Sarah Palin's visit to Roanoke on Sunday for a book signing comes amid a tidal wave of publicity and national media attention.

Barnes & Noble at Valley View Mall will be Palin's seventh stop on a national tour that has focused mostly on midsize markets, but also included high-profile interviews with Sean Hannity, Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey.

"Going Rogue: An American Life," Palin's new memoir, occupied best-seller lists even before its release on Tuesday. It's currently the number one selling book in the country.

In it, the former Alaska governor and last year's Republican vice presidential candidate writes about her early life in Alaska, charts her rise through local and state politics, and addresses her 2008 run with John McCain.

Palin's last visit to the Roanoke Valley drew about 16,000 people for a late-October campaign rally in Salem. That appearance was initially booked at the Salem Civic Center but then moved to Salem Stadium because of the anticipated crowd.

Her book signings around the Midwest earlier this week routinely drew more than 1,000 spectators each, according to media reports.

"It's going to be a huge day," said Adam Boitnott, chairman of the Roanoke City Republican Committee. "If I were betting, I'd think people were going to start camping out more than 24 hours ahead of time. That's what happened in Michigan, and given the turnout last year in Salem I think that'll happen here too."

Some Roanoke Valley conservatives are a little distressed over the timing of the event, which coincides with Sunday morning worship services at many churches.

"The timing is very strange," said Mickey Mixon, a conservative activist. "It's probably one of the things where she's flying in and flying out. I would have preferred, as someone who's a Christian and conservative, not to have to miss church."

He isn't happy with the choice of Barnes & Noble, either, remembering an unsuccessful effort in the late '90s to force the chain to remove a coffee table book featuring photographs of naked young girls.

Mixon said he will attend the book signing despite his qualms: "We don't get too many people who are presidential contenders in Roanoke, especially when it's not election time for them."

Boitnott said that although some will struggle over the decision between the book signing and worship services, he doesn't think that will hurt attendance at the book signing.

"There's certainly people that are having a tough decision to make between going to church and going to this, but as far as the turnout I don't think it'll make much difference," Boitnott said. "Luckily my church has three services. I'll just change my time."

Boitnott was contacted by Palin's advance team to assemble a VIP list for a special section at the book signing. The list consists mostly of local Republican elected officials, but also a few activists and party officials.

Palin's next scheduled stop after Roanoke will be Fort Bragg, N.C., where Army officials plan to limit media access to the event. The Associated Press reports the decision was made because the garrison commander and other officials were worried the event might lead to criticism of President Obama.