25 September

Book Tour Dairy: First Interview: “Dancing Dogs”

by Jon Katz
Joe Donahue

I always kick off my book tours being interviewed by Joe Donahue on Northeast Public Radio. Joe and I go back a way and we share a fascination for the emotional issues surrounding people and dogs. It was a good first day for “Dancing Dogs.” Three or four interviews, a packed house at Battenkill Books, and rising near the top of Amazon’s Short-Story Best-Sellers list. We’ll see what happens. Joe and others have asked me about my seeming openness to experience, to meeting people and hearing their stories. I love hearing people’s stories, they feed and nourish my own.

Other people’s stories inspired “Dancing Dogs” and helped me shape this book. The best thing about a book tour is that you find out what your book is really about. When I get back from my tour, Maria will have a working studio on the new farm, and we will have working electricity and, hopefully, a working wood stove. I am anxious about leaving all this, but you can’t leave a place in better hands than with Maria and Ben.

25 September

What’s Important

by Jon Katz
What’s Important

It’s just beginning to dawn on me that I will be leaving next Monday for a week or more right in the midst of one of the busiest and most significant periods of my life. Maria will be around most of the week and Ben all week, and I will learn that these changes to the new farm can be accomplished without me. I want to push hard for “Dancing Dogs,” an important book for me.

What is important to me?

Maria.

My work.

My new farm.

Maria’s Studio Barn.

The dogs. The animals.

My photography.

Being honest and fair and good to people.

Living without fear and anger.

Growing, changing. Improving. Evolving.

Moving forward. Opening Up.

Shedding blame, for me and others. Like anger, it is useless.

25 September

Here We Go: Book Tour Kicks Off

by Jon Katz
Here We Go

The “Dancing Dogs” book tour kicked off Tuesday night with a full and engaged house at Battenkill Books in Cambridge, N.Y. Red and Lenore stole the show, but I read from two stories in the book – the first actual reading from a book I have ever done, as I don’t really like it – “Lucky’s Day” and the “Barn Cat.” Fellow writers Jenna Woginrich and Megan Mayhew Bergman came, which I appreciated. So did Todd Mason, who is building the fences for the new farm and his family, which was special. And Donna Wyndbrant and George Forss, always great for me to see them listening to me.

“Dancing Dogs” and all of my other books can be ordered through Battenkill Books as well as in bookstores or online. Battenkill is offering free signed Bedlam Farm notecards with each order as long as they last and I will sign and personalize them. Connie said the orders were pouring in yesterday by phone and e-mail. Thanks. You can call the store at 518 677-2515 or visit their website, www.battenkillbooks.com. Saturday I will be talking and signing at 7 p.m. at Northshire Books in Manchester, Vt. Red will be coming. Monday I’m off to Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco. I will be away for eight days from October 1 through October 9. Maria will be joining me part of that time – in Boston and then San Francisco.

I am trying to figure out what to bring and what to do about the blog. I don’t want to haul a lot of equipment through that many different stops – different city each day. I am considering bringing no technology other than my Ipad or perhaps just posting occasionally through the Ipad. It will be an intense tour, chock full of appearances, interviews, readings, airports. Got to figure it out.

When the tour is over, we will move the animals and ourselves into our new home. Yoiks.

25 September

New Bedlam Farm: Looking South

by Jon Katz
New Bedlam Farm: Looking South

Maria and I walked out into the new sheep pasture with Red Dog (he is barely visible in the grass above the sheep) and I realized I had never stepped that far out into the North Pasture before and seen our new home in its entirely, spread out in a line. It looked beautiful to us. We are excited to be living there. Ben is giving the farm new soul with his work on the barns and the Studio where Maria will work.

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