TUD hits the road! (Plus: Pennsylvania, the NY Times, and one more day to enter the Easter Giveaway!)

Last Friday, one of the most exciting stops on my book tour came to pass: my return to Lynchburg, Virginia, home of Liberty University.

Returning to the setting of my undercover book to sign and talk about said book could have been extraordinarily awkward.  (One friend compared it to the scene in “Harriet the Spy” when Harriet comes to school to find her scandalized friends reading her diary entries about them.)  But even though it was Good Friday, we had a great turnout at two book signings (one at the Barnes & Noble right down the street from Liberty’s campus, and one at Givens Books), and everyone I met was hospitable and friendly.  Even the woman who followed me to the bathroom in B&N to tell me I was going to hell had a smile on her face!

Devin Olson (he of Liberty video fame) and his friend Chelsea Davis took some great photos and video during the B&N event.  The video will be posted next week to the “Extras” page, and a bunch of their photos are after the jump.

Also, three quick items of business:

• The Unlikely Disciple Easter Giveaway is still going on until tomorrow, April 19.  If you haven’t entered already, this is your last chance to win an iPod Shuffle, assorted Liberty paraphernalia, and more.
• I’ll be heading to Pennsylvania tomorrow to give a talk (part of the Shoemaker Lecture series) at Westtown School, my alma mater.  If you’re in the Philly area and can make it out, I’d love it!  Directions are here, and the event begins at 7:30 PM.  More info here.
• And last but definitely not least, The New York Times Book Review’s take on THE UNLIKELY DISCIPLE went online today!  It’s a great review, and I’ll let you read the whole thing, but the quote that will (probably) end up on the paperback is this one: “[A] vivid, sunny and skeptical portrait of life among the saved.”

After the signing/Q&A, a few friends and I headed to the Texas Inn, a Lynchburg institution, and polished off our Cheesy Westerns (cheeseburger topped with fried egg and relish).  A greasy, disgusting, artery-hardening coda to a great night.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 18th, 2009 at 10:58 am .