Still resting up from this crazy reading tour!  Thank you media sponsors, Giant Robot and Hyphen!

I totally planned and executed the Portland-to-Portland (Maine to Oregon) reading tour, split up over three weeks.

Well, the first reading was an open mike at East Meets West in Boston.  I had envisioned it as a low-key kind of thing, to try out my material for the first time in front of other people, but Alvin Lin (no relation) from Hyphen was there and actually blogged about it.

And then it was off to Portland, Maine, home of the awesome Longfellow Books and the International Cryptozoology Museum.

Bigfoot and I do some sole searching.

I was pretty stoked to meet Loren Coleman at the museum, who gave a guided tour.  As someone with a strong interest in the unknown and unexplained, I had read a few of his books and articles in Fortean Times.

Loren then went ahead and blogged about my wife and I visiting the museum!

We stayed at the museum longer than we had planned to and without a moment to spare, ran off to Longfellow Books.

I love Longfellow Books and their awesome audiences!

Chris Bowe, one of the proprietors of Longfellow Books and a super-cool guy, introduced me although he had literally minutes before been in a serious car accident!

Phyllis in Portland made these chocolate fortune cookies and she is cool!

Then it was back to New York for a few days off, before a slew of readings in my hometown.

Barnes & Noble, Tribeca. The home crowd is supafly dope and it’s great to curse in front of pals from work!

Me, my books and some arm candy.

Sung Woo, author of Everything Asian, who read with me at Sulu Series.  Yeah, Sung!

Catzie Vilayphonh, who is everything Asian, at the mike!

I thought I was staying in a rough part of town in College Park, Md., but this candy machine is suited up to protect itself against the students, who apparently get wasted every weekend and riot on gamedays.  Go Asian American Literary Review!

We used to be punk, man.  Me with Martin Wong.  This is my first day in L.A., about two hours after stepping off the delayed plane.

Eric Nakamura meets a couple from the East Coast.

Just in case this ancient Giant Robot t-shirt disintegrates while I read, Eric will have it on the Flip cam.

In Encino, I am recognized by my biggest fan.

Thousand Oaks, represent!  Mysteries to Die For rules!

Sparse crowd in San Diego, but this was one of my favorite readings.  It was seriously fun.  Thank you, Mysterious Galaxy!

Dude!  It’s Robin Sukhadia and Neela Banerjee at Giant Robot SF!

Claire Light wows the crowd at EastWind Books.

Joel Barraquiel Tan brings it on at Eastwind.

I am shocked by something.  What could it possibly be?

It’s the Cat Whisperer at Seattle’s Pike Place.  Note the man’s tail.

Whenever I get into a new town, I try to poison myself as fast as possible.  These Pike Place donuts will do the trick.

Soya Jung is awesome and was awesome at Elliott Bay Book Co.!

A contemplative moment at Voodoo Donuts, Portland, Ore.

The signature Voodoo Doll Donut.  These things are big.  Remember what I said about poisoning myself?

Do I seem worn out?  The last reading of the Portland-to-Portland tour!  Murder by the Book rules!

I’m not done?  Yes, the readings are over, but there’s one last thing to do. . .

It is awesome getting people into writing.  AAJA-Portland, Thymos and Friends of Portland Chinatown, you guys are awesome!

Last night of the tour with the incredibly beautiful and talented Cindy Cheung.

I know I make it look easy, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without all of you who came out.  Thank you so much from the bottom of my donut-encrusted heart!