A work in progress. Bobbin lace on a lace maker's pillow.

A few days ago, I was in South Hadley, MA at the wonderful Odyssey Bookstore to speak about The Lace Reader and to do a signing. One of the attendees brought in a piece of lace she was making (in the photo, it’s attached to her lace maker’s pillow.) Having tried and failed to make lace myself, I’m always in awe of anyone who can nimbly toss the stick-like bobbins back and forth and end up with something so beautiful and delicate. Another lace maker in the audience remarked that lace making is not very complex, reducing the process to it’s most simple. “You take two threads and you either go over one or go under the other. ”

While what she said is absolutely true, my failed attempt tied not only the piece I was working on into knots but my mental state as well. I ended up putting my work (with bobbins still attached) into a hatbox and shoving the whole thing to the back of my closet with all the other treasures I plan to fix or complete.

So I am thrilled when the lace makers come to one of my signings, and even happier when they embrace the book. Lace makers are true artists, and they are all around the country. So if you get a chance to see a demonstration, or even to try lace making yourself, I encourage you do it. Who knows? Like the Whitney women, you might even see a vision in the lace.

And there I sat for a long long time, waiting patiently for the world to know me. 

                    Nathaniel Hawthorne

My national book tour began a few days ago at the House of the Seven Gables, in the shadow of the masterful Hawthorne. The Lace Reader is set in Salem, and it has been embraced by the city and by the staff of the House of Seven Gables, in particular by Anita Blackaby, the executive director of the famous domicile. After reading my book, Anita emailed and invited me over for a visit. Not only did they want to help to make my book successful, but they also wanted to create a Lace Reader litera-tour so that many of the places in the book could easily be located by readers visiting Salem. And, upon finding out that my second book will be set on the same street as the Gables, Anita offered me writing space in their beautiful gardens. What a delight! I can’t thank her enough.

Cornerstone Books in Salem hosted the event which took place in two parts. The first was my reading, a presentation, Q&A, and a signing. Then later, in the gardens, there was a reception to benefit HAWC, a local group that helps abused women and children, a fitting pairing since my fictional story deals with an island shelter for such victims.

The event was sold out, so Cornerstone hosted another, earlier signing. It was warm and muggy plus I was a little nervous. Ben Bruton, my publicist from William Morrow, kept me cool and calm by telling me stories of his visit to Salem, most particularly about his witnessing of a tourist attraction called Cry Innocent which is mentioned in my novel. In this guerilla theater reenactment (which runs several times a day during the summer months), Bridget Bishop (Salem’s first of the accused) is literally dragged through the streets, then tried for witchcraft all over again, giving the tourists a chance to act as the jury and perhaps to change the historical outcome. On this afternoon, a particularly hot one, tourists were hard to come by, so another local actor (who was playing a fully costumed giant slurpee for a shop on the corner) tried to help, grabbing Bridget by the arm. The image that Ben created of the giant slurpee dragging Bridget down the street, while the young actress stayed in perfect period character vehemently protesting her innocence, made me laugh out loud. I realized once again why I love this place. These are my people: from Hawthorne, to HAWC, to the giant Slurpee, – what a great city!

To learn more about The House of Seven Gables, click here.

To learn more about HAWC, click here.

Last Saturday night, we hosted a party on The Friendship, a reconstruction of a171-foot three-masted 1797 Salem East Indiaman which is moored at Derby Wharf, in Salem. The most amazing magic trick of the evening was that there was no rain. We felt extremely lucky because the four previous days were what Eva (the original lace reader) would have called “nice weather for ducks.” The party was for family, friends, and all those who had championed the book in some way. Some of the local witches actually brought pieces of lace they are learning to read. They spent a good portion of the evening gazing through the lace into people’s faces and predicting their futures (this in spite of the fact that I told them that lace reading is something I made up). A group of re-enactors in full 18th century sailor costumes roamed the decks singing sea shanties and spilling grog (mostly Miller Lite). All in all, about a hundred friends and family celebrated a clear and starlit sky, the beautiful evening sea breezes, and the dream that had brought us all together.

Tomorrow is July 29th, the day The Lace Reader goes on sale. I feel a bit like Wendy Darling on her last night in the nursery. My national book tour also begins tomorrow and, according to my recent schedule, it will last until mid-November so for the foreseeable future, I’ll be writing to you from somewhere on the road.

The press is building, loud enough now for even me to hear a bit of the buzz.

If you haven’t seen the book trailer, click here.