Can't really say too much about the road trip yet, because my son and I are just about to depart.
But you may have already popped over to the five blogs (linked at the bottom) that are revealing the cover of Stick today.
Hope you like it.
Here's one more thing I'd like to say about Stick:
Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting up in my office, working on my latest novel, and my wife was downstairs reading an ARC of Stick. [Yes... it's true... I do not EVER let anyone in my family read my stuff until it is actually published. There's no point in it. Trust me. Attention all other authors out there: Stop letting your mates and offsprings read your stuff as soon as you hit the "print" button. They can't possibly know what they're talking about and they will lead you straight off the nearest cliff.]
Anyway, I heard her laughing. Out loud.
That's a good thing.
It would be something else, entirely, if she were reading The Marbury Lens. Then, I would think she's insane.
But Stick is a kind of human-being test, in my opinion: There are going to be parts of the book that will make you laugh (as evidenced by the spouse on the lower floor), and there are going to be parts of the book that... well... if you don't get at least a little choked up... then you're not a human, and you've failed the test.
Now... off to the endlessness of the Golden State Freeway.
Here, again, are the blogs revealing the cover of Stick today:
...more to follow, from Berkeley.
