Looking Toward San Antonio
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
A box of books arrived yesterday: Christmas in October. There are two Justina Chen Headleys—Girl Overboard and North of Beautiful (an ARC). There are three Catherine Gilbert Murdocks: Dairy Queen, The Off Season, Princess Ben. There is a note from my friends at HarperCollins: For ALAN, which is shorthand for, Hey, aren't you lucky, this is the work of your co-panelists for the upcoming ALAN conference in San Antonio. (Matt de la Pena will be joining us for this Sports Stories = Life Stories panel as well; I'll be getting his books soon.)
The answer is, Yes, I am so lucky. I rarely travel in my book life—rarely pretend that I do much more than run my business, clean my house, write this blog, chill with friends, text with my boy, stand helpless in the produce aisles attempting to dream up (yet another) dinner, watch Project Runway and DWTS with my happily agreeable husband, dance a sambarumbafoxtrotchachaandsomehorrifyingmixCDofeach, and (on good days) surreptitiously scribble in the dark. The Traveling Writer's Life has eluded me, or perhaps I have eluded it, but this November I am off to San Antonio to sit on a panel with writers with whom I am so genuinely looking forward to thinking out loud, if only for a short while. It's one of those bright collisional possibilities that could shape a point of view or thread a question through, and frankly, I'm in need of a little shattering of self, a little new.
9 comments:
This sounds wonderful and I'm sure you'll be a generous and insightful co-panelist.
And hey--I'd love to see you think in print about the sometimes baffling art of meals . . .
I've chosen Nothing But Ghosts as my most anticipated book of the week!
See my post here .
The conference sounds great! And you're going to love Justina's, Girl Overboard.
Sounds like there are many lovely experiences waiting for you in San Antonio of which you are already aware. However, if you've never been to San Antonio, there is another big, juicy treat waiting for you in the form of the city itself.
Can't wait to hear what you think of it...
P.S. Is there anything better than receiving a box of books in the mail...? Yum.
Wait - I'm going to be on a panel in November in San Antonio. NCTE. Any chance this is the conference you'll be at? Oh, I sooooo hope so!
I present on Thursday there.
I can't wait to meet you in person, missy! I'm wondering whether your books are still in customs here in China! I was supposed to get them....
xoJustina
Jane.... You inspired me to post a blog on my feeble attempts at cooking. Well, you inspire me in general.
Vivian — I shall read Girl Overboard first, in deference to your fine taste (we seem to agree on most things).
Anna — I have ALWAYS wanted to see San Antonio. I think I'll have about an hour. I'm going to walk as far and fast as I can.
PJ — Durn! Yes, same conference. But I'm there on Sunday evening, talking on Monday, flying out of there pronto afterward, as my boy will be home from college the next day.
Justina — Can't wait to meet you! And if those books are still in custom, do not fear. The author of them will whisper their plot lines succinctly into your ear. :)
Wow - our ships will pass so close! Next time we'll have to get them to intersect :)
You know what else is near San Antonio? Denver. Just throwing it out there... :-)
Post a Comment