5 Essential Road Trip Tips for Authors

I just came back from driving six hours to the beach and back—all in the same day. This recent trip to teach Reiki and Writing made me realize that I have quite a few more road trips to undertake because my new book, Heroes without Capes is hitting the shelves in a few weeks! I’ll be traveling (via car, not flying) to Charleston, South Carolina, Charlotte, Asheville and New Bern, North Carolina, this fall with more tour dates to come in early 2016. 

Before I hit the beach, I got my favorite oil change place to inflate the tires and change the air filter and oil—very important since my 2008 Subaru Outback has 149,000 miles on it. Believe, it’s no fun to be driving on I-40 in a heavy-duty rainstorm with flashing dashboard lights and funny smells coming from your engine. By the way, every time I drive back from a gig, I hit a major rain storm with flash floods and lightning—what’s up with that?

Here are several of my road trip tips and if you follow them you’ll be saving lots of dollars and headaches down the road (pun intended). Because nothing sucks more than your car breaking down as you’re headed to a gig and you missing your opportunity to shine.

• Be sure to change your oil every 5,000 to 7,000 miles unless you drive more frequently, then you should change your oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles.

• Keep your tires properly inflated and check to make sure you don’t have any nails or other sharp objects imbedded in your treads. Everything depends on your four wheels! Having good tires with strong treads also increases your fuel efficiency.

• Don’t cover up your “Check Engine” light with a piece of duct tape and hope for the best. Find out what’s bothering your engine. And if the red oil light come on (it looks like Aladdin’s genie lamp)—get oil in your car—STAT!

• Change your air filters on a regular basis—this is another gas-saving item. It’s a good idea to change your filters when you change your oil.

• Just like making sure you have all the right gear packed for your trip (suitcase, books, notes, laptop, smart phone charger), you also want to bring an emergency roadside kit that includes a fire extinguisher, flares, jumper cables, and a first aid kit.

Plus, it’s a smart idea to carry the contact numbers of your gig host close by so you can call/text that person if you get into a jam.

Good luck on your book tour and Happy Trails!

Your turn:
I’d like to hear about your maintenance and/or road trip tips!

Upcoming Heroes without Capes Triangle-Area Book Launches:

Heroes without Capes is about “the struggle against daunting obstacles, especially the fear of completing our goals and the fear of not being good enough.”