All right, we’ve been talking about, marking the locations on the Google map, now it’s time to get serious.

Sometime in the middle of May, Elmore Leonard will have a launch at a bookstore in Detroit and Gregg has offered to host a tour of the city. All things Elmore and more.

If you’re interested, add a post to this thread or email me at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). I’ll look into getting a group rate on some hotel rooms (not the Zanzibar Motel, but we’ll probably see it on the tour) and book any restaurants or whatever else we need to do.

Okay, the date for the launch is Monday, May 18th. My suggestion would be to arrive in Detroit Saturday and have the tour Sunday and some of Monday.

I’ll have to look at a schedule that would bring me in to Toronto on the Friday, John.
I’ll let you know.

John,

I’ve been phoning travel agents all morning, and searching online for flight quotes.
I’m both mortified and a little shocked - I realised that the taxes were heavier now, and aware that I haven’t flown internationally since 2006, but I was clearly way out of touch.
The flight prices are not bad, either to Toronto (to drive down with you,) or directly to Detroit. The tax however, is almost as much as the flight ! - Needless to say; the money my wife gave me at Christmas - for the very purpose of this flight - doesn’t even cover 70% of the cost. Then there’s hotel expenses to consider, too.
I’ll keep trying; I still have a couple of places to try. But I’m not holding my breath.

Sadly, it looks like I’m not going to make it.
The map, the plans, the tour, Meeting Mr. L and getting a book signed…..
In a word, - no, make it two words:

F&%$ing Gutted.

No, five words… Pissed off and F-ing gutted.

I’m going out for a walk now - I very much hope that someone annoys me…

Okay then, let’s start a Send-Jade-to-Motown fund.

I’ll kick it off with $25.
Pony up, everyone who still has a job.

Gas prices are down, no passport required till June, think I’ll motor it the planning all works out.
Can I tag along with the Toronto crew?

I’m touched, Scrum. Seriously.

However, I certainly wouldn’t expect anybody to do that; It’s my own stupid fault - I should have checked earlier, before commiting(and getting my hopes up).

Besides, if I accpeted your kind offer, it would probably end up with me being your bitch. Nice guy that you are, I’m not sure I’m up for that!

A stab at humour there….

This bitch be straight, so any other bitches I hang with are stricktly my road dog homie sisters. Dig?
I’ll hang with the brothers though, we all make it to D town.

Scrum - 04 February 2009 04:02 PM

Can I tag along with the Toronto crew?

It would be very cool if you came to Toronto. See the Silver Dollar and the Waverly Hotel.

We’re likely going to have to leave here on the Friday to be in Detroit Saturday morning.

Maybe a drink or two in the Silver Dollar Friday night, ha, that could be something.

My boy wants to tag along now.
He’s 15.
Likes the Motown connection.
But points out that Detroit is the most dangerous city in the land.

He’d have to sit the Silver Dollar drink fest out. 
Where would two weekend bachelors stay on a Friday night in T-town?
They have a Y?

edit:
Leaving Toronto Friday night.
Okay, now yer talking.
Pull and all nighter, eh?

Scrum - 16 February 2009 03:06 PM

edit:
Leaving Toronto Friday night.
Okay, now yer talking.
Pull and all nighter, eh?

All right, so my schedule has changed. The good news is, I finally got a job - I’m going to be a writer on a new cop show called The Bridge. The bad news is it doesn’t look like I’ll have a day off for months and this will affect the deadline on my next book (it bugs me that writing for TV pays so much more than writing novels, but that’s my problem).

I’m still planning to make the trip to Detroit, but I won’t have any real details for a couple more weeks.

Just as a matter of curiosity; how many of you are lined up to go on the tour so far?

I would still like to go.
I’m moving in April, but we should be settled in well enough by May.
Would rather not drive all the way to Detroit, but would if John’s vehicle doesn’t accommodate another rider or two.
Seriously considering it.

After seeing how a tour is done, I have revised this year’s Elmore Leonard tour concept to be in the form of a self guided tour.  There will also be a section of the website that describes tour stops with photos and youtube videos.  More soon.

Someone was prescient in referring to this thread as “Elmore Leonard’s Detroit.” I say this in light of the recent news that Elmore in fact has purchased Detroit, almost 6 square miles of the downtown area, shelling out half his up-front money from Djibouti, and a promise to pay the rest later with half the paperback money from Road Dogs. It looks like Elmore picked up the heart of Detroit, as it were, for less than a million bucks.

Said Leonard: “I thought at first I ‘d gotten a pretty good deal. But yesterday I drove part of Woodward, then Greek Town, then by the Ren Cen and it hit me; ‘hey man, you overpaid.’”

When a journalist suggested a money-making idea—put surveillance cameras on every corner, use the footage in a new daily TV show, Crimes In Progress—Elmore said, “hey, that’s not bad. I’ll put my man Gregg on it. He’s the technology nut.” Elmore paused, thinking, then said, “you know, it’s a terrific idea. People love reality shows. Shit, down here, we’ll get a dozen muggings a day, burglaries, stabbings, shootings, dope dealing, street corner rape…and all the hooker action your average viewer could want. Looks like it [buying up the downtown area] might pay off big time.”

man this is getting interesting
you can stay at the Waverley
hotel hard by Chinatown
Blackbirds room cheap
bring holy oil for the
last rites get them
out of the way
ahead of
time

we
pool our
money we
could buy a
place right in
town for pennies
on the dollar you see.
Hear the average price
for a home in Detroit now
is somewhere the neighborhood
a $14k.
Overpaid
did Elmore
most certainly.