Associated Press

Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor, is still a GOP celebrity — her book has a first printing of 1.5 million copies.

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The self-described "pit bull with lipstick" is coming back to the Roanoke Valley.

Sarah Palin will promote "Going Rogue: An American Life," her memoir, at the Barnes & Noble bookstore at Valley View Mall on Nov. 22.

The former Republican vice presidential candidate's appearance tentatively is scheduled for noon, a HarperCollins spokeswoman said. To handle expected crowds, the store will hand out wristbands to fans starting at 6 a.m., said Deanna Lemburg, Barnes & Noble's regional community relations manager.

Palin's last visit to the Roanoke Valley, for a presidential campaign rally in October 2008, drew a crowd estimated at 16,000 to Salem Stadium.

Since then, her celebrity status hasn't diminished: "Going Rogue" has an announced first printing of 1.5 million copies and has been at or near the top of Amazon.com's best-seller list for weeks.

"Anytime she comes here is exciting," said Adam Boitnott, Republican committee chairman for Roanoke. "We'll be doing something I'm sure." He plans to attend, he said.

It's unclear if Palin will appear with her family members, who traveled with her on the campaign trail last year. They'll likely tag along as she hops bookstore-to-bookstore mostly by bus for about three weeks, The Associated Press reported.

The hardcover book, which "imparts Palin's vision of a way forward for America," the publisher says, will go on sale Nov. 17.

The tour starts the next day at Barnes & Noble in Grand Rapids, Mich., where Palin made a campaign appearance as a candidate in 2008.

Like Roanoke and Grand Rapids, some of the tour will take her to prominent spots from the campaign last fall. She'll visit the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., on Dec. 7, close to where she roused attendees with a speech at the Republican National Convention 14 months earlier.

Other stops include Noblesville, Ind., and Rochester, N.Y., but not San Francisco or Seattle, both Democratic strongholds and book-tour regulars. The army post in Fort Bragg, N.C., will host the former Alaska governor the day after she sees the Star City.

"She wants to be unconventional. She is unconventional," HarperCollins spokeswoman Tina Andreadis said Wednesday. "She feels like this is where her fans are, and Harper feels this is where she'll sell the most books."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.