Blogocentric Formulations

Book Tour

Prompt #40: Congratulations, you're a bestselling author and they're letting you plan the book tour. What twenty cities are you going to visit and why?


I'm going to keep this list strictly to domestic cities because if we go international, I'm not sure I'd be able to stop at just twenty cities. I'm even going to do this in "preferred route order" to make it a little more fun!

1. Los Angeles, California. I'd start close to home because... why not? Most of my friends are here, so home field advantage would be a great way to kick off this book tour.

2-4. Salt Lake City, Utah & Denver, Colorado & Santa Fe, New Mexico. I've never been to any of these cities (or states, for that matter!) and have always heard about how much natural beauty they have. It'd be fun to kick off the tour with whirlwind tours of three cities at the top of my "to visit" list.

5. Austin, Texas. I can't say that I'm a huge fan of Texas in general, but I have been to Austin twice and it's an interesting enough city that I think it'd be fun to visit.

6. New Orleans, Louisiana. I've never been to the Big Easy, but I'd go just for the fact that I can pick up some beignets as a snack before or after the event (or both! ).

7. Miami, Florida. If there's any state I'm less enthusiastic about visiting than Texas, it's Florida. But I haven't been there since I was about eight years old, so maybe it's time to give it another chance. I'd love to see Miami and maybe take a drive down to Key West while I'm there.

8. Savannah, Georgia OR Charleston, South Carolina. I've never wanted to live in the south, but I've always wanted to see a city with some real southern charm. Either of these cities would probably help me check that item off my bucket list, and check the state off my "visit all 50 states at least once" lifetime achievement goal.

9. Washington, DC. Assuming that my book tour isn't anytime in the next 1,408 days , I'd love to see our nation's capital. I'm really interested in politics and history, and I feel like I could spend two weeks here just taking in all the sights and visiting all of the institutions that are found here.

10. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Assuming none of their sports team are contending for a title, I'd love to see Philadelphia for the same reason I'd love to see DC; there's just so much of our nation's history that can be traced back here. If a Philadelphia is in the middle of a playoff season for any of their sports teams — and thus the city at risk for being trashed, win or lose — maybe Baltimore instead?

11. New York, New York. It's been a few years since I've been to New York, and I've always enjoyed my time there. It's one of my favorite "fun to visit, but wouldn't want to live there" cities, so I'd definitely jump at the chance to visit again for a couple of days.

12. Providence, Rhode Island & Boston, Massachusetts. Two more cities that I've never been to and always wanted to visit. I hear that Providence is absolutely gorgeous, and Boston is another historical city that I've never been and would love to spend some time just walking around and exploring.

13. Nashville, Tennessee. I've been to Nashville once and now have multiple friends and a few family members that live nearby, so I'd love a chance to explore more of the city. I love the music scene there, so I'd definitely take in a few shows while I'm there.

14. Chicago. This is probably #1 on my "major U.S. cities I've never been to" list. There's so much I'd love to see in Chicago, I'd have a hard time actually fitting in the bookstore!

15. Anchorage, Alaska. I've never been to Alaska, so why not take a trip during the book tour? Just preferably not during the whole "30 days of night" thing. I've seen the movie, and it does not end well.

16-17. Seattle, Washington & Portland, Oregon. The Pacific Northwest is one of my favorite places in the world. If I didn't have to live in Los Angeles for work, I would absolutely want to live in or near one of these two cities. They'd have to be on my list as I headed into the home stretch of the tour.

18. San Francisco, California. Growing up, San Francisco was always the biggest, coolest city to visit that was only a couple of hours away. I know it's lost a lot of its luster in recent years, but I'd definitely have to hit it up during the last few stops of the tour.

19. Sacramento, California. I think every book tour requires you to visit your hometown, right?

20. Irvine, California. I'd definitely end the tour at a local bookstore close to where I currently live. What's the point of being a bestselling author (at least in this fantasy) if you can't imagine supporting a local business, and the store that you frequent most yourself?

Maybe I'll do an international version at some point when my ego's even larger than what this prompt made it, but for now these are the twenty domestic cities I'd want to put on my book tour if I ever become a bestselling author.