I would call this a blog tour, but that phrase has already been assigned a specific definition. So, open house it is. Unlike all the real estate open houses I've attended, there are no chocolate chip cookies. No scented candles either, nor any glossy handouts to take home. Sorry to disappoint. There is a guestbook/comment section. More on that later.

 The blog relationship is like a friendly drop-by visit. I write a post. You read it. We're lounging in the living room, sharing spiritual snacks. That's great, but there's more to this virtual ego nest of mine than that. I'm inviting you to explore. Make yourself at home. Don't be shy. Check out the knick-knacks. Peek in the medicine cabinet. Open the closet doors. I'll get you started with a quick trip around the highlights. I wouldn't want you to miss anything.

Up top

• Way up there, you'll see a g+ button for one-click sharing to your Google+ feed. Beside it is the More button. That's the world's most discreet social media sharing menu.
• Big Picture. My mom is in there somewhere, down on the bottom left. The photograph was taken by my dad on a family trip in 1971 or 1972. That's Muir Woods or one of the other related protected redwood forests. It's a setting I stole for a location in Flight Plan, because I can still remember the smell and feel of that air, all these years later.
• Blog description. You can't say I didn't warn you.
• Links to my author pages elsewhere, because I have this delusion that someone might find my writing so intriguing that they would want to investigate my fiction too. I'm proud of my buyable babies. Look at 'em. They're so cute. They're adorable. Don't ya just wanna pick 'em up and riffle their little pages? Which leads us to ... 

Left Sidebar

• Book Extras. Look at all this awesome background material! Look at that spectacular artwork! Go ahead, click one. Click them all. CLICK THEM.

Right Sidebar

• Chronological index to every post on the blog. Yes, I've written that much dreck in the last year and a half. I would include a link to the livejournal blog I maintained for years, but it's even less interesting than this one. My handle was downrigger, if you're on livejournal and bored.
• Assorted ways to follow my tedious ramblings. Or not. Moving along ...

The Bottom of Each Post

• Share Buttons: Ways to inflict my words on others. Look at all those options. 
• Comments: I delude myself about the dearth of commentary. I pretend that people are trying to connect, only to be foiled by Blogger's lame comment interface. I tell myself that that Blogger is Da Wurst, and that all the fab compliments and suggestions from my readers are being swallowed up by glitches. Mm-hm. That's it.

The Bottom-bottom

• Google badge. I like my icon. I know it's too big, but it's pretty. 
• Post label cloud. A glimpse into my disturbed mind, and the way it connects ideas to other ideas.
• Interesting sites you should visit. (Yes, here's only one. Tell me what I should add.)
• Other blogs I like and recommend.
• Email entry form. A way to make contact if the comment box is acting up, or you prefer to berate me in private, or whatever. 

Those are the basics. Now, have yourself a nice wander. Peek behind the curtains. Test the furniture. Raid the fridge. Judge my dusty shelves. Tell me what you think.