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ROBERT
CRAIS: CHASING DARKNESS TOUR
The
CHASING DARKNESS tour was a
phenomenal success—SRO crowds, huge
lines, and thousands of books
signed. Thank-yous and super-tight
hugs to all the fans and readers who
came out to see RC.
Click
on a photo to view a larger image.
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Barnes & Noble in Encino
gave RC a great
welcome-- |
--and RC had a blast
hanging out with the
packed house of avid
fans! |
RC headed for Book
Soup on the Sunset
Strip -- |
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-- where RC's pals
turned out to help
celebrate-- |
Bestselling authors
Gregg Hurwitz (left) and
Gerald Petievich
(right), flanking
literary publicist Kim
Dower. |
Hardcore Craisies Debbie
(left) and Diann
(right), bookending RC! |
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RC found another warm
welcome and another
packed house in Thousand
Oaks at Mysteries to Die
For, where we always
have a great time. |
Here, MTDF co-owner
Heidi Sobel cracks up
RC. |
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Then it was onto
Vroman's in Pasadena-- |
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--where everyone shared
in the good times. |
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Check out
the famous Mystery
Bookstore in Westwood,
with another SRO
house. Kudos to
booksellers Linda Brown
and Bobby McCue for
throwing a great party. |
Hardcore
Craisies Jennifer,
Rae, Betsy, and Debbie
made the scene-- |
--and so
did several Joe Pikes.
Or are they Elvis Coles?
The Pikes unmasked! Left
to right, Sarah Chen,
Ingrid de Beus, Linda
Brown, RC, Bobby McCue,
and Richard Johnson. |
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The RC
Flying Circus rolled
south after Los Angeles,
finding more great fans
at Book Carnival in
Orange, California. The line filled the
store and spilled into
the parking lot. |
Another
great crowd waited for
RC at the Borders in
Mission Valley,
California— |
--then
Warwick’s in La Jolla— |
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Then RC
jumped to the Midwest
with signings in
Milwaukee and Chicago.
Check out this aerial
view in Richard Katz’s
wonderful store, Mystery
One, in Milwaukee. The
crowd was packed between
the stacks and spilled
into the street— |
--and
here’s RC with Richard.
Reviewer and publisher
Jon Jordan is in the
background. Sharp-eyed
readers will recall that
‘Richard Katz’ and ‘Jon
Jordan’ were aliases
used by Joe Pike and Jon
Stone in THE WATCHMAN! |
RC is a
hardcore supporter of
the space program, so he
jumped at the chance to
dine at former Apollo
astronaut Jim Lovell’s
restaurant in Lake
Forest, Illinois,
outside of Chicago.
Lovell
was commander of the
ill-fated Apollo 13
mission, which was
dramatized as the film,
APOLLO 13, starring Tom
Hanks as Jim Lovell.
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The
restaurant is filled
with memorabilia from
Commander Lovell’s
career and the film, but
nothing is more
impressive than this—a
piece of the moon.
Commander Lovell never
made it to the moon, so
NASA presented him with
a piece of the lunar
surface. |
After a
great lunch, RC signed
at Anderson’s Bookstore
in Naperville. Check it
out! |
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PART TWO: TAKING THE UK
BY STORM |
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CHASING
DARKNESS was publishing
in the UK one week after
being published in the
US, so RC jumped the
pond from Chicago to
London. A fast overnight
flight on British Air,
then RC hit the ground
running. |
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Here’s
RC being interviewed on
BBC-Leeds. |
After a
morning filled with
interviews
and high-speed drop-in
signings at London
bookstores, he was
whisked away to
the train station— |
Harry
Potter fans might
recognize this
particular boarding
platform at the London
train station. Don’t
worry—RC didn’t
disappear to the
Hogwarts Academy! |
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Instead, RC waited.
Touring often means
waiting. You wait for
planes, cars,
trains, taxis, drivers,
food, rides, hosts,
reporters, and news from
home. You wait. |
The
Theakston’s Old Peculier
Crime Writing Festival
at Harrogate was worth
the wait.
(Above photos by Sam
Atkins.) |
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RC was a
featured American guest,
and was interviewed in a
hall filled with
hundreds of mystery
enthusiasts by presenter
Mark Lawson of BBC-4.
(Photo by Sam Atkins.) |
Before
the ‘official’ Harrogate
interview, RC recorded
an interview with Mark
for
BBC-4-- |
--then
met up with friends like
author and 2008
Programming Committee
Chair
Simon Kernick. |
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... and
reviewer Ali Karim
(Photo by Alex Karim.) |
The
Harrogate festival ended
too soon, but RC found a
surprise waiting at the train
station! |
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RC
returned to more SRO crowds
in Philadelphia— |
--and
dared to wear these
shoes!
(photo by Gregory Frost) |
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--then
more reader-packed
bookstores in DC— |
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--Seattle— |
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--and
Houston, where the
CHASING DARKNESS tour
ended with yet another
SRO
crowd of fabulous fans
and readers at Murder by
the Book. |
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Here's RC
with Cade Childers and
Cathy Childers, who
drove all the way from
Baton Rouge for the
event! |
It was a
great tour, guys. Thanks
for turning out in
record numbers, and
thanks for all the
kindness shown at every
stop along the way. |
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