Returning to the scene of the book
It has been five long years since I've been to Durham, N.C., my home for most of the '90s and the setting for my novel, The Greatest Show on Dirt. Friday morning I fly down for a whirlwind three-day trip.
The catalyst for this weekend is a friend's wedding, but I've built in a number of book-related stops, including a visit to old Durham Athletic Park, where the Bulls played until 1994 and where my book is set. When we visited in 2007 the DAP was in sorry shape, unused and run down, with the ultimate indignity of someone having taken a shit in the old souvenir stand where I spent many a night hawking Bulls t-shirts and caps. In the years since, the park has been completely refurbished, and I am very much looking forward to seeing it.
If all goes well, I will be meeting a writer and photographer there from the Technician, the student newspaper at my alma mater, NC State. I also have a book-related interview scheduled for Sunday evening at the Bulls game over at the new park.
Between all the baseball games, wedding events, and dinners with old friends I will find some time to sneak off to The Regulator Bookshop in Durham and Quail Ridge Books and Music in Raleigh. Both are independent book stores that are selling my book.
Next week I should have a report on how it all went. Three days hardly seems enough time to see everything and everyone I want to visit, but it's as long as I can stand to be away from my wife and young son.
The catalyst for this weekend is a friend's wedding, but I've built in a number of book-related stops, including a visit to old Durham Athletic Park, where the Bulls played until 1994 and where my book is set. When we visited in 2007 the DAP was in sorry shape, unused and run down, with the ultimate indignity of someone having taken a shit in the old souvenir stand where I spent many a night hawking Bulls t-shirts and caps. In the years since, the park has been completely refurbished, and I am very much looking forward to seeing it.
If all goes well, I will be meeting a writer and photographer there from the Technician, the student newspaper at my alma mater, NC State. I also have a book-related interview scheduled for Sunday evening at the Bulls game over at the new park.
Between all the baseball games, wedding events, and dinners with old friends I will find some time to sneak off to The Regulator Bookshop in Durham and Quail Ridge Books and Music in Raleigh. Both are independent book stores that are selling my book.
Next week I should have a report on how it all went. Three days hardly seems enough time to see everything and everyone I want to visit, but it's as long as I can stand to be away from my wife and young son.
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