Frieda, watching me take photos. Watching over me.

Usually, when I go into bookstores, I try and remain anonymous. The bookstore people might think they need to entertain me, and often they are busy. Most often, they recognize my name when I pay by credit card. I’ve been in Lisa Sullivan’s very fine bookstore – The Book Cellar, in Brattleboro, Vt. – many times and was only outed by the staff once. Maria has been in her other store, Bartleby’s, in Wilmington, Vt. and loved it. I’ve never met or spoken with Lisa Sullivan.

These are challenging times for bookstores, but for Lisa Sullivan, especially so. The Book Cellar was destroyed in a fire earlier this year, and Bartleby’s was virtually gutted in the flooding brought by Hurricane Irene. Wilmington, Vt., near Brattleboro, was one of the town’s hit hardest by the floods, and was almost totally destroyed.

Lisa is rebuilding, and hopes to re-open at least one of her stores in November. I have been trying to reach her so that I could come to Wilmington or Brattleboro as part of the “Support Vermont” wing of my “Going Home”  book tour. This morning, I finally tracked her down by calling the New England Independent Booksellers Association and getting a phone and an e-mail and by posting a call for help on Facebook. She e-mailed me this morning that she would love to have me come there, and she would immediately start looking for an appropriate place, as she was determined to rebuild. So the Support Vermont Book Tour is taking shape. I don’t have all of the dates yet, but Random House, my publisher, is completely supportive of this and is helping me organize it.

I thank them.

The Vermont part of the book tour starts October 2, 4 p.m., at Misty Valley Books in Chester, Vt. We hope to collect some money for flood relief there as part of the book tour. Then I’m off to the Midwest.

On Sunday, October 16, 3 p.m.,  will be talking and signing at Northshire Books, Manchester, Vt.

On Friday, October 21, 7 p.m., I will be at the Village Square Booksellers, Bellows Falls, Vt. (On October 27, 7 p.m., I will be at the nearby Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley Mass.

Here’s what else I know about the Vermont trek, dates and times to come:

I will be speaking at the Lake Placid Public Library to raise money for the Upper Jay Library, whose children’s section was destroyed by the flood. I will also be talking at the Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, Vt., Bridgeside Books in Waterbury, Vt. and tentatively, in Wilmington on Saturday, October 22.

We will make some noise for “Going Home” and for Vermont. And for a strong and determined bookseller. Can’t wait to meet Lisa Sullivan.