"Tell us someplace that you would really love to visit?," one of the standing room only audiences at Cheshire Books in Downtown Fort Bragg asked best-selling author Timothy Hallinan?

"I've been everywhere," he said, noting that he even has apartments in Bangkok and Phnom Penh, Cambodia where he lives part time.

The question that came next caught him by surprise: "But had you ever been to Fort Bragg?

"No," he said. This was his first visit to our little town. He was just a city boy in the country, overwhelmed by the hospitality, the "darkness" of Navarro Redwood State Park and the long, twisting Highway 128.

Hallinan, a Los Angeles resident, drove his wife and sports car from Los Angeles overfilled with clothes, along with a 24-quart cooler filled with food. "My wife wanted to make sure we had food in case we couldn't find any restaurants."

He added, with a smile, "she also brought 24 apples."

Hallinan was animated, funny, and a captivating speaker full of interesting stories and great advice on writing books. The author of 24 books (including a couple unpublished), he was in town to discuss his latest novel, Queen of Patpong.

Luckily for those who missed him, he has an encore performance tomorrow (Wednesday) at 4pm at the Fort Bragg Library. It's more than worth the price of admission (free). You'll even get a chance to have him sign his new book.