Let there be light… on a 2022 book tour?

It’s been busy here in Howley-land. For the last several months, Pat has been going gangbusters working on the van, taking advantage of the warm weather and longer days. When he wasn’t out working in the garage or driveway, he was spending hours at a time studying scary-looking schematics of solar and electrical systems.

Full disclosure: Pat decided NOT to build his own battery (see my previous blog post https://annkhowley.com/my-husband-wants-to-build-what-from-scratch/). I can’t comment on why he did or did not choose to go that route because, in general, when he talks to me about the van electrical system, my brain melts into a puddle of muddy goo that swallows every word that comes out of his mouth before I can comprehend it.

However, I know a solar panel when I see it, and I fully understood his dilemma when he was trying to figure out how to arrange four solar panels on the top of the van. Not only did he have to space each panel where they could be fastened to the roof rack, but he also had to allow for room to install a cartop carrier, which he had hoped to use for extra storage. There is only so much rooftop real estate to deal with, so it was not an easy puzzle to solve.

I like puzzles, though, and I wish I could say that I helped him solve it, but I did not. The solution was all his. In an impressive display of “thinking outside of the box,” he figured out a way to stack the solar panels, so that they were secured in a fixed position when driving and then when the van is parked, the bottom panel “drawers” could be pulled out beyond the width of the roof, kind of like little silver wings on each side of the van.

He claims he saw something like this somewhere in his research, but nobody told him how to build this and I thought the drawer system he designed and built from extruded aluminum was nothing short of brilliant.

I am also pleased to report that when he was hooking up the wiring that went from the solar panels to the electrical cabling inside the van, he did need my help. He was trying to stick two fat cables through a small-ish hole in the roof, but the stiff wires were difficult to work with. So as he stood on a ladder to work on the top of the roof, he fed the wires to me inside the van.

 Pat does not frequently ask me to help, so I knew he must have been desperate. But when called upon, I eagerly rose to the occasion and helped yank those wires through.

And as soon as he had it all hooked up and pretty, the most amazing thing happened: THE SOLAR PANELS STARTED TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY!

I am so proud of Pat for accomplishing this achievement.

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And speaking of achievements… if you haven’t heard already (because I have been loudly announcing this for a week now) my debut young adult novel, THE MEMORY OF COTTON, will be published in 2022 by

This is a project I have been working on for several years, and to find an enthusiastic publishing home for this story I love has been very exhilarating. Within days of signing the contract, I already worked out the skeleton itinerary for a possible Paddy Wagon book tour in 2022. At the moment, I have targeted the following cities to try to arrange book events:

New York, Detroit, Memphis, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento

These destinations could change, depending on many factors. However, I will be able to start planning in earnest when the release date is set, which will hopefully be in the not too distant future. I will keep you posted.

Here’s a question for all of you: do you know a local bookstore, book club, youth group or event that would be interested in an author talk or visit? If so, let me know… and maybe Pat and I will come visit you, too in our fully-powered, light-filled Paddy Wagon.