A very tired MAN OF THE HOUSE

I am writing to you in my underwear right now. Probably will be staying in my underwear for most of the day. Too tired to get dressed. One of those days.

I just got back from the first segment of my book tour for MAN OF THE HOUSE, which came out Sept. 30. Here's what I packed into four days of fun: TV interview in Tampa, TV interview in Jacksonville, speech at Macon State College in Warner Robins, two more speeches at Crossroads Writers Conference in Macon, bookstore event in Macon, TV interview in Macon, and a nifty interview with Georgia Public Radio's Cover to Cover show, which will air statewide some time in early November. Oh....and I forgot to say that I met with a financial planner somewhere in there as well!

I'm the caregiver for my family, so when I go out of town things just don't get done. So: There is a Matterhorn of laundry in front of the washing machine right now. It is calling out to me as I write this. The catbox was ... well, let me just say there was no more room at the inn! So... I will try to get the house cleaned up and re-stock the refrigerator before taking off again this weekend: This time to Sarasota and Jax again.

My friend Hans, who is the inspiration for one of the characters in my book, is going with me. The bookseller doesn't know this yet, but we have a surprise for him: We are going to wear tool belts. (Tools are a source of amusement in the book ... as are cooking utensils) That's mine in the picture above. I'd borrowed Hans' for my publicity shoot, and I had to buy one for myself. I did my best to make it look old and used. What do you think? I used some olive oil and bacon grease and paint and marker. Looks like it's got some street cred, dontcha think? I'd asked readers of my blog at adhudler.com for their advice on how to make it look used and well-worn. I took a lot of their advice ... all but the suggestion that I wear it around the house naked so as to get natural body oils on it. (A swinging hammer could prove to be very painful, I fear ... and that feather duster? Might tickle a little. Or cause a rash? What kind of feathers are in feather dusters, anyway? Anybody know?)

Many writers have been watching my release, wondering if the BIG MONEY I shelled out to Kelley and Hall Book Publicity in Boston was worth the bucks ... I'll let you know right now that it's too early to tell, but so far I have been underwhelmed. More on this later.

Oh, one other thing that I wanted to share this month. Have you heard of the BREAD RECIPE OF THE CENTURY being talked about all over the place? It was in the New York Times, and evidently it's supposed to be the most delicious bread in the world, and VERY EASY to make. Well, I'll never know. The dough was so darn wet it was like working with glue ... and after a few minutes this is where it ended up:


Yep. In the trash with the day's food scraps. Looks like it's gonna be Wonder Bread again tonight!