A photo (and link-rich) tour of my morning at the BEA

I left the house at 5 AM yesterday, and walked, in the breaking dark, toward the train. The carnival lights from the Devon Horse Show grounds were shining just for me.

I arrived early to the Javits Center and took a walk first within the silence, then among the onslaught of crowds. Soon I was at the Egmont USA booth, interviewing the wonderful Rob Guzman, part of the Egmont USA marketing team. (Later in the day I had the privilege of interviewing Egmont USA's Alison Weiss.)

In impromptu fashion (under Rob's raised eyebrow) I began signing books right there at the Egmont booth, flashing my spanking-new bookmarks whenever I could.  It wasn't long before I was in the presence of Florinda of the 3Rs, a beautiful book blogger and a member of the Armchair BEA team. We had a conversation, Florinda and I, and, thanks to Elizabeth Law, our dialogue was captured for all of time on film.  Check the Armchair BEA blog later today to see what Florinda and I had to say.

Elizabeth Law of Egmont USA was my guide throughout the morning; in the rush of my signing, Florinda took our photograph. Soon, were we joined by some beautiful people—librarians, teachers, readers, parents, and blogger friends. There I am with Kathy of BermudaOnion (I finally met her and she's as lovely as I knew she would be) and Julie of Booking Mama (isn't she gorgeous?). Later, I had the privilege of seeing (among so many others) the uber-smart editor/blogger behind Beth Fish Reads, the design whiz Alea of Pop Culture Junkie, and the incredibly gracious writer and blogger Melissa Sarno of This Too. I was signing at the very last table and beyond me were authors of huge celebrity and appeal. I cannot sufficiently express my appreciation for those who stood in my line and gave me the chance to meet them.

Just before I left the premises to walk across town to Grand Central to take a (strictly un-airconditioned) bus on a (bumper-to-bumper expressway) to JFK Airport to see my son just ahead of his departure for London, I had a few near encounters with famous people, including Olivia the Pig and Michael Moore, pictured above. I also finally got to meet my last editor at HarperCollins, Ruta Rimas, who helped usher The Heart Is Not a Size into the world. She's cuter and sweeter than I can say. I picked up a single galley at the show, from Grove: Alice LaPlante's Turn of Mind, which is enjoying a whole lot of early buzz.

I will miss my son enormously. But he is on an adventure all his own, and I could not be happier for him.

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2011 BEA: An Interview with Egmont USA Marketeer Rob Guzman

I'll be posting a few videos from my travels to the BEA today. Here we meet the terrific Rob Guzman, an integral member of the Egmont USA marketing team.

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Meet me at the BEA

All right, so:  This isn't really Book Expo America.  But I like the photograph, so I place it here, and while I'm at it, I invite you to join me at the real and actual BEA, Javits Center, New York City, on Wednesday, May 25th, where I'm privileged to be appearing at two events: 

YOU ARE MY ONLY Book Signing:  10 AM (author autographing area)

AUTHOR TEA:  3 PM

Perhaps our paths will cross?  I can't promise you a Googer's Cake or Thing.  But I can promise you conversation, and maybe the Famous Elizabeth Law will walk by and sing a tune in your direction, or maybe Egmont USA's Katie Halata or Greg Ferguson or Mary Albi or Doug Pocock or Rob Guzman will lay down some ink for you.  Or maybe Nico Medina will at last wear a costume on my behalf. 

A girl can dream.

Big thanks to Florinda.  She knows what for.

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A Photo Tour of Egmont USA

I made my way up from a client meeting on Wall Street to Park Avenue yesterday, where the always-wonderful Egmont USA troupe welcomed me in, bling and all.  You throw your arms around these people when you see them.  You talk travels, sun, book jackets, dreams, classes taught and classes taken, Mickey Mouse, impersonations, architecture, radical movie flops, the delicate matter of the comma.  You go home feeling warmed, alive, like books still matter, after all.  That's Lawsy and me, in the final picture, aligning our bedazzling silver trim.

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Egmont USA Rocks (and so does the ALA conference)

Just look, to begin with, at that gorgeous green-but-mostly-blue from which Egmont USA emerges.  My favorite color when I was a kid, and my favorite color, still.  Look at the books lined up on the ledge.  Look at what Egmont does, and look at its fearless leaders.

Consider this:  In Washington, DC, at the ALA Annual Conference, I was an Egmont guest—signing books at the booth, talking about librarians (anyone who has read Nothing But Ghosts, which stars a sexy librarian, knows I love them) on an ALA flipbook, and greeting the first in the Dangerous Neighbors line with a photograph that (I am so sorry) did not turn out!  Consider that my editor, Laura Geringer met me there, at the booth, despite so much else she had to do, and consider that today, Sunday, I was among the 35 or so authors included in the remarkable YALSA "speed dating" event.  Laura joined me at times at those wide, brimming-with-interesting-people tables. Egmont USA's own Elizabeth Law joined me at others.  The fabulous James Lecesne was also, reliably, one table ahead, charming the pants off of anyone who crossed his path.

Good company?  Of course it's good company.  It feels like family.

Thank you, box-carrying, cheer-bearing Rob Guzman for all that you did to make the weekend perfect.  Thank you so much, Katie and Jeanne.  And thanks to all of you who stopped by or listened. Twelve books in, this was a first for me.  It will remain a cherished memory.

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