It’s getting near the end of Beverly Lewis’s fall book tour to promote her new release, The Wish. From last Wednesday until this coming Saturday, fans in the South had a chance to meet her, ask her questions about the Amish, and get their favorite books signed. (You can find the schedule here. If you missed a signing near your home, check the store: Beverly signed some books to leave there that you might be able to snag!)
I was able to tag along on the tour to manage the line, hand out newsletter sign-ups, take pictures with every variety of camera imaginable, and chat books with readers.
It was quite a whirlwind week with three stops every day! Here are some pictures of the tour. (You can find more on Beverly’s Facebook page.)
Sometimes Beverly will speak at events, sharing the inspiration for her book and her writing journey.
We ran into lots of Tennessee fans on a big football game day!
Little Leo, asleep with Mom, was the youngest book signing attendee.
On Sunday, we went hiking in the Smoky Mountains.
A few more behind-the-scenes fun facts:
- In our rental van in between stops, Beverly and I regaled our longsuffering tour manager, Steve, with a singalong to classic musicals like Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music.
- After years of doing these tours, we’ve seen nearly everything go wrong that could: missed flights, lost luggage, freak storms, sickness, mixed-up schedules, car troubles…you name it, it’s happened. There was even one book signing tour where Beverly didn’t do any actual signing because of an injury to her right arm! Somehow we always make it through to the end (and we appreciate all the readers who pray for the tour).
- This tour, our most unusual stop was probably The Original Moon Pie General Store and Book Warehouse. It gives away free mini Moon Pies to guests!
They also had large barrels of candy.
As someone who usually stands near the front of the line, I always overhear great stories about how Beverly’s books have changed readers’ lives. It just goes to show there’s a lot of power in fiction!
Do you have any questions about what goes on during a book signing tour?
