Frances Richey

The last week has been a city a day, and what amazing bookstores! Last Tuesday I read at Brookline Booksmith in Boston. Brian Foley, a poet himself, gave me an introduction so beautiful I had to concentrate to keep from crying.

Ben and I had a wonderful visit to West Point last Tuesday. It was the first time either of us had been back to West Point since Ben's graduation in 1998. We didn't have as much time as we'd hoped to walk around and visit some of our favorite spots there, but I'm sure Ben will go back for a visit soon, and I hope to go back sometime this summer.

The West Point Women's Club hosted a reading and talk that evening in the History Library. They made us feel so welcome. I read some poems from the book and Ben and I talked about how we each felt about them. It was all very spontaneous and comfortable. The women who attended asked smart, insightful questions, and we had a stimulating conversation during the Q&A. A C-Span camera crew was there and filmed the reading and Q&A for their Book World channel. I'll post the date it will air when we get that information. We really felt at home with everyone. Many, many thanks to Kelly Clark, who made the arrangements for the reading, and to Shannon Palmer, who was the first to read some of the poems from The Warrior and then pass them on to Kelly and others in the WP Women's Club.

The following morning, Ben and I signed books for cadets and some of their instructors in the USMA Bookstore. Everyone who bought a book asked that I sign the book to their mother. Ben was in uniform, and the cadets who stopped by talked to him about their branch choices and majors, and when they talked to me, it was about their mothers. I enjoyed every moment and was so impressed by the young men and women I talked to. They are truly a treasure to our country, and certainly beloved to their families. Virginia Schlier, the Book Buyer and manager of the bookstore had put up a beautiful window display with copies of The Warrior surrounded by pink roses and toy army tanks. We took pictures and hope to post some of them soon. We are so grateful to Virginia and everyone in the bookstore for hosting us and for making the books even more inviting with the extra added enticement of coffee and cookies!
Thank you Virginia! Hope to see you in the summer.

Ben and I were at Fort Bragg yesterday. We spoke to an amazing group of women who are in Famliy Readiness Groups at different posts around the country. All had husbands or sons who have served or are serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. I read a few poems, but the best part of the time we spent with them was the question and answer period. Ben and I shared equally in the discussion, and it felt wonderful to be there with my son and with a dedicated and caring community of women who are helping each other through the deployments of their loved ones. Ben and I enjoyed the time we spent there. I'm looking forward to our reading/talk at West Point next week.

I've been reading and enjoying your e-mails. There have been some questions about where I grew up. I grew up and went to public schools in West Virginia. Some of you have asked if I'll be coming to your area on the book tour. If you go back to the home page, you can click on the schedule heading and see all the dates and cities. In general, I'll be in New York, DC, Boston, Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Colorado Springs, Seattle and San Francisco. I only wish I was going to have a little more time in each city, but this will be a quick trip...a city a day.

Thank you for your heartfelt messages.

I heard from several friends today that they found The Warrior in their bookstores. Although the in-store date is April 10, I'm glad to know that The Warrior is already making its way into the world! Ben and I will begin the book tour next week. Although Ben won't be with me in every city on the tour, he'll be able to join in on Q&A at West Point, in New York City and in Denver.
Perhaps a few additional cities as well. We're not sure yet.

I'm looking forward to traveling around the country to read from The Warrior, and to take questions from readers. I hope we can have a meaningful conversation at every event. During those travel weeks, I won't be able to pick up my e-mails every day. If you write, I'll catch up when I return in May.