I'm sitting here with my Green Tea with Mint, wondering how long I'll be able to enjoy such pleasures with the heat wave going on here in Dallas. Ugh.
I did escape to Austin for a weekend of fun. I was going there to attend the Agent Conference hosted by the Writers' League of Texas, but plans changed. I ended up helping a friend move the first few loads of boxes into his new, high-tech, greener-than-your house, after which we indulged in a few good glasses of wine.
I also stopped by Book People in Austin and watched fondly as pre-teen and teenaged girls fawned over the 5 authors of the Young Adult Fiction Dark Days tour. After over a year of corresponding through Facebook and blogging, I finally met Amy Plum, YA author. I snapped a few pics of her adoring fans:
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| Left to Right: Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, and Amy Plum (Veronica Roth and Tara Hudson are signing books at another table) |
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| Aren't these glowing fans cute? |
Then Amy, my friend Samantha, and I met for drinks at the Omni, and wouldn't you know, I'm suddenly surrounded by all these famous writers--all the authors on the tour showed up. New York Times Bestsellers. Very nice people, too. Need I even mention that they exuded coolness? Thanks, ladies, for a great evening.
I'm now waiting on comments for the last two chapters of my current novel manuscript, but I'm not sitting around stewing. I've jumped into the genre of Young Adult Fiction. Teens and pre-teens are probably the harshest critics of all. They take no prisoners. They whisper their book critiques at the book signing event, on the front row, no less, but go all weak-kneed and gushy when it's time to stand in line and get their books signed. This is a tough audience I'm going to try to please.
I remember reading Judy Blume's Forever, staying up all night reading Gone with the Wind and Summer of my German Soldier. I want to tap into that girl inside me and give her another story to love.
I'm really looking forward to two book club appearances this month. One is tonight in Dallas, and they're cooking up (literally) a surprise meal. Should be an exciting evening!
