I’m home, and listening to thunder. Gonna be a big storm tonight.
Quick announcement—for the next two weeks, I’m answering questions at the Romantic Times forum. Go, pester me!
BEA was a huge freakin’ weekend of PURE CRACKTASTIC GOODNESS. Books, books, everywhere books! Which was heaven on earth, but resulted in sore shoulders and backs from lugging around so many goodies. I don’t think I stopped from dawn until dusk while I was in New York. Friday was taken up with interviews and appointments, Saturday I had the signing at the Marvel booth (so much fun), along with yet more interviews and appointments (also fun, because the people I spent time with were lovely), while Sunday I experienced, with friends, the last gasp of BEA before everyone closed shop. Gena Showalter happened to be signing that morning, and it was wonderful seeing her again.
Here are some pictures from the conference:
John Paretti and David Gabriel, from Marvel.
And Monday…Monday I filmed yet another interview, and then headed over to Lady Jane’s Salon, for my first ever reading.
Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, reading out loud, in front of people? It’s one thing to write the words, but to speak them, to engage beyond the printed page with only your voice, was a much more daunting challenge. Worse, I talk fast when I’m nervous. Mile a minute, speed train all the way. Barbara Vey, however, gave me some excellent advice:
“Write the word SLOW at the top of every page,” she said.
Which is exactly what I did. And it helped. That, and the audience could not have been warmer, or more welcoming. The entire atmosphere was absolutely delightful (and the decor of Madame X was totally bordello chic…red velvet, naked women adorning the walls, antique lamps and divans scattered…intimately…across the room). I read five minutes each from two of my summer releases– DARKNESS CALLS and THE FIRE KING—and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Especially if I was yet again in the wonderful company of Wendy Corsi Staub, Amanda McCabe, and Diane Gaston.
I have some more pictures from New York, but I’ll be posting those later. In the meantime, don’t forget the Romantic Times Q&A! Also, if you want to read some excerpts from my interview in the May issue of Locus, you can now find them here.