I just returned from a 7 day trip to the great Northwest where we visited the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, Portland, Oregon, Vancouver, BC, Victoria, BC, and the glorious region around Vancouver. The weather was lovely and I really believe all that doom and gloom about liquid sunshine is just a way to scare people away from relocating to this paradise.
In Seattle I met with the manager, Tammy Domike, of the Seattle Mystery Bookshop, a privately owned place on Cherry Street, devoted to mystery reads, including true crime non-fiction. They didn’t have any Lizzie books on the shelf but they said there was a renewed interest in the Black Dahlia murder with the release of The Black Dahlia Files by Donald Wolf. Good news is they plan to advertise The Hatchet by distributing our bookmarks and postcards and we will do them the same favor by mentioning their store here. They are on the web as well and you can order books from them directly. If you do buy anything, tell her I sent ya.
Powell’s Books in Portland, which calls itself the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world, on the other hand, was quite stingy with their display space and said they never allow anyone to make available items for giveaways like bookmarks or postcards, no matter how professionally produced. They told me it would ruin the clean counters. Really, they said that to me. So while I was drinking my delicious java, I stuck a few bookmarks on the bulletin boards in the cafe among all the other indie ads for movies and local bands. Perhaps someone will see them and join in the discussion on Lizzie. I guess they only support their own independence and not the independence of others.
One place you must visit if you are in Seattle is the new public library building. Designed by world class architect Rem Koolhaas (isn’t that the best name for an architect?), the structure is stunning in its use of glass and steel and large open spaces. The stacks are literally ramps that go up the center of the building. It is 10 floors tall and the views both outside and down into the rest of the library are amazing.
Oh, and you also must do the BILL SPEIDEL’s Seattle Underground Tour. Full of good natured jokes, puns, and ribald humor, the tour also is loaded with interesting stories about the history of the city of Seattle. This hour and a half tour is well worth the 11 bucks for admission. You see the city from under the ground, in ways you cannot imagine. This rates a big fat thumbs up in our book.
Photos of the trip will appear in the gallery section of the blog later in the week.
