Tryon, NC on Thursday

In a few days I'll be doing a signing in TRYON, North Carolina, a lovely mountain town situated on the South Carolina border. I'm very excited about it. Why, you may ask? Well, for a few reasons. 1. I genuinely LOVE Tryon. It's the most amazing little town. 2. Tryon was essential to the completion of Crogan's Loyalty. I walked around a lot there, sketching trees and rocks and the like, in order to get the best sense of mountain foliage. I also spent a lot of time sketching at nearby Pearson's Falls in order to get a sense of the environment for the book's climax:

3. I'm doing the signing with my dad. My parents moved to Tryon a couple of years ago, and it's through them that I became familiar with the place. My dad is mystery novelist Mark Schweizer, the author of the Liturgical Mysteries, a series of funny and engaging stories in which the police chief protagonist is also the part-time church organist and choral director. Most of the murders are church politics-related. They've won mystery awards and are staples at most mystery and Episopal bookstores. Seeing as we operate in two fairly different literary spheres, I never really thought a joint signing would happen. But it IS happening! Both of our new books came out this week (Loyalty for me, The Treble wore Trouble for my dad), and the town's local bookstore (The Book Shelf) decided to have us both together. I hope that, should you live somewhere in the area, you'll consider coming by. I do a big, pretty drawing in each book sold, so I'll make it worth your while...