In which I have a thing for Egyptology

Don't we all? It's a fascinating subject, and I cannot imagine how thrilling it must have been to make some of the early discoveries in the Valley of the Kings. (Although I have to confess, while I like the idea of camping out during an excavation, the sandstorms, scorpions, heat, and dust would be enough to send me scrambling back to Shepheard's for a nice gin and tonic and a room on the concierge floor.) Anyway, if you too like to live vicariously, be sure to catch the reruns of "King Tut Unwrapped" this Sunday on Discovery. You might have missed the two episodes the first time around when they aired a few weeks ago, but they are well worth watching, in part because the use of DNA testing clears up some extraordinary ancient mysteries, and also because I dearly love to hear Zahi Hawass talk about "foetuses". I always think he's a hoot to listen to, and while he may be a bit over the top, I would far rather see someone in charge of antiquities who has such passion and enthusiasm for them than someone who is blase about the privilege. Of course, by the end of the programs, I can promise you will fairly itching to get your hands on whatever treasures the Cairo museum has salted away in their storerooms that they don't even know about...

Also, I am SO happy to be signing in Richmond at the Fountain Bookstore tonight! 6:30 pm, details on the "Tours" page under the "Author" link. And Saturday I will be signing at the New Town Barnes and Noble in Williamsburg--details also on the "Tours" page. Hope to see you there!

In which I am lucky

Are you? The study of luck seems to be on the rise, and I've seen several articles discussing it recently. With apologies to Oprah--who famously said she doesn't believe in it--there seems to be empirical evidence that luck, as a catch-all phrase for circumstances that are beneficial, seems to exist. This article in the Telegraph reviews recent studies which appear to demonstrate that luck boils down to four main components: creating and noticing chance opportunities, listening to intuition, creating self-fulfilling prophecies via positive expectations, and adopting a resilient attitude to reframe bad things in a positive light. These are all things I do on a regular basis, so I suppose it's no surprise that I feel lucky. I always claim that I lead a charmed life, and things do regularly happen to me that seem ever so lightly powdered with fairy dust.

But I also agree with the person who said that luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity. I very much believe that luck is created, an outward manifestation of our own beliefs about ourselves and our place in the world. I read a fascinating article some time back about an experiment that placed two people in identical circumstances with identical opportunities. Both subjects were instructed to go into a coffee shop and purchase a cup of coffee, drink it, and leave. The woman did exactly as she was told and reported nothing of interest happened to her. The man, however, was alive to possibilities. He saw the money that the female subject simply stepped over on her way in the door. He chatted with the person next to him and found a resource for an investment opportunity. He extended his good fortune, and in the process had a wonderful time, but the best part is that he did things we can all do if we are simply alert to it.

I'm fascinated by the idea that we can change our luck, but I suspect most people won't do it. I'm frequently asked how I managed to accomplish one thing or another, and when I invariably reply with a less than glamorous answer--hard work or discipline are almost always involved--eyes glaze over and I know that this person who is seeking my advice will never follow it. They want easy answers rather than effort. And effort is what it takes to live a worthwhile life--and a lucky one. So how about you? Are you lucky?

In which I am back!

So sorry for the lack of bloggery yesterday, my dears. I had a thousand and six things to do after returning from Houston. But what a trip! I should have sent you all postcards saying "Wish you were here" because it was divine. I saw people I adore beyond measure, I signed masses of books and got to visit with lovely readers, and I met some fabulous new folks as well. And the food! I am still whimpering over the barbecue and the cheese enchiladas...and honestly, I shouldn't even mention how divine the staff at Hotel Zaza is because you will expire of envy. All I will say is that if you are ever in Houston--or Dallas, because I suspect that location is just as fab--book yourself in and prepare to write me a thank-you note because it is THAT FAB.

Now, just to catch you up, I will be signing this week in Richmond and Williamsburg, details as always on the "Tours" page which you can find on the "Author" page of the website. I am also doing a bit of guest blogging in the weeks to come, including a paranormal blog and a style blog--quelle fun, no? I will also be doing another chat on Writerspace so you can log on and ask questions, details to come.

AND, I can't post complete info on this one yet, but I do have another appearance to announce--I will be in Danvers, Massachusetts, on May 8--mark your calendars if you're in the greater Boston area! I was hugely thrilled to be invited to participate in a literary festival put on by the local library, and can't wait to see New England again.

Now, what have you been up to whilst I've been away?

In which we are keeping house

A little domestic tidying up today. First, many thanks to those of you who included such charming notes with your bookmark requests! I've read the first batch, and they were very kind.


Second, if you are in the Houston area today, I will be visiting the fabulous crew at Murder by the Book to speak and answer questions and sign my little fingers off, so please stop by and say hey! Here are the details:
4:30 p.m.
Murder by the Book
2342 Bissonnet Street
Houston, Texas 77005
(713) 524-8597
(888) 4-AGATHA

If you can't make it, Murder by the Book does a very brisk trade in mail-order and I always get to sign loads of books for readers far away--it's the next best thing to being there. Also, check out their website which has links to their blog and newsletter, well worth your time even if you don't live anywhere near Houston. See y'all there!

In which I am leaving, you know, on a jet plane

I'm leaving this morning for Houston where I will wallow in luxury, meet new friends, connect with loved ones, and sign books! (Insert obnoxious SQUEEEEE here.) I love to travel for work for a number of reasons. First, I think breaking with routine is essential for one's creativity and mental well-being. Ruts are dangerous things, don't you find? And whatever you can do to shake things up is deeply beneficial.

Second, writing is a solitary occupation. No matter how many emails you get from your editor or phone calls from your agent or notes from readers, when you go to write, it is you and the blinking cursor and the echo of your own thoughts. Is it any wonder then that when we get a chance to see kindly booksellers and devoted readers, we practically fall upon their necks, weeping? Well, perhaps it's not quite so dramatic. But it is very good for one's ego to be told that you're doing a good job and please do it some more. It makes you feel appreciated and charged-up, a very good thing when you are getting ready to plot another book, which I am...

Third, there is the opportunity to be pampered. You don't have to make your bed or cook your meals. You don't even have to get yourself from point A to point B. There are pilots and taxi drivers to do that! You just have to wait patiently like a schoolchild on a field trip, which I find immensely relaxing. I also admit that I indulge myself in my choice of hotel whenever I can. I know many people who claim that it is wasteful to spend money on a hotel room because you're never in it. I am! Speaking and signing can be exhausting, largely because I want to engage with every reader I can and because I try very hard to make sure I am enthusiastic and sharing that enthusiasm.

By the time I get back to my room, I am usually talked out, with several hours to spend by myself. What better than to spend them in beautiful surroundings, with excellent service and a nice view? It's restorative, I tell myself. And in the interest of killing a few birds with one hot stone, I have booked a massage at the hotel spa this time--something I have never done for fear of arriving at an event with "massage face", creased from the sheet on the massage table. (If I show up tomorrow looking like someone stitched my face together as a home-ec project, you will be kind enough not to point, I hope...) It's something I've been meaning to do at home for the last month and haven't had the time. On this trip, I really can't argue that I have anything better to do for that hour. There are no responsibilities, no appointments, nothing but time to sit and BE.

And I'm wondering how do you travel? Stripped down and budget-friendly? Or do you like to indulge when you can?

In which I have gurus

Well, shouldn't we all? I can't remember off the top of my head if it was Plato or some other ancient wheezy Greek who said the unexamined life was not worth living, but it's entirely true. What is the point if we don't occasionally check in with ourselves and figure out if we're better than we were the year before? Shouldn't we be evolving, climbing upward in a sort of spiral path taking us higher toward our goals and expectations? Certainly, but it's difficult to get there alone, and frankly, I will take help wherever I can find it.

For years I've read self-help--a genre name I despise, BTW. Personal growth is almost as unspeakable, but it is marginally better. We won't even breathe the words "personal empowerment"...Anyway, I've assembled a group of people who are much wiser than I am, and whose words have very often caused what I call a tectonic plate shift in my thinking, when I read something so meaningful and so powerful I can feel the earth shifting under me and I know I will never be quite the same again.

*Alexandra Stoddard. Her earlier books straddled the line between home decor and decorating the spirit, with some excellent advice about adding luxury into your daily life wherever you can. As her writing style and subject matter evolved, she has tackled some more serious issues, always with grace. She is the only writer to whom I have ever written a reader letter, and I received an astonishingly lovely handwritten letter from her husband by way of reply as she was on a deadline. I have also found innumerable other writers because of her habit of scattering her books with margin quotes.

*Florence Scovel Shinn. The single most empowering (euw, that word again) book I have ever read is Shinn's The Game of Life and How to Play It. I purchased it as part of a four-book, single volume set and devoured it. Shinn was an artist and metaphysician who wrote during the 1920s, preaching abundance thinking long before The Secret. I still don't quite know how to express the massive shift that occurred in my thinking when I read this book, but the phrase "What would Florence do?" has become a regular one in our house.

*SARK. For fun, for colorful inspiration, for feeling like a kid again.

*Isabel Allende. Conversations with Isabel Allende is one of the most riveting books I have ever read. It's a series of interviews with her, and because she never answers the same question the same way, it's extremely revealing. She has the soul of a storyteller, even when answering the most mundane queries about the writing life.

*Sarah Ban Breathnach. With that peculiar synchronicity that sometimes happens between books and readers, each of her books has come at a time when I needed to hear its message. When I reread passages, I am always struck by how vastly different they are. Romancing the Ordinary is by far my favorite, although Simple Abundance utterly changed my life. The latter was a road map for me, the former was a poem.

And you? Who have your gurus been?

In which I fear I am unwell

Not physically, but I suspect something in my psyche may be slightly askew. I am trying to sort out my travel books for my trip to Houston and am dithering as I usually do. Travel books are a serious subject for me, you understand. I need books that are diverting but not demanding. I want to be entertained, but not talked down to. I want something that is guaranteed to be enjoyable, which is why a new book by a favorite author is the best choice, although seldom a viable one.(Why Elizabeth Peters won't write a new book for me every time I have to travel is beyond me. Really.)

So I sort through old favorites I haven't read in a long time, hoping that I won't remember who the murderer is or whether there is a happy ending for the romantic pair. (I do and there is. Always.) It's maddening, and all the more so when you consider the fact that I will be gone for a little over 48 hours. It should not be this difficult, particularly after acquiring my Kindle.

And yet. The Kindle, it seems, has made the selection of travel books MORE difficult. Do I take the Kindle? Do I not? If I take it, what do I take for backup books? Because you MUST have a backup book or two. For all the potential horrors of travel, few can stand up to the wretchedness of having a few hundred books loaded onto your Kindle and no battery life left.

Luckily, my iphone has made all my other choices vastly easier. I no longer travel with a camera, a white-noise machine, ipod, or cell since the iphone does all of that and more. Oh, and the iphone also has the Kindle app on it, so everything I purchased for my Kindle is actually on my phone as well, an excellent backup should my books prove unsatisfactory.

Which brings me circling back to the question of WHAT BOOKS? I'm feeling very England-between-the-wars right now, which opens loads of possibilities--Nancy Mitford, Gerald Durrell, I Capture the Castle, Georgette Heyer's mysteries. The one thing I know for certain is that somewhere in my bags, there will always be a copy of Rebecca, my perfect fallback book for all occasions. And you? What do you look for in a travel book?