The King's English

This is the delightful independent bookstore in Salt Lake City where I did my book talk tonight. A large, warmly receptive crowd gathered in the courtyard at the back. Almost everyone had already read the trilogy, and had brought their books along for signing. I signed a huge pile of stock before we headed off for dinner with old friend, George Easter, who is the editor of Deadly Pleasures magazine, one of the foremost crime review magazines in the US.

Earlier, George picked us up at the airport and took us on a tour of Central SLT, including City Creek, a huge shopping centre, and Temple Square where we visited the Mormon temple, built across 40 years from granite hacked out of nearby mountains.

A lengthy drought has reduced the salt lake to less than half it's normal capacity, and seen from the air it appeared as a series of large puddles. However, being Scots we brought our weather with us, and it rained heavily on a city that has an annual rainfall of 18 inches. In fact, a storm passing over Utah dumped as much as six inches in a matter of hours. They're asking when we can come back! :)

Tomorrow it's off to Oakland, California, and Corte Madera (opposite San Francisco), before an at home at the home of US crime diva Janet Rudolph in Berkeley.