Jeff Kinney's book tour no place for wimps

Jeff Kineey is the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.

Wimpy isn't the word you would use to describe a Jeff Kinney book tour. The latest tour for the author of the best-selling Diary of a Wimpy Kid books began last week in Boston, Massachusetts. After a stop in nearby Plainville, where Kinney lives, he heads to nine US cities. In mid-November he's on to Europe - six countries in 21 days.

Considering The Meltdown is No13 in the series, you might expect Kinney's next book to be Diary of a Weary Writer. But instead of slowing down, he is changing up what he does when he meets his many fans. He's doing a few typical talks and book signings, but Kinney is also putting on a show.

"We thought it would be really fun to change the idea of what a book signing is," Kinney said in a recent phone chat.

The hour-long Meltdown Show will feature costumes, cartooning and a chance to stump the author on Wimpy Kid trivia. The idea is for kids to participate, not just watch.

"It's all driven by a wheel, a spinning wheel that chooses what our next activity will be," Kinney said. Because the show is new territory for the author, "this could go terribly wrong," he said with a laugh.

The setting for the show and the new book is an epic snowball battle. Kinney remembers such neighbourhood battles while growing up in Fort Washington, Maryland.

"We would do all the work of building the snow fort, and some bigger kids would come and take it over," he said. "I remember getting my face stuffed in the snow ... people putting snow in my hat and shoving it on my head."

The book, which went on sale last week, has main character Greg Heffley and his friend Rowley Jefferson fighting for survival as they are caught between rival groups of neighbours.

"It's a really different kind of Wimpy Kid book," Kinney said. "Greg's neighbourhood turns into a war zone."