Today is the official release date for Self Storage! Very exciting! I wish I didn't have a sinus infection so I could enjoy the day more fully, but I'm sure I'll find a way to celebrate. I hope my head will be a little less stuffy tomorrow; I'm going to be interviewed by Connie Martinson tomorrow afternoon--I'll let you know when the segment runs--and I'll be on Feminist Magazine on KPFK tomorrow at 7pm. I would rather not be snuffling and bleary on the air!

Jason Boog at The Publishing Spot is running a weeklong interview with me--check here every day for a new answer to his great questions.

Self storage auctions have been in the news a lot lately. Just today, a mummified baby was found in a unit about to go up for auction, and recently a soldier came home from Iraq to find all of his belongings had been auctioned off by Public Storage. It's amazing how many human stories--some tragic indeed--can be found inside these storage lockers.

I went to a self storage auction last Friday. I was hoping to win a unit with several boxes, or buy a few boxes from someone who won a locker--I really want to take unopened boxes to my local readings and open one during each event. I think it would be great fun to share that moment of discovery and surprise with readers; I would love to give the contents away as door prizes, or prizes for anyone who asks a question. I'd love to do that in my out of town readings, too (check out my schedule here to see if I'm coming to a town near you) but I don't think it would be a good idea to carry boxes full of unknown contents onto planes!

Fourteen lots were listed in the newspaper's public notices for this particular auction, so I figured there would be a good chance of getting some boxes, but by the time the auction rolled around, 12 of those lots were reclaimed by their owners, so only two were up for bid. The first lot had a couple of boxes, along with a lot of tools, but it sold for way more money than I had brought with me, and the man who won it wouldn't sell me a box. The second unit was filled with large pieces--furniture, a dog igloo; even though it only went for $45, it didn't make sense for me to bid. I don't want to lug dog igloos to my readings! The auction was a bust box-wise, but it was still great fun to tap into that world again, to see the anticipation on the bidders' faces, to hear the auctioneer do his mile a minute spiel, to watch the bidders give their characteristic bidding movements--a slightly raised hand here, a lifted chin there. I half-expected to see my characters in the crowd! I am going to try to go to another auction later this week. I'll let you know what happens...