Wow. That’s a word you don’t often hear from me, but if I have any chance of pulling off a travelogue/writer share/book tour next year before I fade into the sunset, that’s exactly what I must do.

I am tentatively planning a live tour along the Route 1/Atlantic Coast from Key West, FL, to Fort Kent, ME. My thought is to spend a few days at select sites on the route, capturing the ambience of each locale and capping each visit with a live broadcast featuring fellow authors I am sure I’ll meet along the way. I don’t have a title for the tour yet {open to suggestions}, although I was thinking about Authors’ Journey; Taking the Fear Out of Writing; or Writing on the Road.

So, with the help of family and friends, I have {or at least I’m in the process of} started picking destinations, budgeting, making contacts and trying to figure a way to fund the adventure.

One of those plans included getting my reliable Subaru ready for the trip. I drove down to Massachusetts to have my son give it a once over. What started with a request for an oil change quickly deteriorated as my back brake decided to skip the pad and go directly metal on metal shortly after reaching my Massachusetts destination. Scott gave it a quick go over and decided old Sue might have lost her usefulness. He was kind enough to lend me his car to get back to Maine as he looks at Sue in more depth.

I am so thankful for family. Have I ever mentioned that?

Getting back to the project, the plan would be to spend three days at each destination. Day one would be for check in and check out. Day two would focus on visiting a few area highlights and post on it on a companion travel blog. I would tend to shy away from typical tourist destinations and look instead for local events — like festivals — and offbeat attractions. Finally, on day three, I would like to have a fellow author from each coastal destination spend some time  with me on camera as we reflect on the writing process, share helpful writing tips and ideas, and promote our books.

Of course, a lot depends on input from readers. For example, I would like natives to send in suggestions about what they would recommend to close friends and family when they come to visit. It could be a park, a beach, the arts, museums … whatever you recommend. The first few stops are being planned in Key West, Miami, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Fort Pierce, Melbourne and Cocoa, FL, in January. If you have any thoughts and/or suggestions, get in touch with me.

And I’m looking for writers along the route to spend some face time with me. Initially, I’m looking for writers from Key West, Miami, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Fort Pierce, Melbourne or Cocoa, FL. If interested, get in touch with me. Key West is home coincidentally of the late Ernest Hemingway. What a way to start!

More information will follow, but if you have any thoughts and/or suggestions, get in touch with me.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: Some people are so poor all they have is money.