I’m writing this on the train from Toronto to Ottawa for this evening’s event, where Brian and I are guest lecturers at the Ottawa Writer’s Conference.  Sitting next to me, Brian is busily editing his HELLHOLE chapters; I received two more transcribed chapters from my typist by e-mail this morning and just finished cleaning them up.  With our non-stop schedule, we have to catch a few minutes of productivity wherever we can.

Yesterday, leaving Cleveland, the publisher had again set me up for a quick flight, while Brian had a driver take him to Buffalo (since he prefers not to travel by air).  With the time required for me to get to the airport early, check through security, fly, then retrieve baggage at the other end, my journey wasn’t any faster.

In Buffalo, I barely had time to check into the room, change my shirt, then meet up with Brian where he had just finished lunch at a bar & grill called Bada Bing.  Since the signing and talk had been set up by Talking Leaves, a small bookstore that did not have the capacity for a large crowd, our event was held at a community center auditorium in a refurbished church.

Nine members from the Star Wars Fan Force, the 501st, and the Rebel Legion showed up in costume to welcome us (we had Rebel pilots, a stormtrooper, a crimson Imperial guard, a Jawa, the Emperor, a very young Princess Leia, and a couple of Jedi Knights).  One of the Jedi told us the story of how he had waited in line in 1985 to see Frank Herbert during his last Worldcon appearance, but had not been able to get his books signed, because the line was cut off.  The 501sters gave Brian and me each a swag bag including a clean t-shirt (a very exciting thing at this point in the tour…I’m wearing mine now).  I also met Darren Burns from the band Invisigoth, whose music I have greatly enjoyed.  

Following the mid-afternoon signing, the Star Wars fans invited us to join them for dinner, and our group trooped off to the Anchor Bar, the restaurant where Buffalo chicken wings were invented (so, definitely a historical site); Brian took the few hours off to visit nearby Niagara Falls, which he had never seen.  I got back to the room early enough to unpack and repack the suitcases (something necessary after the chaos), and I watched ANGELS & DEMONS on the hotel TV.  [I didn’t care for the film version of THE DA VINCI CODE; this one was much better.]  Brian called me from the Falls and on his trip back to Buffalo; he had some excellent sightseeing time.

The car picked us up in the morning to drive us across the border from Buffalo to the Toronto train station.  Our driver, John, was a retired detective from the Toronto police department and he spent most of the drive telling us stories about various homicides he had investigated.  We have met quite a few fascinating people on this trip.  We caught the train for a 4-hour trip to Ottawa, our first visit to Canada’s capital city.

Today is Day 14 of the tour, and we get to go home on Wednesday.