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, 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 of The 3Rs 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
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.
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.
It was so lovely to see you Beth. You are as pretty, kind, warm, and thoughtful as you are on the blog. And I will always wear my hair down in your presence from now on. Thank you, thank you for the signed ARC and the loveliest of bookmarks. Now I will never lose my place...
I hope your son has a safe and fun adventure overseas.
I love all of your photos and of course you look gorgeous, as always. I'm so glad you had a good time and I wish I could have been one of the lucky ones standing in your line.
And you are so brave to put your lovely son on that plane. Naturally, he will be fine and he will have the time of his life. And I know you will not unclench until he's back home. Nor will I when I'm in your shoes in a few years. ;-)
Cheers to you, Beth!!
XO
A.
I am so happy every time I get to see you Beth!
Truly, what an amazing day. Thank you for sharing so much of it. All of those bloggers, wow! SO neat!
I've been thinking of you a lot, hoping you're doing well with your son leaving on his adventure. So so brave and courageous, both of you! My love goes out to you, many hugs and cheers for both you & your son. xoxo
I was so excited to not only see you at your successful signing, but also run into you on the show floor. You always amaze me with your kindness! You are truly one of a kind!
I'm thrilled that I finally got to meet you in person!!