Don Calame: An American author in Peebles

In May this year the Scottish Book Trust joined Don Calame for the Edinburgh part of his Scottish tour to promote his book Swim The Fly. Here he talks about his experience on the Peebles leg of that tour.

It would be impossible for me to write about the entire Scottish portion of my book tour in a single blog and give each school visit the weight and attention they deserve.

And so, I thought I’d focus on one visit in particular. One that truly surprised and inspired me.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Scottish Borders and from Peebles specifically. I had spent several amazing days visiting schools in Edinburgh and was looking forward to seeing some of the Scottish countryside. I wasn’t sure how far “off the beaten path” I would be going and told my wife not to expect too much communication from me as I wasn’t sure we’d have internet at the hotel where I’d be staying.

Ruth Fry, the librarian from Peebles High School, was kind enough to pick me up at my hotel in Edinburgh and drove me out to Peebles. In actual fact, her friend John did the driving and along the way we discussed book festivals, the changing face of the city, and how I’d found the people of Scotland to be very kind, warm, and gentle.

As we travelled along the softly curving roads, I watched the landscape change from city, to heavily residential, to rolling green hills and farmland. The fields were peppered with sheep, many of them marked with a swath of red paint on their hindquarters. A sort of branding, I’d figured, though I didn’t ask John or Ruth about it.

I rolled down my window and took a deep breath. The air smelled clean and cool and grassy. Soft billowy white clouds hovered in the blue sky over the antique farmhouses in the distance. It was like a 3D panoramic postcard, only way prettier.

We dropped John off near his house and Ruth took the helm of her car. She gave me some Peebles history as we followed the River Tweed, which, apparently is a salmon fisherman’s dream.

Ruth and I had some dinner along the High Street where she casually confessed to me that she’d had to lobby hard for my visit to her school. My belly clenched up. Why? What happened? Had the principal hated my book? Were teachers angry at the content?

No, nothing like that, Ruth assured me. The students were scheduled to do a 5K health walk in the morning and the health teacher had wanted Ruth to cancel my reading. Instead, Ruth got my publisher to move the reading to the late morning and I would be speaking to the students when they returned from their walk.

Following dinner Ruth and I met publicist Liz Scott for a glass of wine before I retired to my hotel room.

When I awoke I was greeted with what I have been told is “typical Scottish weather,” i.e. cloudy, windy and rainy.

And so, instead of a stroll along the river, Liz and I ate some breakfast and then hid in our rooms until it was time to head over to Peebles High School.

 As we pulled into the parking lot of the school, the wind and rain decided it would be a good time to really come on strong. The thought flitted through my mind that this was not a good omen. That the students—who were meant to do their health walk earlier that morning—would be tired and soaked and miserable and in no mood to laugh.

But I quickly pushed the thought aside and decided to keep my mind positive.

We said a quick hello to Rosamund de la Hey, from The Mainstreet Trading Company, who’d brought copies of Swim the Fly to sell at the event. The three of us then hurried toward the building, collars up and heads tipped down.

Inside we were greeted by Sarah Wright from Bounce Marketing who’d made the trip out from Edinburgh to watch the reading.  A moment later Ruth showed up and led us all into the dining hall where the reading would take place. Ruth explained that the library was being used for testing and so the dining hall was our only option.

My stomach plummeted when I saw the place. Tables and chairs were scattered about. Food littered the floor. The ceilings were high and all the sounds—particularly the clanking of pots and pans in the kitchen—echoed around the room.

This was not the ideal place for a book reading. Not by a long shot. And now, not only would the teens be drenched and exhausted and unhappy, they wouldn’t even be able to hear what I was saying.

I started sweating. My lungs constricting. This was going to be an unmitigated disaster. My worst reading ever.

That’s okay, I thought. One always has to expect the unexpected with these things. The show must go on. I’d do my best, even if there was no chance of saving this sinking ship.

We scurried around looking for the best—and least noisy—place to conduct the talk. Liz found a corner of the room as far away from the kitchen as possible. It was the most reasonable option, although the low tables and tiny stools would probably not be the most comfortable to sit on for an hour.

I steadied my breath and tried to keep my heart from jumping out of my chest as the students filed in and got settled. The first thing I noticed was that they were dry. Apparently, the bad weather turned out to be my good luck because the grueling health walk had been cancelled.

Okay, well, that was something positive.

Still, my mouth was cottony and I could feel my hands shaking. As I introduced myself, I took a deep breath, my wife’s voice in my head. “Just throw yourself into the story. Do your best reading ever. Block out everything else.”  I opened my book and started to read.

What happened after that was pure magic. I know it sounds like hyperbole, but I’m telling you, that’s how it felt.

The students couldn’t have been more attentive and responsive. They laughed at all the right places. They asked wonderful and well-thought-out questions. The awkward, uncomfortable, eternal hour I was prepared for just flew by.

 The bell rang for lunch, the students stayed. They didn’t leap up and rush out. They bought books—lots and lots of books—and lined up to have me sign them.

I couldn’t believe it.

What promised to be my worst reading ever turned out to be one of the highlights of the tour.

For more information on Don Calame and his work visit the website.

Find out more about the Edinburgh portion of Don's tour on the Scottish Book Trust website.

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