mary e. pearson

of November. I know you didn't want to hear that, but there you have it. Somewhere in the year there must be a month that crawls by, don't you think? Maybe February? That must be it. That's why they only gave it 28 days, to help it along. But not November, that's for sure. It's a zipper.

I think having a conference backed right up to Thanksgiving helps make it a whirlwind. I had a great time at ALAN. It was my first time to Philadelphia, and I used that to my advantage to get my stomach stretched out for Thanksgiving. I am a true multi-tasker. Yep, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches (I had no idea that they were a foot long!) warm soft pretzels, Amish Horseradish Cheddar Cheese, and the dinner my publisher hosted had food that never stopped. Dish after delicious dish served family style which was fun, and even though we all moaned we couldn't eat anymore, we still managed to.

My husband came to Philly with me because he had some work there too and when we had free time you can see we frequented more food stops. This is the Amish store at the Reading Terminal Market where they sold various cheeses and snacks. They also had a fudge store, pretzel store, and several more. The Amish may go without a lot of the creature comforts, but food isn't one of them!


Of course, when I wasn't eating, I was enjoying the conference. I finally met joknowles ! I felt like I already knew her, but it was great to finally meet in person. And I saw a bunch of other LJer's there--too many to name them all. And I really enjoyed listening to the speakers. From gutsy girls, to censorship, teens growing up with war--the topics were varied, important, and enlightening. Jeanette Walls, author of the memoir The Glass Castle, shared how a teacher had made a difference in her life, accepting her as she was, unbathed because she had no indoor plumbling. She said that even if a student doesn't acknowledge a kind word or action, it makes it no less powerful as, "The ones who need to hear it the most, are the ones who can thank you the least." It was inspiring to hear her share how her life was impacted by books and teachers.

My panel with my editor, Kate Farrell and four other author/editors pairs, Sara Zarr and Jennifer Hunt, Rebecca Stead and Wendy Lamb, Elizabeth Scott and Jennifer Klonsky, and Tim Wynne-Jones and Liz Bicknell was fun. We all had so many different styles and relationships with our editors. It goes to show you there are so many different ways to hatch a book. Kate and I talked about the ups and downs of choosing a title for The Miles Between (original title that we loved but didn't fly: The Baboon Heart of Destiny) Many thanks to Angela Johnson of Wright State University for moderating our panel.

~~~Turkey toss
So we get home the day before Thanksgiving. Yikes. (At least my stomach was well-stretched and ready for it.) My daughter Jessica made the turkey--her first. It was a very small Thanksgiving for us this year so it was a good time for her to attempt this. And it came out beautifully. I'm passing the baton, Jessica, ya hear? Wait, don't run away . . .

~~~ Kirkus!
I also came home to learn that The Miles Between made the Kirkus Best Young Adult Books of 2009 list! Cheers to the other LJer's who are on the list: melissawyatt , halseanderson , thunderchikin , sarazarr , and Kerry Madden.

~~~iphone
I didn't participate in Black Friday, but I did have a sort of black Saturday. I can blame my editor. While we were at ALAN she was showing me her iphone and told me I had to get one. Yes, had. And I always listen to my editor. Or maybe it was that my phone is old and needed a new battery so I went ahead and took the plunge. Now I am trying to get up to speed with it. If you have an iphone, is there an app that you love? As you can see, I am easily influenced so if you say I HAVE to get it, I likely will.

~~~ Warning--Another Proud Mama Alert:
As I have often mentioned, I am not a good numbers person. I just didn't get that gene. So years ago when my mother tried to teach me to crochet I could never keep track of my stitches and I failed dismally. But sometimes I suppose genes skip generations, because my mom also taught my daughter Karen to crochet, and she is a dream at it. She makes beautiful scarves and now she is selling them online at Stradabella. My mom would be so proud, though she probably wouldn't get the whole "organic" thing. But I do. Go, Karen!

There, I think I am pretty much caught up for now.

Bring on December. I think.

On Sunday I met my daughter for lunch, and Karen being Karen, she told me I hadn't blogged in a long time. I knew it has been a little while but . . .



wow, where did the month go? We are more than halfway through November! Well, I have been a tad busy. Just in the month of November, there have been birthdays, baby showers (Hooray, another baby in the family!), unexpected dental appointments (oh, joy), a few foggy Benedryl days due to allergies, and the very sad passing of two dear friend's dogs.

And workwise I have been busier than ever. I am in the middle of trying to do a major overhaul to my website--hopefully it will be done soon. I've also had a couple of interviews via my publisher to get done. Oh! And I was interviewed for the Winter Blog Blast tour over at Miss Erin's and talked a little about the writing process including the joys of working in PJs. You can check out the whole schedule over at Chasing Ray.

I was also very busy preparing for a writing workshop I gave on polishing manuscripts last weekend. Sarah, one of the participants blogged a bit about it here. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun too. Those who came were well-prepared which really made a difference.

And now I am busy getting ready to go to ALAN in Philadelphia where I am on a panel with my editor talking about how we work together. A lot of other LJ'ers are going to be at ALAN too, sarazarr , joknowles , thunderchikin , professornana , pambachorz , and elockhar I am sure there are more I missed? I hope I get go to all of their panels.

I am going to try to Tweet from Philadelphia--pics of panels and such--so check in at my twitter too, for news from ALAN. And since I get home the day before Thanksgiving, I will be doing my Thanksgiving shopping this week. Turkeys and stuffing, here I come. (Flu, please stay away from me on the plane.)

Oh, and somewhere in all of this, I have been working on my manuscript too. Of course, my nudging daughter knows this because she has been asking for installments, which I am nearly out of at this point so I really want to buckle down when I return from ALAN and just write. What a thought.

If I don't get a chance to check in before then, I hope you all have a wonderful (and healthy) Thanksgiving holiday.

I finally dug out the specifics for my panel at Comic Con.  Here they are:

FRIDAY, 12:30-1:30
Future Fond Memories— Narnia, Oz, Neverland—we all have our favorite memories of stories from our youth. How do today's authors create works that will be beloved by tomorrow's adults? Young adult authors Michael Spradlin (Keeper of the Grail: The Youngest Templar), Michael Reisman (Simon Bloom: The Octopus Effect), Sara Rees Brennan (The Demon's Lexicon), James Owen (The Indigo King), Mary Pearson (The Adoration Of Jenna Fox), P. J. Haarsma (The Softwire: Wormhole Pirates on Orbis 3), and Alyson Noel (Blue Moon: The Immortals) discuss their process and passion. Moderator: Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy.  Room 3

We all will sign immediately afterward from 1:30 to 2:30 in the Autographing Area.

And on Saturday at 3 pm, our own marperez  / Dead is So Last Year, will be speaking on a panel in Room 2, along with some other awesome authors, so stop by and see her too.

I hope I see you there!

~ Thank you brilliant ones all for your replies to my last post about magical realism. I got a lot of wonderful suggestions.

~ As I mentioned a few days ago, I am going to be at Comic Con this Friday. I will be presenting on a panel with several amazing authors: Michael Spradlin, Michael Reisman, Sarah Rees Brennan, James Owen, aka coppervale, P.J. Haarsma, and Alyson Noel. Lucky me, I probably won't need to open my mouth once--I can listen to them!  But what to wear. what to wear . . . I have never been to Comic Con, but since it is held in San Diego it is always covered on the news here, and it is madhouse. A billion people at least attend this conference and they are all dressed in very wacked out crazy um, interesting attire.   It is very tempting to get into the spirit of things.  Oh the possibilities . . .  Bright blue contact lenses so that my eyes glow?  Blue face paint?

~ Look what came in the mail! Anyone out there speak Dutch?


The House of Books is publishing the Dutch version of The Adoration of Jenna Fox. They did a beautiful job--plus French flaps, and the sparrow and butterfly details on the cover are shiny. I am like a fish when it comes to shiny things. They are also publishing the Dutch version of The Miles Between.  I can't wait to see what they do with that.

~ In other foreign news, I just got the draft cover for the UK version (April 2010)and was told that more shiny detail will be involved. The fish in me rejoiced. I also learned yesterday that JENNA has sold Spanish (as in Spain Spanish) and Catalan rights.  It had already sold Spanish/Latin America rights a while back, and while I know there are a lot of different dialects of Spanish I hadn't thought about it being published in another kind of Spanish.  This got me to wondering about Latin, the foundation of so much language.  Is there such thing as Latin rights?  Isn't that the official language of the Vatican?  Surely the Pope must want to read some YA, right?

~  Anyone hear about George Orwell's book, 1984, being zapped clean by Amazon from their customer's Kindles?  Not a proud day for Amazon or Kindle.  I like that Amazon is trying to prevent bootleg copies--that part is good--but you can't break into someone's house to retrieve contraband. 

~ Off to seach my closet for  wacked out crazy   interesting blue clothing . . .  

Better yet--I will go search my daughter's closet.

Here's a few more pictures that didn't make it into my conference wrap-up:

First we have the smug lady and the shocked hubby.  What did she just tell him?

 
These gargoyles (that is not the right name for them--what is it?  I have been wracking my brain.  For some reason I think it is an architectural term that ends with bel.  Someone out there must know!) anyway, they were on the side of a building along the Riverwalk in San Antonio.  The sculptor had quite the sense of humor.  But really, what did she just tell him?

Along side the Riverwalk is a mall where husband and I popped in and husband sees a Brookstone store and says, "You have to try out this massage chair. "  Okay.  So he sits in one and the salesman gets me seated--and installed--in the next.  Hm, who do you think got best chair?  Yes, my hands are strapped in and my feet clamped down!  That would have been the perfect opportunity for a thief to run with my purse because I couldn't have done a thing!



And those arm things?  They squeeze HARD!  And the feet too!  So we switched. (hm, it just occurred to me that we look a little like the couple above--in reverse)
I have to say, the other chair is heavenly (as you can see from my blissful husband.)  They are pricey, but ohhhh, if you want a really good massage for free, just go to Brookstone and test drive them. Be sure you get the one without the arm straps.  It's like a real person is rubbing the knots in your neck! (So that is my cheap stress tip for the season.  You're welcome.)

And now for the piece de resistance . . .

Timothy "Crockett"


AKA as Tim Jones, the Assistant Marketing Director at Henry Holt.  Ya know, in San Antonio, you've got to get in the spirit and Tim sure did.  And I have no doubt that he is wearing it now that he is back in NYC.  Right, Tim?  It is practical and chic!  He may start a new trend in NY.

Oh, and last but not least--another San Antonio picture.  Look who was in PW today!  (Scroll to the bottom)  Quite the motley crew!

Back from San Antonio!  And I have to say I LOVE that city!  The weather is not unlike San Diego where I am from.  In one day you can go from brrrrrr weather to warm and balmy.   We had both while we were there.  The Riverwalk is incredible.  More like canals really, that meander just below street level and have gorgeous landscaping and tons of restaurants and shops alongside of it.


But if you walk far enough out, the busyness disappears.  Hubby and I went for a long walk far beyond the restaurants and hotels and enjoyed the quiet and beauty of it all. 



Oh!  And then there are the restaurants.  Being from San Diego, we have pretty high expectations for our salsa and Mexican food.  When we travel we simply don't order it because it never measures up.  Not in San Antonio!  Wow!  Salsa, tableside guacomole, and Prickly Pear Margarita's at Boudro's on the Riverwalk  were so good we went there twice.  Oh, but all those chips . . . good thing we did a lot of walking while we were there.



And then of course, there was the conference! (I really didn't just eat and walk the whole time!)

On Friday I spoke on a panel with the awesome and funny, Susan Beth Pfeffer, about the realities of survival.  We had a nice crowd who asked a lot of great questions afterwards.  My own talk had been about the relationships of all kinds that sustain us in our lives and make life worth living. Later, throughout the rest of the conference, I had teachers come up to me and share their thoughts about it all.  It was nice to make that connection and share on a personal level.

After the panel I signed at the Holt booth.  Just before I left for the conference I had learned that The Adoration of Jenna Fox had made both the Lone Star and the Tayshas reading lists and several Texas teachers came through my line who were excited about that.  Well, partner, me too!  Excited and honored.

On Sunday, the NCTE baton was passed to ALAN with the kickoff cocktail party.  They gave the authors these cool red Author! Author! badges to wear.  Nancy Werlin and I met up and I got to give her a big congratulatory hug on her recent wedding.  Congrats again, Nancy!


Now fast forward through a lot more food, talking with teachers, librarians, meeting other authors, and catching up with the ones I know, and oh yes, walking, (I tell ya, the walking saved me after all the food I ate, but my stomach is definitely primed for Thanksgiving) and finally we arrive at Monday where the panels begin!

I love listening to these!

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the panel on Positive Portrayals of Sex in YA Lit, but the panelists, Tanya Lee Stone, Lara Zeises, Laura Ruby, and David Levithan had a lot of great things to say.  There were times I just wanted to jump into the fray!  My feeling is that as authors, we have stories to tell.  Real and true ones that are honest.  Not stories about how we would like the world to be or how we feel we should mold it, but the story that is true to that particular character.  That's it.  It is that simple.  We are not there to teach or guide anyone.  Just to share one character whose life may, or may not be like the one we know.   If I start feeling like I am writing a guidebook for teens for how they should or shouldn't live their life--sheesh--talk about writer's block, but I digress. That is for another post.  Back to the conference . . .

Many, many more great panels.  I managed to snap a shot of this one with Cynthia Leitich Smith, Melissa Marr, and Rick Riordan, who talked about the mixed myths of urban fantasy.  Meliisa Marr talked about how, according to her mother and grandmother, knowledge came at 40.  Well, shoot, I missed that boat, didn't I?


And finally, at the end of the day, my panel came.  God bless those teachers for hanging in there!  I was on a panel with Amy Kathleen Ryan, whose debut book, Vibes, just came out this fall, and with PJ Haarsma who writes The Softwire Series.   We talked about Slipstream fiction, which, before I was assigned this topic, had no clue what it was.  I learned it was the "fiction of strangeness."  This definition actually fits my next book even better than JENNA.  But as I said in my talk, I wonder why *I* was chosen for the "strange" topic.  hmm . . .


After our panel, I signed with the other authors in the back of the room while David Lubar entertained the crowd with his, "A Few Too Many Minutes with David Lubar."  I couldn't catch most of his talk because I was so busy signing and the acoustics in the corner were bad, but I could sure hear the audience laughing!  Maybe if we are lucky he will post it.

And last but not least, our own David Gill aka thunderchikin did an outstanding job of running the whole show.  Throughout the day we could see him in the back of the room making sure all the panels ran on time.  Well done, David!  And next year, I expect to see YOU on a panel for the fiction of strangeness!  Soul Enchilada definitely fits the bill!

Cheers all!  And Happy Thanksgiving!

Whew! What a whirlwind! Here's a quick breakdown of the long weekend!

Friday
Arrived! I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. Gloved Mickey Mouse hands held the sconce lamps on either side of my bathroom mirror.I guess it's to be expected when you are at the magical kingdom. And the mouse ears on the shampoo bottles were pretty cute too.



Saturday

In the morning I had my signing for The Adoration of Jenna Fox. It was great to see so many LJ'ers! Thanks for coming! I also had a lot of YA book people come--bloggers, librarians, etc-- who I knew from online but finally got to meet.

That night I had dinner with a dozen other authors, with the Pope in the center of our table presiding over our antics intelligent bookish conversation. The guilty shall remain nameless.



Sunday

Sunday morning came bright and early. I participated in the YALSA speed dating breakfast. One of the librarians at my table videotaped the event and posted it on the YALSA blog, so if you want a taste of the breakfast, check it out. The table she recorded had Barry Lyga, moi, Nancy Werlin, Elizabeth Knox, Margarita Engle, Amy Goldman Koss, and Sherman Alexie.

That night was the Newbery-Caldecott banquet. The only word I can use to describe Brian Selznick's and Laura Amy Schlitz's speeches is SPECTACULAR. They will be posted online at some point--maybe they already are. Be sure to see them. After the banquet I had the pleasure of chatting with authors Linda Sue Park, John Green, and Schneider Family Book Award winner, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, who was receiving the award at the conference. Congratulations, traciezimmer, Tracie!

Monday

I did a little last minute arc gathering at the exhibits, and then an impromtu interview with Ed Spicer. I think he will be posting it at his review site before too long. That is, if it makes any sense. Nancy Werlin and I "interviewed" each other, and by Monday we were both feeling a little giddy.

That night was the Printz reception where my friend, Amanda Jenkins, was receiving the Printz Honor Award for her book Repossessed. Her speech was magnificent, as were all of the award winners. Geraldine McAbercrombyandFitch unfortunately couldn't come to accept her Printz Award for The White Darkness, so her much more interesting "au pair" accepted the award for her. But her speech was magnificent too. Be sure to read them all.

Tuesday

Returned home loaded down with books and dead tired, but there was good news waiting that perked me up pretty fast. The Adoration of Jenna Fox sold foreign rights to two more countries--Japan and Finland! Very cool.

And now, I am busy catching up and eager to begin reading all these great books that are stacked up everywhere. Also eager to get back to writing. I have had a little hiatus and I am feeling the itch to face a blank page. Wonders never cease.

Yes, summer is here. Brody and Hunter have been chilling on the kitchen floor where it is nice and cool. If I had to wear a big fur coat like them, I would lay there too.

I've been catching up on a few chores around here, which is why I have been quiet. We had a few whopper days of heat that had me moving at the pace of a slug, but now we are back to our normal temperatures--just in time for ALA.

Here is some of what I have scheduled. Hope I see you there.

Friday

I arrive and have dinner with my publisher and friends.

Saturday

10 am I will be signing The Adoration of Jenna Fox at the Henry Holt Booth #2516. Come say hi! Pleeeze!

Sunday

9 am YALSA Coffee Klatch where I will move from table to table. Have pastry--will travel.

7 pm Newbery Caldecott Banquet

Monday

8 pm Printz Reception
----------------------------------------

And in between all this I will have several friend's signings I will be attending, and of course getting a few arcs of up and coming books.

Hope you are all staying cool and moving at a slower summer pace. Brody and Hunter are. At least it looks like it to me.

Whew, it was only three days, but what a jam-packed whirlwind!

I arrived on Friday at my hotel, the Westin Bonaventure. It is a gorgeous hotel with fountains everywhere in the lobby, including this one where two fish are blowing a streamed arch of water to walk under. Cool, huh?


I grabbed my badge which was waiting for me and raced to the convention center so I could make it in time for marperez's signing for DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK. Unfortunately I got there just as they closed her line. But I could see her at her table packing up and I pleaded with the gate guard to let me by for a quick hello.

After a hug and getting a copy of DEAD (yay!) we were walking away chatting, and there among the 30,000 people at BEA, we ran into d_michiko_f! I was going to have to leave early Sunday morning so I would miss Debbi's signing, but I was so happy we got a few minutes to say hi before I had to leave to go get ready for the ABA Not A Dinner Dinner.

Back at my hotel, after a quick change, I hurried to the lobby where a whole bunch of us Macmillan authors, publishers, and such were meeting to drive to the dinner. Carl, and his human, Alexandra Day, were there too. Here is Carl, with his babysitter for the evening, and Laura Godwin. Usually he is unleashed, but he was about to hit the streets for a walk.

Carl is probably the most laid back, well-behaved dog I have ever seen. But we all know, that Carl is special. I wouldn't be surprised if he had an adventure with a baby or two while we were gone.


At the ABA Not A Dinner Dinner, I met up with too many authors, booksellers, and publishers to name. I was so busy yakking, I forgot to eat. Dumb. I wish I would have tried those mashed potato martinis. Check out lisayee's blog for a glimpse of the food. But the yakking was fun. Got to meet some new people, and catch up with old friends too. Oh, and I bid on a piece of art at the silent auction. I didn't win though. It was a pencil drawing of Library Lion. Beautiful.

The next morning I signedThe Adoration of Jenna Fox. It went by too fast! My agent, who sat next to me, said I was quite the gabber. Okay, I think we are seeing a theme here. Gab, yak, gab, yak. hm. But when you meet people in your line, you kind of actually want to MEET them. But I only had an hour to sign and the line was long so I had to curtail my chatting.

Afterwards I had a little free time and managed to snag a few arcs. My agent got THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins for me, and later I picked up IMPOSSIBLE by Nancy Werlin, and PAPER TOWNS by John Green. There were more I wanted to get, like THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD by Donna Frietas, and several others, but I was called for an impromtu interview and never finished my rounds! But I have plenty of reading material to keep me busy for a while anyway. And ALA is coming soon.

That night was the Macmillan Party at the LA Central Public Library, which is gorgeous. The party was in a room with marble floors and painted ceilings. I felt like I was in a museum. When I walked in I was surprised to see a big shiny poster of JENNA. Laura Godwin, the publisher at Holt, and I took a quick snapshot . . .


and then hit the dessert table which was magnificent. Meringues, chocolate dipped strawberries, crepes, and more. Yum. Several authors, including myself, gave brief talks, and I got to meet some booksellers who I knew online but had never met in person. It was a fun evening. The only downside was my shoes. They have a three hour limit and one minute past that and my toes turn to pumpkins. How do you spell relief? I walked barefoot back to my hotel.

Oh, and Carl was there. And he never begged for a single dessert. Good dog, Carl.

Coming up for breath. Last week I was away on a mini pre-pub tour meeting booksellers, librarians, and other folks who love teen literature. Whew! A fun, delicious, whirlwind trip. Our first stop was Seattle. I stayed at the very cool Hotel Max that was very artsy. Here is the door to my room:

Each floor highlighted a different Seattle photographer. My door looked like a skylight that you could walk right through. Luckily, I didn’t. At least not until the door was open.

Our next stop was San Francisco and the Parc 55. Gorgeous hotel and darn, I didn’t get any pics of the bathroom. cynthialord would have loved it. The weather was perfect. Here is the view from my room. Way in the distance you can see the bay. Beautiful, beautiful day and not a patch of fog to be seen. I think it’s a rumor.


And finally our last stop, San Diego. I live not too far from San Diego but I had never heard of or seen the Hotel Salomar. It’s a well kept secret. Very cool decorations that are a combination of beachy theme and animal theme that celebrates the nearby (and world renowned for good reason) San Diego Zoo. The things that really made me smile, were the bathrobes:


Nope, no functional white here. Loved it. I wore the cheetah one. That is cheetah, right?

So enough about the digs--meeting with all the folks on the tour was awesome. It was great to see and talk with so many people who love books–some I already knew, and some I freshly met. I hope to see them all again soon, and I probably will because many of them will be at BEA and at ALA.

I got home last Friday, but I had barely had time to unpack before I had to prepare for a presentation on Monday. It was for about 25 school librarians for their professional growth day at the San Diego County Office of Education. More people who love books. And it was in their technology center so they had every gadget you could imagine. The gadget gurus already had my website set up on the screen when I got there, and later I was able to play my book trailer for them all–on a huge screen!

But the coolest gadget of all which was totally new to me was the DocuCam. Have any of you ever seen one? It looks like an overhead projector, but instead it is a camera looking down at your “stuff.” And it can be ANY stuff! That’s what’s so cool. Overheads, books, you name it. You could put your head on the table and show everyone your tonsils if you wanted to. (I refrained.) But the point is, it can handle any media which makes it so versatile. I brought along some of my research from writing The Adoration of Jenna Fox, with all my scribbled notes on it. The Docucam was so easy to use. You could go from one media to another without having to think about it. And it's nice to use the real stuff instead of always having slick pictures of everything.

So today I am finally catching up, doing laundry, paying a few bills, calling the plumber (that little leak had the nerve to turn into a big leak while I was away) and all that other fun stuff.

I will get my act together soon and post my tour information!

The SCIBA (Southern California Independent Booksellers Association) Dinner at the Pasdena Hilton was fun, and Robin Preiss Glasser made it fancy schmancy. Oh how I coveted her sparkly tiara and glittery dress. Robin, of Fancy Nancy fame, was the master of ceremonies for the evening. She was a riot. And this wasn't the only fancy get up she wore. With each introduction her clothes got wackier and wackier fancier and more colorful. Wish I had taken more pictures, but after this first one I was too entranced and later too busy with signing and chatting with booksellers.

Oh, and the booksellers! Wow. Talk about energizing. It is truly amazing to have so many indies in one room. I had some really nice chats with the booksellers at Vromans, Mysterious Galaxy, Mrs. Nelson's Bookshop, Yellow Book Road, A Whale of a Tale, Once Upon a Time, and more. It really is a pleasure to talk to people who are passionate about books--and so knowledgeable about them too.

It was my very first time signing JENNA, and the very first book I signed was to another Mary, and even though it sounds like a common name, I really come across very few. Another first of the evening: For the first time ever, I screwed up as I was signing and had to get a fresh book. My perfect record is broken. sigh.

Oh! And there were very cool desserts in the signing area that I didn't get a chance to eat because I was so busy signing. Ack! Not even a picture! But they were these pretty little artsy things that looked almost too good to eat. More fancy schmancy stuff. I guess that was the theme of the evening.

Don't you love that quote from Alice Hoffman on the banner behind Robin? "Books may well be the only true magic."

So true. But between the booksellers and Robin and her wild gorgeous outfits, the evening had a bit of magic too.

I really am going to get one of those tiaras someday.
I think cynthialord knows where to get them . . .

I had a great time. Met up with old friends and made some new. Got arcs. Sat in on BBYA discussions which is always interesting. Got to chat with publisher--they said this was the busiest ALA ever. Here's a few pics:

Friday night dinner at Central Michel Richard with authors(L to R) Debby Garfinkle, Martha Peaslee Levine, Jody Feldman, Cynthia Lord, and moi. Great food and conversation.


Saturday morning I met up with, L to R, Laura Wiess, me, Nancy Werlin, Melissa Wyatt, and Cinda Chima. I've known Melissa and Laura for years, but this was the first time we got to meet face to face. We had a great time strolling the booths. Dian Curtis Regan joined up with us later and I had a great time getting to know her. She is a kick. We ran in to too many people to mention them all, Annette Curtis Klause, Gail Giles, Linda Sue Park, Sarah Aronson, Richie Partington . . . we'd walk a few feet and run into someone else. No wonder it took us forever just to make it down one aisle.


Saturday night after the S&S dessert party I met up with more writers at the Washington Renaissance lounge. L to R, Debby Garfinkle, Liz Gallagher, me, and Ellen Wittlinger.

Ellen is another writer I have "known" for years online and finally got to meet face to face. We talked about the old AOL boards and how that used to be the only place for writers to gather. I also got to meet Sara Zarr and Kim Marcus for the first time face to face--but drat--forgot to take a picture. Next time. There were so many authors there I couldn't talk to them all, but did get a chance to talk with Emily Lockhart, Laura Bowers (an agent sib), Sarah the very lovely wife of John Green, Marilyn Singer, and more. You know, you let an author out of their cave, and they have to pack all their talking into just a few hours. I was hoarse the next morning.

Monday morning after sitting in on the BBYA talks, I joined Debby, Annemarie Pace, and Tracie Vaughn Zimmer for breakfast. By this time we were all pretty exhausted and in need of major coffee transfusions.


And yes, I did the tourist thing while in DC too. Here I am just leaving the Supreme Court. I pleaded my case for young adult books, and the justices agreed that YA Literature shall guide all their future court decisions. Victory is mine.

I present to you my hotel coffee maker:






oops--that's supposed to be a bathroom, isn't it? But for me, the only thing more important than a bathroom at a hotel is the coffee maker they have. Actually, I ended up ordering a pot of coffee because I have never seen a coffemaker like this before. You brew it by the cup. A styrofoam cup no less.

Looking forward to more of the sights of DC . . . and ALA!

I forgot to take my camera to ALA in Seattle so I had to use my cell phone camera and I finally got the pics off my cell phone and onto my computer. A little late but I thought I’d post a few.

Seattle is a wonderful town. I had a view of the Space Needle from my room. I ate lunch there once years ago, and the whole thing revolves at the top, so by the time you’ve finished your meal you’ve had a 360 degree view of the city. How cool is that?




My first night in Seattle I had dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant, Tulio Ristorante, with my agent and several of her clients. I did not take this picture (which is obvious by the quality of it) Not a blink in the crowd. From left to right, standing, are authors, Amber Kizer, Lawrence Mckay, Jr., Marcia Vaughn, and Kent Mochizuki. Seated are Trudi Strain Trueit (her husband is the fabulous photographer), Moi, our fun and wonderful agent, Rosemary Stimola, and the amazing Liz Gallagher, aka lizgallagher who rode her motorcycle there–wearing high heels! I kid you not.




Okay, this may seem like a weird shot, but did you know that Seattle is home to the original Nordstrom? It is a whopper–FIVE stories tall. I did pop in and buy a box of four truffles when I was having a major chocolate attack. Their double chocolate truffles are the best.




And of course at the Convention Center Exhibit Hall, I happened to run into Good Dog Carl. His human, Alexandra Day, asked him to pose for me against a white table. And when she asked him to smile, he happily obliged. What a sport.




The conference was fun. I had time to catch up with friends and meet new ones. One night I had dinner with fellow authors, Nancy Werlin, Jane Kurtz, Linda Johns (who is also the YA librarian at Seattle Public Library), Heather Vogel Frederick, Sara Ryan, Andrea Beaty, and LJ’s bgliterary. We ate at Wild Ginger and the food was fabulous (thanks to Barry and Sara's great choices.)

The nice thing about ALA midwinter is that it is smaller so you have the opportunity to meet and chat with more people. I had the pleasure of finally meeting Liz Burns and breaking bread with her (well, pizza out of our laps) and we strolled the exhibits for a while getting a few arcs. She is as lovely in person as she seems on her blog. Oh! And I strolled for a bit with librarians Melissa and cedarlibrarian Watch out with those two! They have eagle eyes when it comes to arcs (I bet they are wicked good shoppers, too) and in two minutes with them I had more arcs than I could carry and had to run to Fed Ex to mail them home.

There are lots of lines at any conference and this one was no exception, but one thing I have learned is that you can meet interesting people waiting in lines. Waiting to mail ARCS at Fed Ex, I met Diana Tixler Herald; waiting in line at Starbucks I met librarian, Ashley Flagherty; and waiting in line to go to the awards ceremony, I met librarian Rollie Welch, and he shared some interesting things about A Room on Lorelei Street with me. There were sightings and near misses, but I never did run into professornana Darn. I guess we didn’t frequent the same long lines.

And of course, strolling through the exhibits, I ran into too many people to mention them all, but I met a zillion. Some were folks who I had “met” online but never in person, so it was like meeting old friends. It took us forever to walk down just one aisle because of all the stopping and yakking. Boy, you let authors out of their caves and that is all they want to do.

One of the very best things to do at midwinter is to go to the BBYA talks where real bonafide teens get the opportunity to talk about the books they love (and sometimes hate.) I love listening to their comments. It is amazing how insightful, articulate, and passionate they are about the books they read. If you could go and do nothing else but listen to these teens, it would be well worth it. Makes you want to get right back to your keyboard and write (which I did.)

And last but not least, I want to say that the conference ended for me on a exquisite note. When I saw that our own cynthialord won the Schneider Award and then a Newbery Honor I could hardly contain myself. I loved RULES and I was so thrilled to see it get the recognition it deserved. I’ve already sent Cindy private congrats, but I will wave and holler here for her one more time because she more than deserves it.

YAHOO, Cyn!!

I'm still recovering! I met and talked with SO many people I know I will leave out half the names if I even try, but here is the tip of the iceberg and a recap:

Day 1:
To start the day off, the faculty paraded across the stage with "one word" to inspire. Oh boy, I didn't know about this. Luckily I am at the end of the line with Lisa Yee so we have plenty of time to throw words back and forth. But it doesn't take me long to think of one. "Possibility" of course! But about halfway through, someone else says my word! Help! So I scramble to think of another one and hope no one else says it! "Sold!"

Jacqueline Woodson's opening speech was inspiring, and then it was fun to sit in on Sarah Darer Littman's and Debby Garfinkle's workshop in the afternoon. They had lots of great tips--and were funny!

In the afternoon, the San Diego chapter of the SCBWI had an amazing reception for me in the Regents dining room to celebrate winning the Golden Kite Award. I was really blown away. Flowers! A beautiful cake! Food! And of course, lots of chocolate! They know how to throw a party! Here I am with Grace, Arlene (the chapter RA), and Nicole, ready to dig into the cake.



That evening, I went to a cocktail party poolside, and there I met so many people, that honestly, only later I started connecting the dots and putting screen or LJ names together with real names and faces. It was so much fun. The lovely and talented marperez organized the whole thing, and she had her work cut out for her, because ahem, some authors can't remember directions or tell the difference between "lobby" or "poolside."

Day 2:
On Saturday, my husband and daughters drove up from San Diego and we went to dinner at McCormick & Schmitt's in Beverly Hills. Our maitre 'd was a dead ringer for Richard Gere--maybe it was him! After dinner we went back to the hotel for the Jade Jubilee. Jessica, my younger daughter, expected some sedate music or something along the lines of "smooth jazz" as she called it. She was pleasantly surprised that these writers know how to party. We all danced until we dropped.



Day 3:
Sunday was the Golden Kite luncheon. I was a wee bit nervous--I mean, have you ever seen the Century Plaza Ballroom??!! It's like, three freaking footballs fields big! And I was last to go up which kind of builds the tension, if you know what I mean (translation: I hardly ate a bite of my lunch) but then when I got up there, someone (will the guilty party step forward?) jumped up and hooted my name which made me laugh, and then right after that, jo_no_anne, organized a WAVE with d_michiko_f, and sruble which totally cracked me up and made me forget I was nervous. Thank God I never turned around and saw this, my head as big as a Volkswagon on the screen behind me (Honey, why didn't you tell me about that big piece of spinach in my front tooth?)



Here I am with my family, Jessica, Karen, Dennis, and Ben when it was over. It looks like my husband is smiling because of the award, but he is giddy with relief that when I gave my speech, my last word . . . fffff turned into fabulous instead of a word that Zoe might use. I love playing with his mind. : )


There wasn't much time to think (or to jump up and down like a kid) because immediately afterward I had a workshop to give! The attendees were great and had lots of good questions. And then off to a booksigning for the Golden Kite winners. It was a jam-packed day.

Day 4:
Without any speeches or workshops to give, I slept like a baby the night before. Or maybe it was just that I was so pooped I went into veg state the minute my head hit the pillow.
On this last day, four editors spoke on a panel about publishing and books. Editor, Alvina Ling said that at Little Brown they don't use the term "chick lit" but instead call it "Young women's commercial fiction." Yes! Later when she was in my line to get a book signed, I hopped up and hugged her and told her I hoped her term caught on! I like it so much better. The other editors were inspiring too and it was interesting to hear their insights and the pressures they are under.

And of course, the final goodbye keynote by Jane Yolen was awesome. She had been very sick the night before but still managed to be poised, witty, and inspiring. Cheers for Jane!

Finally it was time to go. I had a two and a half hour drive home in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but it gave me lots of time to think about all the great talks I heard, and people I met (oh my god!), and the funny things people said and did (disco mermaids?) Yes, driving alone in my car, laughing, I am sure helped me get wide berth from the other cars on the road. Come to think of it . . .I did make it home in just under 2 hours. Thank you, SCBWI!

Whew. It was a whirlwind that I ate my way through. Pittsburgh has great restaurants. Kaya in the strip district–hm hm–just to name one. And it’s a beautiful town. The Allegheny River runs right past the convention center which is where I took most of these pictures from. As you can see, they have several beautiful old bridges that cross the river.





This is a shot from my hotel window. I never did find out what this building was, but I assume it is a church? Pretty nice view from the William Penn hotel.


I had a great time at the conference and met a lot of people. It was absolutely wonderful to meet so many teachers who are so enthusiastic about YA literature. It really fills you up and gets you motivated to get home and write. After my panel with YA authors, Caroline Cooney, Carolyn MacCullough, Sharon Flake, and Fiona Rosenbloom, I signed books with Sharon and Carolyn:

In the background you get a glimpse of editor Deborah Brodie, and Walter Mayes, aka Walter the Giant. He always wears the greatest hawaiian shirts.

While I was signing, Cynthia came up to me and asked, are you Mary O? I was blank for a second, and then I got it. mary_ohhh! Yep. Cynthia, if you are reading this, what is your LJ name? I think I misheard you.

(added edit: I figured it out. It was cfaughnan )

No, I never did see a cardinal, but I guess that just means I will have to go back again. Pittsburgh was really a nice town, and they have the funniest, nicest cab drivers.

I got home late Tuesday night, cooked all day on Wednesday, and had a houseful for dinner on Thursday, so now I am officially wiped out and allowing the fog to keep me in my pajamas all day long. Oh, and I will probably curl up with one of the many YA books I brought home with me.
Bliss.

I will be in Pittsburgh beginning next Friday for the NCTE/ALAN conference. halseanderson assures me that in November I will see red cardinals in PA. I hope they are in downtown Pittsburgh too. I have never seen one other than on a Christmas card. But besides seeing cardinals, I hope I will see some of you out there in LJ Land who might be there.

I will be signing A Room on Lorelei Street at the Henry Holt booth on Saturday (11/19) at 9:30 am . . .

and then speaking on a panel with Caroline Cooney, Carolyn MacCullough, Sharon Flake, and Fiona Rosenbloom on Tuesday morning (I'm really looking forward to meeting these authors!)

But there will be lots of down time inbetween, so hopefully I will spot a cardinal and maybe an LJ'er or two.

South Carolina was wonderful from start to finish. It’s true what they say about Southern hospitality. And what is not to love about the accents? They make you feel all warm and buttery and I could listen to them all day. My first evening I had dinner with four lovely librarians. Let me say right now, that librarians do not lead quiet lives. Oh, the stories they told! But those shall remain secret to protect the innocent ; ) But I do think a Librarians Stories That Can Curl Your Hair anthology is in order. (Librarians, are you listening?)

Anyway, they did get me back to my hotel at a decent time–and it’s a good thing because my first event–an author breakfast–started at 7 am. (And I was still on California time–4 am!) I had grits! I think it was my first time. My grandmother may have made them when I was little–she was from the south and we had plenty of southern cooking–but that was so long ago I can’t remember. They were good! I don’t mean to sound so surprised, but the name, eh, “grits” doesn’t inspire the stomach juices to start churning, ya know?

After breakfast I had a breakout session where I met with a room full of YA librarians. It is just so energizing to meet with book people who are so enthused about YA lit. Right after the session I was escorted to my book signing station. A very sweet teen named Adriana, was in charge of my line there and made sure post-it notes were in good supply. I learned that she reads THREE books a week. Whew. That beats me. I was impressed. And then the politest young man came up to get his book signed. He said Ma’am so many times, I thought my mother was standing behind me. Oh! Me. I’M the Ma’am. His name was Lance, and he plans a future in politics. I don’t know which party he leans toward but he has my vote.

And then after my signing came the Luncheon and Awards Ceremony. Or should I properly call it the OMIGOD-I’M-UP-ON-STAGE-IN-FRONT-OF-A-THOUSAND-PEOPLE-AND-I’M-SUPPOSE-TO-EAT?-CEREMONY. I met Betsy Byars (Betsy Byars!), and her daughters, Betsy Duffey, and Laurie Myers before hand. They were receiving the junior award for their book My Hero, My Dog (A wonderful book–it choked me up more than once). Anyway, they all seemed so calm, and I tried to follow suit (insert crazed out of control laughing here) Somehow I did manage to eat a few bites. I sat next to a gentleman who had a huge calming effect. His name was Rhett Jackson (how’s that for a southern name?) and he was receiving the Intellectual Freedom Award for a lifetime of achievement. He is an amazing man, I would guess of around eighty years of age, and he gave the most beautiful eloquent speech about books, the lives they change, and our duty to guard our freedom to read them. He told us about the American Booksellers Foundation for Freedom of Expression and their efforts to keep books on shelves in libraries and bookstores and said to remember them when you experience a book challenge. So, you heard it from Rhett, keep that site bookmarked!

Finally it was my turn to get up and accept the Young Adult Book Award for Scribbler of Dreams. A lovely young lady named Hannah introduced me. My goodness she was calm! She smiled too! She hugged me! I really was overcome with gratitude to everyone there. I don’t know if it was Hannah, or Rhett, or the Byars ladies, but the inspiration took over and I gave my speech without fainting. And now I am going to be a little kid jumping up and down . . . . ohhhhhhh, the Award! It’s beautiful! A gorgeous medal I will always treasure. Or as I said at the end of my acceptance speech . . .

“There are artists everywhere, who everyday slave away at what they love. They might be dancers, they might be painters, they might be writers. But there is never a guarantee that what they do will be appreciated by anyone. When it is, trust me, your heart soars. It means that, for at least a little while, I “did” it. The words I was so unsure of, the words I erased, and rewrote and doubted, and rewrote and trusted and finally let go, all of that was worth it because someone else connected with them and went on the same journey I did.”

Wow, what a journey it was. And then true to my word the day after I got back, I was in my painting clothes, spatula in hand, scraping guck off the floor of my daughter’s new house. But, boy, did I ever have a smile on my face.

Speaking of ALA, one of the great fringe benefits of going is getting FREE books. I spend a bloody fortune on books throughout the year, so to have a day where someone hands you a book and says, “Enjoy” and you walk away with it without ever dragging out your wallet, it is something akin to winning the lottery. You can’t quite believe it.

As my friend, Jill Rubalcaba and I were strolling the exhibit booths, we came to her publisher, Oxford University Press, and there we got one of my really fun free finds: MORE WEIRD WONDERFUL WORDS. I guess as we invent new words there are some we stop using–but some of these are SO deliciously delightful and bizarre–everyone should have at least a few in their vocabulary. I mean, who knows when you might want to BUBULCITATE (cry like a cowboy) because you are LIMBECKED (worn out from the effort to have a new idea.) Don’t all writers LIMBECK themselves to some extent every day?

Some of these words are just plain fun to say: SPANGHEW (to cause a frog to fly into the air), RIMBOMBO (a booming roar), and YAPLY (eager or hungrily.)

So, if anyone can tell me what CAPILOTADE means, I will give you a BAISEMAIN.

Till tomorrow . . .