Made it back safely, but a few close calls!

Being an author that strives to keep every committment, and one who really appreciates every media opportunity that is offered, I tend to find myself occassionally in the thick of some adventures, as happened last week during my trip to do the signing at That Book Place in Madison, IN. Last night was no exception, and turned out to be possibly the most harrowing author adventure I've had yet.

I went to Louisville to be on Fender's Den Radio Show, which is a great show that features live performances by bands, interviews, and the like. Louisville is only an hour outside of Lexington, so on a normal night, this is not a problem. Unfortunately, last night was not normal.

Getting to Louisville was a little difficult, as the snow had begun to fall. I had to keep it to about 40 miles an hour, but you could still see the road lines, and the main worry was about the slickness of the highway. I saw salt trucks out, so I had some hope. Got to the studio safely, where Dusty June and Fender, the show hosts, had myself and actor Sonny Burnette (one of my favs), who played Latacolc in Swordbearer, on for an interview focusing on the movie.

We followed a very good rock band called Your News Vehicles. Very cool bunch of musicians, and I definitely recommend you checking them out, as their performances was tight, and I really liked the vocal quality of the singer. Sonny and I were interviewed for about a half hour, and then we set off for the return journey.

While we were inside of the studio, the snow had fallen more thickly, and the interstate had a layer of it such that seeing the road lines was difficult at best in some stretches, and non-existent in others. This makes for a lot of fun as there are always some people that think that they, and their cars, transcend the laws of physics and come racing down the highway in such conditions, when two lanes cannot be seen, much less demarcated. These are the type of people that you see turned around backwards in ditches or perched up on embankments, I strongly believe, or who end up having intimate encounters with telephone poles or light poles.

I had some "interesting" moments, such as one curving stretch on the highway where I couldn't see the road, and the snow was gushing down, AND a big truck came rushing by on the left, and threw up a pile of slush that covered my entire windshield right as I entered the curve (and couldn't see the lines on the road, I must remind you, which means you can't see the lines marking the shoulder of the road or anything else like that). Literally blinded for a few moments until the trusty windshield wipers did their thing, but it definitely makes for a little elevation in heartrate.

I did have a Monster Energy drink to help me, though there was no chance of going drowsy. Went as slow as 20mph in some spots, and no higher than 35. Took easily over 2 1/2 hours to make a trip that normally would be under 1 hour. I finally got back to Lexington. Sonny and I had touched bases by phone a couple of times during our drives back, and I called him again to make sure he got home safe, which, thankfully, he did.

Dues Paying on my path has been going on for quite some time, but I definitely paid some extra dues last night. Hopefully I'll have some adventures of a less-harrowing variety in the future to bring a little balance into things!

Needless to say, I'm glad to be having an office day today!