It’s a classic tale of Hollywood. You show up with stars in your eyes, visions of your name in lights, and it all ends in… tow trucks.

Christopher Boucher, author of the “strange and dazzling” How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, arrived in Los Angeles and picked up the black Volkswagen Beetle that was intended to carry him across the country, giving readings at the best bookstores in the country.

He drove around town. The locals loved his novel…

He gave a reading at the legendary Los Angeles bookstore Book Soup….

But when Chris tried to drive away… he noticed that gas was leaking on the engine. A broken carburetor! Driving the Beetle would risk exploding it…

And so that’s where our story stands… Chris has driven to San Francisco to give a reading at The Booksmith in a rented Jeep. The Volkswagen is in a garage in Los Angeles with a new carburator and dubious bill of health. What will happen next? Should Boucher continue the book tour by rental car? Should he buy a used car in San Francisco and hope it drives better than the VW? Or should he fly back to San Francisco and give the old black Volkswagen one last chance?

We’re open to suggestions. How do you keep a book tour alive?

(Follow Boucher’s book tour (mis)adventures at VWALIVE.COM…)