Get ready because the Unchained Tour is coming Tuesday to Gainesville.

Before your imagination runs wild with fearful imagery, you should know that the tour is comprised of four storytellers, a few musicians and a circus performer.

The tour was created by author George Dawes Green as a way to encourage more readers to get their literary fix from independent retailers instead of chain stores - hence the "unchained" title.

"We're asking people to understand that bookstores are a vital part of the community. People are turning to independent bookstores because they provide a positive book-buying experience," Green said.

"Why would you want to download a book from a website when you could pick up a copy from your local bookstore?"

The tour - and it's funky, painted school bus turned tour mobile - will stop at the Northeast Georgia History Center at 322 Academy St. at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

While the Unchained Tour performances are centered around sharing stories, organizers say the performers aren't "your grandfather's storytellers - their contemporary stories are drawn from personal experience and are riveting, poignant, hilarious and contemplative."

Performers include Green, author Tina McElroy Ansa, fiddler Katy Rose Cox and musicians Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst, among others.

"We're inviting people to take a pledge that whenever possible they will buy their books from independent bookstores - not downloaded to some electronic pad or from a chain store," Green said.

Tickets for the event are $15 and are available in advance at two, Gainesville locations - the Hall Book Exchange, 1854 Thompson Bridge Road or Next Chapter Bookstore in the Main Street Market, 118 Main St.