Dave Fox's Outbursts!

Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals (and still have time to enjoy your trip!)

It really is not nice of me to write about how I am stranded at the Hong Kong airport in the middle of a typhoon... and then not write anything at all for two weeks. But after making it home to Seattle safely, I immediately dove back into my maelstrom of work chaos. (One of these days I still promise to tell the story of how I had to be rescued after dark from the jungles of Vietnam on a motorcycle last month.)

What's been taking up so much of my time? Among other things, the long-awaited, now-imminent release of my second book. Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals (and still have time to enjoy your trip!) is at the printer and about to be published.

"Ooh! Dave! Dave! How can I get a copy?"

Thank you for asking. You can pre-order autographed copies at a special discounted price of $11.95 (plus shipping and handling), and I'll mail you your book as soon as I get back from my upcoming stint of European tour guiding in early July. (This special price is good from now through July 6, 2008.)

"But Dave? How do I know the book's any good?"

I'll let you decide for yourself. You can now read Chapter One online... absolutely free!

"Woohoo! Tell Me More!"

...Over the Septic Tank

First and foremost, I would like to apologize to every single person I know. I am sorry for not returning any of your phone calls, e-mails, smoke signals, or carrier pigeon messages over the last month.

You know how you are always telling me I am too busy? Doing too much? Need to slow down? Finally, I agree.

Throughout March, I've had book deadlines, speaking engagements, proposals to write, and too many doctor appointments. I've had Saint Patrick's Day to contend with, and a sad, sad final night at the Pig & Whistle, the pub down the street that has been my second living room for the last seven or eight years. The Pig closed its doors for good a couple of weeks ago. I had to fit in as much quality time there as I could before the final squeal.

So I've not been in touch with anyone. I have barely been blogging. I have also barely been sleeping.

Ahhh... but vacation looms. Finally, a real vacation -- my first trip in years that has not been work-related to a totally foreign place.

"All I have to do," I told myself yesterday, "is proofread my entire book manuscript, pack for both a writers' conference and a kayaking trip through the Mekong Delta (fashion varies for these two activities; it's tricky when you string them together), write a proposal for another conference,  proofread my book some more, go to some more doctor appointments, figure out which country I'm going to spend my last four days of vacation in and... EEK! I'm leaving in three days?!

I called my airline. I changed my flight to leave a day later for Dayton.

I'm headed to Dayton, Ohio, early Thursday morning for the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop. I'll be there through Saturday. Sunday I fly from Dayton to Chicago to San Francisco to Hong Kong, where I will bask in 48 hours of excruciating jetlag and travel fatigue before heading south to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In Vietnam, I will eat lots of food, cycle and kayak my way through the Mekong Delta, and hopefully take a nap at some point. The last four days of my trip are up in the air. I'll either stay in Vietnam or head back to Hong Kong.

"Phew!" I was thinking to myself at 3:30 this morning, awake with insomnia. "I sure am glad I changed my flight to Dayton! This extra day of prep time is just what I needed for a slightly calmer departure."

Eventually, I dozed off again.

My first thought when I opened my eyes at 6:30 was, "I should get out of bed and pack before the next version of my manuscript arrives from the publisher around lunch time."

My second thought was, "What the hell is that sound?"

It was a peaceful sound, actually... the sound of bubbling water -- kind of like a softly babbling brook -- only the brook was babbling out of the drain in my bathroom sink, all over my floor, along with some sticky black goop. I called my upstairs neighbors and asked them not to shower. I called a plumber and asked him to rescue me. I called my girlfriend, simply to whine.

It's been a long morning.

I'm hoping to blog more consistently starting in a few days when I hit the road. In the meantime, if you'll excuse me, I've got a couple of things to contend with.

And the Winner is...

Deanna in Los Angeles, California, was the extremely clever first person to guess where I'm going on vacation next month. After six arduous plane rides (actually, only one of them will be arduous), I will touch down in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Why so many plane rides? As I said on Day One of the contest, I'm taking a circuitous route to get there, and it'll be a week before I land at my final destination. The first day's clue was a list of how long each flight would take:

Flight 1 (4 hours): April 2 - Seattle to Chicago
Flight 2 (1 hour): April 2 - Chicago to Dayton, Ohio

Q: But Dave, what kind of idiot flies from Seattle to Vietnam via Ohio?

A: Me. I'll be in Dayton for four days attending the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop. Moving right along....

Flight 3 (1 hour): April 6 - Dayton back to Chicago
Flight 4 (4 hours): April 6 - Chicago to San Francisco
Flight 5 (14 hours - eek!): April 6-7 San Francisco to Hong Kong

(Two-day stopover in Hong Kong)

Flight 6 (2.5 hours): April 9 - Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

So the detour via Dayton threw a few people off. My Day Two clue was also a bit of a decoy: "A song about this city made Billboard's Top 40 charts in the 1980s." The song everybody thought of was "One Night in Bangkok," which was recorded several times by different artists. (The 1984 version by Robey peaked at number five on the Billboard dance charts. And here's some totally random trivia for you: The song was actually written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson from Abba!)

So what song was I thinking of? "Ho Chi Minh City" hardly rolls off the tongue when you're writing lyrics. But in 1982, the Charlie Daniels Band recorded an ode to Vietnam veterans using the city's former name. "Still in Saigon" hit number 22 on Billboard's pop charts and also ranked on Billboard's country charts. Deanna tells me when she guessed (after Day Three's clue about the country being a former French colony), she was actually thinking of a different song, which I had forgotten about -- "Goodnight Saigon" by Billy Joel, which topped out at 56 on Billboard the same year as the Charlie Daniels tune.

So... congratulations Deanna, and thanks to everybody who entered! Deanna has won a copy of my forthcoming second book, Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals (and still have time to enjoy your trip), which will be published this summer. (I am putting the finishing touches on the manuscript this week.)

About my itinerary: I'll be traveling with my girlfriend, Kattina. We're spending two days and nights in Hong Kong before flying on to Vietnam. We plan to spend a couple of days in Ho Chi Minh City before heading off to smaller towns in the Mekong Delta. Due to vacation restraints, Kattina flies home after six days in Vietnam. I've got four more days when I don't yet know what I'm doing. Possibilities include more Vietnam, more Hong Kong, Cambodia, and mainland China. I'll be blogging along the way as much as time and technology permit. (Including reports from exotic Dayton, Ohio.) Stay tuned!

We Have a Winner!

No more guesses please! We have a winner in the "Where's Dave Going?" contest!

The winner and the winning answer will be announced tomorrow morning, along with my full travel plans. Stay tuned!

Contest: Where's Dave Going? ~ Clue #3 (Wednesday)

Welcome to Day Three of the "Where's Dave Going?" contest! Please see the previous posts on this blog for all the rules and previous clues.

Today's clue: The country I'm going to was once a colony of France. (But keep in mind your answer must identify the city as well as the country.)

The first person to e-mail me with the correct answer wins a copy of my soon-to-be-published book, Globejotting: How to Write Phenomenal Travel Journals (and still have time to enjoy your trip).

One guess per person per day. Send your answer to where@davethefox.com.

A Brief Clarification
There's been a little confusion. This contest is to guess where I am going next month. My trip next month is not part of my Travel Journaling Seminar at Sea, which will be in March and April of 2009. In case you were confused, it is currently 2008.

(For the travel journaling seminar, I'll be teaching a series of writing classes on a cruise from Brazil to Spain, with additional stops in Cape Verde and Morocco. Visit traveljournaling.com/cruise for all the details. Writers of all skill levels are welcome, and we'll be visiting some nifty destinations!)

Contest: Where's Dave Going? ~ Clue #2 (Tuesday)

Welcome to Day 2 of the "Where's Dave Going?" contest. In early April, I'll be jetting off to a place I've never explored before. Please see my previous post for the official rules.

Answers must be sent to me via e-mail. Do not post your answer in the comments field here or you will be disqualified!

E-mail your guess to where@davethefox.com. You may submit one guess per day. Once you have sent in a guess, you may not submit another guess until the next day's clue is posted. If you submit multiple guesses in a single e-mail, your guess will not count for that day.

Today's Clue
A song about this city made Billboard's Top 40 charts in the 1980s.

Contest: Where's Dave Going? ~ Clue #1 (Monday)

Welcome to Day 1 of the "Where's Dave Going?" contest. In early April, I'll be jetting off to a place I've never explored before. The first person to guess the city and country of my final destination will win a copy of my new book, Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals (and still have time to enjoy your trip) as soon as it's published, this summer.

Please see my previous post for the official rules.

Answers must be sent to me via e-mail. Do not post your answer in the comments field here or you will be disqualified!

E-mail your guess to where@davethefox.com. You may submit one guess per day. Once you have sent in a guess, you may not submit another guess until the next day's clue is posted. If you submit multiple guesses in a single e-mail, your guess will not count for that day.

Today's Clue
I'm taking a circuitous route to my final destination with two multiple-day stopovers along the way. I depart Seattle on April 2. I'll arrive seven days later at my final destination.

To get to that final destination, I will take a total of six plane rides. (Once I depart, I never backtrack through Seattle on any of these six flights.) The approximate duration of each of those six flights is:

• Flight 1: 4 hours
• Flight 2: 1 hour
• Flight 3: 1hour
• Flight 4: 4 hours
• Flight 5: 14 hours
• Flight 6: 2.5 hours

Remember, you must guess both the city and country I am flying to. E-mail your guess to where@davethefox.com. If no one guesses correctly today, tune in tomorrow for another clue.

Good luck!

Win a Free Copy of my Forthcoming Book About Travel Journaling!

A couple of months ago, I announced a contest to come up with a title for my new book about travel journaling. And the winner is... ahem... this is extremely awkward... sorry kids, but the winner is...  me. I sent every entry I received into the publisher and let them choose. They liked my idea the best (even though I was on the fence about it myself.) So to be fair, I'm going to have a new contest. Keep reading.

The official title of my book, due out this summer is: Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals (and still have time to enjoy your trip). I'm hoping to have my current version of the manuscript into the publisher next week. The book should be available sometime this summer.

Since no prizes were given out in that extremely lame contest, let's try this again. In early April, I'm going on my first freestanding international vacation in years. (By "freestanding," I mean this trip will not be tied to any sort of work. I'm just going.) Starting this coming Monday, March 3, I'll post a new clue on my blog each day at 11 a.m., Pacific time. (That's 2 p.m. if you're on the east coast of the US, 7 p.m. in London, 8 p.m. CET, and... sorry Australia, but you really should be in bed at that hour.

 

The first person to guess my destination city wins a free copy of "Globejotting" when it comes out. (If you know me and I've already told you where I'm going, you are not eligible to participate. Sorry! Also, in accordance with US laws, if you are under the age of 18, you must have a parents permission to participate. Children 13 and under may not participate. Void where prohibited and all that stuff.)

See you Monday! Good luck!

Name the Book and Win Lots of Books!

I've been squabbling with my editors for the last couple of weeks about a title for my new book about travel journaling. The book is scheduled for publication in June, 2008.

For marketing reasons, I can't reveal the titles we have considered and shot down so far. I can reveal that I have a subtitle in mind, but I can't tell you what it is yet. But we have yet to come up with a title everyone agrees on. So I'm opening things up for suggestions.

We're looking for a relatively short title that is catchy and at least partially conveys the spirit of travel journaling. (I say partially because the subtitle will whack people over the head and explain exactly what the book's about.) It helps (but isn't absolutely critical) if there is an available .com domain name available, and if there are no competing titles, businesses, etc., with similar names.

Got an idea: e-mail it to me, and if we use it, you will win a cornucopia of Dave Fox publications:

• A copy of my travel humor book, Getting Lost: Mishaps of an Accidental Nomad
• A copy of my audiobook CD, The Fox that Quacked: Essays from Planet Earth
• And of course... a copy of the journaling book when it's out.
• Hey, I'm even going to throw in some chocolate!

The rules:

• You may submit as many entries as you like. (Ahem... within reason. If you get obsessive or obnoxious, I will feel compelled to block your e-mail.)
• The contest ends as soon as the publishers and I agree on a title... which could be tomorrow or could be months from now. Got a great idea? Don't procrastinate!
• If more than one person submits the same winning title, the first person to suggest it wins the prizes.
• If no submitted entries are used as the final title (in other words, if I come up with something all by my own brilliant self), these prizes might not be awarded. (But hey, they're not that expensive. You can always just buy them!)
• All the usual rules apply... void where prohibited, anyone under 18 must have a parent's permission to enter, anyone under 13 is not allowed to enter. Sorry. I don't make these rules. I just follow them so I don't get thrown in jail for attempting to lure minors into the sordid world of travel journaling.

Looking for inspiration? You'll find all of my basic travel journaling philosophies on my journaling website at www.traveljournaling.com.

Holiday Book Sale

I have learned something important from my recent foot injury: Big boxes of books in the middle of my bedroom floor are dangerous. That's why I've decided to have my biggest book sale ever. I've got boxes and boxes of my books and audiobook CDs, and hurdling over them on crutches is getting annoying. So just in time for our annual rabid spending spree in celebration of various holidays, I'm selling them off at crazy prices. Yes! Welcome to Crazy Dave's House of Cheap Books!

Here's the deal:

~ My travel humor book, Getting Lost: Mishaps of an Accidental Nomad normally sells for $15.95. For the rest of 2007, you can order single copies for $12.95, or buy three or more copies for $10.95 each. That's cheaper than wholesale!

~ My audiobook CD, The Fox that Quacked: Essays from Planet Earth, normally sells for $12.95. Right now, you can get single copies for $9.95... or stock up on stocking stuffers with a CD Six-Pack -- grab six of them for a measly 36 dollars! At that price, you can use them as beer coasters!

~ My usual discounted package of one book and one audiobook for $22.95 is now discounted an extra three bucks to $19.95.

Seriously, people, your mailman really wants copies of these for the holidays. So do your dentist, your boss, your next-door neighbor, your former third grade astrophysics teacher, and the junkie on the corner. And chances are these books will never be this cheap ever again.

For more details, or to order, visit davesbook.com. The sale ends December 31, 2007.