened-out, as you can see.

Part of the festivities included a tour of a bus conversion (in the parking lot - not the store - we're talkin' 40 feet, here!) provided by Bus Conversions magazine (our bus was the June centerfold! Now I can add Miss June to my crowned titles).

Then, onto Las Vegas for a signing (see? now you know why I did the Nevada NPR show) at the brand new Borders in Town Square Mall. My good buddy Alison was my media escort and took me around all day to do stock signings at various bookstores. (If you haven't been to Vegas in a while, it's grown so much - I really needed her. But, don't think she'll do the same for you. She's my personal media escort. Take that, Evanovich!) Prior to the signing, "Auntie A." and I had dinner with another good bud, Ginny. I love this picture of the two of them (that's Alison on the right):

Kristen Thomas was the event coordinator at the Borders and confided in me she was a bit nervous, since this was her first author event! I figured I wouldn't add to her (or my) jitters by confiding in her that this was only my second. But, Kristen handled it like a pro (I told her for my next book, I didn't care if by then she was promoted to manager of all the Nevada Borders - she was doing my event), even though there were some rather... let us say "unusual" aspects:

That's Kristen, me and Jeff Stanulis, Las Vegas' premiere Elvis. Tim and I had our vows renewed by him on our bus during our year-long QUEEN OF THE ROAD trip:

I invited Jeff to the signing and he did me one (or actually two) better by offering to serenade the crowd beforehand and even raffle off a chance to win a vow renewal right at the store!

Alison was smitten.

As was Ginny.

And the lucky couple? Norma and Bruce were... (you know I have to) all shook up:

But, so was the staff:

(That's Dean Austin, the General Manager in the center.)

As were all of us in the SRO crowd:

Viva Las Vegas (you know I had to do that, too).

More tour, soon...

I've been book touring this past week, and just got home to this fabulous review in the Rocky Mountain News! They gave me a "Grade A." And why not? I did study awful hard. (So happy I don't need to cancel my subscription.)

Heading out for a launch party, but please do check back soon for hysterical pictures of me and Elvis - united once more - at the Borders Town Square in Vegas. Have also been to LA. at the wonderful Flintridge Bookstore, where Bus Conversions Magazine provided a bus to tour! In a week, I head to Portland (Powell's), Marin (Book Passage), Oakland (A Great Good Place for Books), then Phoenix (Changing Hands). Will also do reading/signing and royal shtick closer to home at Tattered Cover and Boulder Bookstore. Ladies, bring your boas!

Last night my very own, fabulous book group (the one I've been in for over a decade) did QUEEN OF THE ROAD off galley copies. Thanks, ladies!

Of course, they were very complimentary. (What else were they going to say? They knew my onion rings would have made great projectiles.) And, for once, everyone finished the book! (Ditto - well, at least they said they did.) But, I was particularly gratified that in addition to the humor, they also "got" the underlying themes:

Don't wait - live your dreams NOW.

Keep challenging and stretching yourself.

The most important thing is to spend time with the people you love.

So, without further ado, here's my fabulous book group:

(Photo taken by our knights in shining armour, Peter Gail and his friend Michael, who had a camera in his cell phone, and saved the day when my camera refused to work.)
Jane Ann Hebert, Dina Horwedel, Sheryl Allen, me, Robbie Barr, Susan Wientzen at the Dark Horse, whose sister restaurant, The Bum Steer is mentioned in QUEEN OF THE ROAD as the place Tim and I had our first date. (He tricked me into going - the name couldn't be more appropriate.)

A few of the women are mentioned in the book:

Jane Ann has worked with Tim. Last night, she had to answer the question: "Is he really as great as Doreen portrays him?" (Hmmm. Wait'll I do that next edition.) Answer: "Yes." (There's that whole onion ring thing, again.) But then, she added, "And, what's really great, is you can tell how much he loves Doreen." Made even my cold, shrivelled heart melt. Thanks, Jane Ann.

Susan got some ribbing because in the book, I call her, "the most gorgeous woman I know." So, of course, she had to point out that I've had PRK - twice. (Maybe that explains my blinking in the picture.)

Sheryl, I term my "insane" friend, because her dream is to hike the Appalachian trail - 'nough said.

Robbie is mentioned in the acknowledgements as one of my beta readers, because I very much appreciated her judgment. (She's a judge - get it?)

Dina, who has had a fascinating life, providing aid in destitute, war-torn areas around the globe, had been in our group years before, then left to do her good work. She came back only recently and we're selfishly thrilled to have her with us, again.

Acknowledged, but not present, are Eileen GIlday and Deborah Ramirez who couldn't be there last night. We missed you, ladies! See you next time! (Geez. I hope it's not something I wrote.)

PS - Mom. I know you're going to be royally P.O.'d as only a Queen Mother can, that all these ladies have read the book and you have not. But, I wanted you to read the real book (you know, not a typo-filled, mistake-ridden, no blurbs yet galley copy) and I only got those last week. Yes, I know, I haven't sent you one of those, either. And, yes, I know in desperation, you ended up ordering one on Amazon.

I'll be happy to sign it for you.

Another important lesson we learned is that all that really matters is spending time with the people you love. It sounds so simple, doesn't it? And, while it's true that in traveling around the country through 47 states (including Alaska), we met incredibly diverse and unique people, we also found that we all had one thing in common: Wanting to love and be loved. Yet, that's not what most spend their time doing. We had been guilty of that, as well.

On the bus, we learned how crucial it is to downsize and simplify our lives so that we don't end up supporting a lifestyle filled with things instead of people and experiences. Tim and I are polar opposites. Maybe that's why we have so much fun together - even if it's doing something that might not turn out as planned.

By now, you know that the out-of-doors is not exactly my thing. Well, after meeting a remarkable man of the bush in tiny Wrangell, Alaska, I decided that if he could live for days in a tree in the rain along the river hunting moose, the least I could do was try hiking, again. Tim was thrilled . . . until we hiked. For it was on Sitka's Harbor Mountain that we took what I would come to term The Alaskan Death March. Although even I had to admit the scenery was spectacular (ocean, islands, distant peaks, yada yada) the lack of an escalator on the steep climb nearly did me in. And why should I suffer alone?

So I devised the Five Stages of Getting Grief from Hiking with Doreen: Denial ("We're not going all the way up there, are we?"); Anger ("I can't believe I let you take me on this stupid hike!"); Bargaining ("If we stop now, I'll have the energy to do another hike tomorrow. Really, I promise!"); Despair ("Oh, why did I ever let you talk me into anything over three miles?"); Acceptance ("Fine. But this is absolutely, positively, the last hike I will ever go on for the rest of my life!") Recalling a disappointing hike through a rainforest we had taken two weeks before, I felt compelled to add a sixth stage, one which only occurs in extreme circumstances, at a perfect storm of elevation gain, accumulated mileage, mud and bugs: Confabulation ("Look at the dog! You're killing him!"). Finally, when I nagged enough to make even Tim agree to quit, I clutched the poodle to celebrate, beaming as I attempted to reinforce the wisdom of my husband's capitulation.

"I'm so glad you didn't make me continue to the top. This way, I could actually enjoy how beautiful it was. I'd even do it again."

"Really?" Tim retorted. "I wouldn't."

I hope you're enjoying reading about our extraordinary journey. It you want to learn more (or just have some laughs) please visit www.QueenOfTheRoadTheBook.com for pictures of our trip, more videos and podcasts, book tour appearances and events, as well as more excerpts. If you do stop by my website, please be sure to click on the "Share a Thought" link. I'd love to hear from you.

Although I protested as long as I could, my husband and I did eventually hit the road in our bus with our two querulous cats, sixty-pound dog - and no agenda. Another important thing we learned was: Don't let the spark die. It's crucial to keep challenging and stretching yourself. I hadn't realized how my life had become more than comfortable - it had become rote and routine. So along with the many adventures we had, we also had to survive many disasters (fire, flood, armed robbery, my developing a guest phobia and finding ourselves in a nudist RV park, to name just a few) that actually helped in rekindling that spark. In fact, on our very first day out, I nearly died a horrible death (not that I would have thought there was any other kind) several times.

There's a reenactment of one of those episodes on my website. It's the one on the Meltdown Cruise, but you'll also see one for our visit to the nudist RV park (now, I have your attention).

When my long-dreaded thirtieth birthday arrived, I really wasn't as upset as I imagined I'd be, for I had achieved a much more important milestone: my sartorial centennial. I owned one hundred pairs of shoes. Then, at age forty-four, I found myself trying to cram a mere half that number into a living space of 340 square feet.

The whole thing was Tim's fault.

When he announced he wanted to travel around the country in a converted bus for a year, I gave this profound and potentially life-altering notion all the thoughtful consideration it deserved.

"Why can't you be like a normal husband with a midlife crisis and have an affair or buy a Corvette?" I demanded, adding, "I will never, ever, EVER, not in a million years, live on a bus."

Something less than a million years later, as we prepared to roll down the road in our fully outfitted, luxury bus, it occurred to me that Tim had already owned a Corvette, long ago when he was far too young for a midlife crisis. While I pondered who he might be seeing on the side (and whether his having an affair might prove less taxing than living in a metallic phallus on wheels), I wedged and stuffed – and, oh my GOD! bent – the cutest little Prada mules you've ever seen into my "closet," which was really not a closet at all, but much more resembled the cubbyhole I'd been assigned many pre-shoe-obsession years ago at Camp Cejwin. How had I let myself go from "never ever" to..this? Both Tim and I are shrinks, but he's obviously the better one. It took him five years, yet he whittled down my resolve, no doubt with some fancy, newfangled brainwashing technique ripped out of one of our medical journals before I could get to it.

So, here is the first and one of the most important lessons we learned from "the bus thing": Don't put off your dreams. Tim finally convinced me by explaining, "This is just something I really want to do – while we're young and can still enjoy it. I've done everything right all my life, the way I was supposed to do it. Now I want something for me. And I want it with you."

I realized even then that he had a point. Like many people, until we reached our late thirties, Tim and I had gone through life feeling rather invincible. Not only was it inconceivable that something bad could ever happen to us, even our very mortality seemed suspect. When we hit our forties, this changed, as our contemporaries experienced sudden, unexpected tragedies: A friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. A colleague died of a heart attack in his sleep. Both of us, for the first time, could feel creaks and aches in bones we hadn't thought about since anatomy class. Over the years, we each had treated people in our practices who had looked forward to all they planned to do in retirement, but when the time came, were too ill to travel or too devastated by the death of a spouse to live out their dreams.

Those lessons started hitting home as we officially breached middle age. We knew we were fortunate in that we would always have jobs; neurosis is a growth industry, after all. We could afford to do this now and go back to work later. For most people, it takes some terrible catalyst to change their lives. We're living proof that it doesn't have to be that way. We don't have to wait. We can change our lives NOW. And, it doesn't have to be something as drastic as taking an entire year off. That happened to work for us, but the bus is a really a metaphor; everyone can find their own "inner bus" whether it's taking an adult education class in something they've always wanted to learn about, volunteering in their communities, or rekindling an old interest that went by the wayside years ago.

What would your inner bus be?

Tomorrow, another important thing we learned: Don't let the spark die.

A week ago, Tim and I stood in our yard and watched 1-2 acres burn, as over 100 firefighters fought a blaze for several hours. A slurry bomber dropped fire retardant.

A crew was left there overnight to make sure the fire stayed contained. Several homes were threatened (not ours) but thankfully, there was no loss of life (or property).

They suspect a hiker dropped a cigarette, easily igniting the fire because it's been so dry and yesterday was so windy. How can it be considered dry when it just snowed? (See my last post.) Apparently (according to Tim), the few inches of snow we got was equivalent to "just a spit" of rain.

We used to live in the mountains where we were very aware of the fire danger. The fire yesterday was closer to town than anyone can remember. Several home owners got reverse 911 calls (we did not) but I still found myself wondering, "What would I take if I had only 5 minutes to evacuate?"

The answer was very different from what it would have been before we did "the bus thing." Then, I might have tried to salvage clothes, shoes, art work, etc. Now, it would only be pictures - our wedding album and my computer (because of the digital photos it stores).

As I learned on our bus year after the fire and armed robbery: Everything is replaceable.

What would you take if you only had 5 minutes? (Besides pets and children, which are a given, right?)

The fabulously wise and wonderful editors of Quick and Simple Magazine have decided to do a spread on QUEEN OF THE ROAD for one of their summer issues.

As such, Tim and I were each interviewed by phone, and a local photographer dispatched to take pictures of us in and around the bus. The plan was to drive it to nearby Red Rocks, for a simply gorgeous setting for the outdoors shots. Since this was to be for a summer issue, we were to wear summer clothes. After much rummaging through the Royal Wardrobe, I settled on a light top, light pants and sandals.

Joe Hancock of Hancock Studio and his assistant, John, were quite wonderful - and quick. We'd had magazine photo shoots before for my first book and the promised "three hours" inevitably turn into an all day affair. (Hey, Joe! Wonder why I insisted on meeting at 3 p.m.? I figured dusk would hold you to the three hour thing.) This was actually the very first shoot we've ever done which came in UNDER the promised time. Thus, we got our "quick." Unfortunately, "simple" was not to be had.

It started snowing. Did I mention I wore sandals?

Red Rocks would have been obliterated by white out, so we stayed at the warehouse where Tim stores the bus. Scenic, huh?

Joe and John stayed all nice and snuggly warm in their North Face parkas.

If I look like I'm freezing, I am. Then, there was the constant wind thing...

Poor Joe. I kept demanding, "Don't supermodels on swimsuit shoots in Antarctica get like $10,000 a day?" When he informed me that no one on this particular shoot would be getting anywhere near that amount, I countered with, "Fine. But, I doubt while those supermodels are freezing in their bikinis, the photographers are allowed to wear parkas." Joe kept quiet on that one, although it's not hard to imagine what he was thinking. (Something along the lines of, "Why didn't I listen to my mother and become an electrician? Oh, no. I had to be an artiste.")

Poor Joe.

(And, in case you're wondering - the shoot could not be rescheduled due to the magazine's deadline.)

***Special thanks to John Frank of Vanture Coach Manufacturing (our bus converters) for taking the photos of the photo shoot. (I figure I'll get as many favors out of them as I can before they read about themselves in the book - I kid! I kid!)
Oh, and ladies (as well as 10% of the gentlemen amongst you): DO check out this picture on my book group page, taken just as we took off at the very start of our bus year - The Men of Vanture Coach. They're quite ready for their own close ups, no?

In honor of April Fools' Day, I thought I would do something a little different for this month's contest. Here's the topic: A Royal Expose. Write about the "truth" behind Your Sovereign, Sir Tim, Our Bus, The Pets or really, whatever strikes your fancy - anything at all in the QUEEN OF THE ROAD universe will do. Be sure to enter via the contest page of the website. Again, basically a 250 word parody/fantasy/made-up story (remember this is in commemoration of April 1) about anything that has to do with QUEEN OF THE ROAD. For ideas, you can certainly root around the website (especially the home page - click on the pictures for details of each, and you should get a pretty good feel for the players and the trip). But, c'mon: Two shrinks on a bus for a year? It's writing itself, people! The prize, of course, is a signed (galley, or actual - depending on when they're available) copy of QUEEN OF THE ROAD and... I'm stickin' with the moose poop, people. It seems to have caught on.

To whet your appetites, here is another winning entry from the very first month's contest (topic: If I could take a year off) this one from Patti Tucker (she's a real funny broad - I'm a regular reader of her blog):

if i could take a year off, which by the by i just have, and closed a business to boot so i could take said year off (a risk that remains to be seen as a smart move), i would finish my book (done), and find an agent (working on). i would read and write and cook. i would mourn by pooch (not planned but unavoidable) and cry till dry. i would eat frito pie and velvetta cheese without nary a guilty thought. i would join a book club so we could talk of our lives instead. i would learn to live a new way. the way that has left many a relative shaking their head.

I loved a lot about this, particularly the eating part, the mourning part (I haven't even been able to blog about that, yet... ), and particularly the learning to live a new way. That's what the "bus thing" taught us, without our even hoping for it, planning for it, or even knowing it - until our return.

Nothing snarky about today's post. Nope. Nothing, indeed.

I realize I haven't posted much about the whole publishing process thing. That's 'cause it's a mystery to me. To whit:

My editor, the fabulous Stacy Creamer (Lance Armstrong's IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE; Elizabeth Edwards' SAVING GRACES; Lauren Weisberger's THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA) gave me the news yesterday that Borders had decided to make QUEEN OF THE ROAD one of it's June book club picks. This means it and the other picks (four this month - two fiction, one young adult and one nonfiction - that'd be me in June) are placed in the front of the store with special reading group guides. Random House had to push the publication date up from June 10 to June 3 because of this. Made no difference to me. My (writing) work is done. I sent back the final corrected proofs over a week ago.

How did this happen? I had no idea this was in the works, or that it was even possible. I'm thrilled beyond belief and so grateful to... I have no idea who to be grateful to, but thank you, whoever you are!

I've been pinching myself to see if I'll wake up. Then, I didn't sleep all night. Go figure!

And, while I'm on the subject of the whole writing thing, blurbs were due a week ago and the winner is.... me! I was lucky indeed to get such fabulous blurbers. Thank you, all!

"Two psychiatrists driving a motorhome around America, and you're still wondering whether to buy this book? Step on the gas and go straight to the register." – Jeff Arch, Academy-Award nominated screenwriter, Sleepless In Seattle

"Doreen Orion has a fresh, wry voice that's all her own and she works it like a rodeo rider in her light-hearted and yet tender new memoir 'Queen of the Road.' " - Jacquelyn Mitchard, bestselling author, The Deep End of the Ocean

"Doreen Orion and her handyman husband Tim prove, with abundant laughs and martini shaker in hand, that sometimes the best way to enrich home-life is to leave the home...or, better yet, just put it on wheels." - Franz Wisner, bestselling author Honeymoon with My Brother

"His dream – he's always wanted to see America in a converted bus – and her nightmare –she has a bus phobia – and their mid-life crisis on wheels, make for a hilarious reading adventure." - Mary-Lou Weisman, author of Traveling While Married

"You will never look at a psychiatrist the same way again. And you will never take a bus driver for granted, either." - John Robison, bestselling author, Look Me In the Eye