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Walking the cement floors of an exhibit hall is hard work and makes your feet hurt, no matter how bouncy your new sneakers with the pink swooshes are.

On day 1 of TLA, I was staggering under the weight of a backpack stuffed with new books. The overflow bag in my left hand was slowly dislocating my elbow and separating my left arm from its shoulder socket when I heard someone call my name. It was Chris Barton. He was instantly familiar to me because I've seen his photo on his blog. I hide behind Dragon online because more kids know him than me.

How in the world? I was surprised and amazed when Chris told me that he had recognized my sneakers!

My equilibrium was restored with a cup of coffee and good conversation with Mr. Barton. I also had a chance to talk with Austin authors Julie Lake, Brian Anderson, Don Tate, Cynthia Leitich Smith and GregLeitich Smith: such nice folks, all of them.

I have always lived by the motto, "I read therefore I am" so the chance to actually converse with people who put those words on the page is a heady experience.

I have my new walkin' shoes (I like the pink swooshes) and I go to San Antonio for the Texas Library Assn. annual conference today.

My first TLA conference, many moons ago, was in San Antonio and I think I walked around with a happy grin the entire time. At that first conference I heard Brian Jacques and Gerald McDermott and Rosemary Wells.

This time I hope to see Chris Barton, Grace Lin, Stephenie Meyer, Cynthia Leitich-Smith, Teri Lesesne, Avi, Sharon Creech, Walter Dean Myers, Sarah Weeks, Darren Shan, Tim Wynne-Jones, Scott Westerfeld, Justine Larbalestier, Sharon Draper, JOHN GREEN, Helen Hemphill, Don Tate, Brian Anderson, and MO WILLEMS, and more that I haven't even identified yet.

I will need a time-turner though. Lots of the sessions run at the same time. I'll do my best!

I had the most wonderful day yesterday. I got to hear Rockstar Rick Riordan give a presentation to a group of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders.

His talk is very polished and he roped in the kids immediately. He includes tons of humor including the funniest-word-in the-English-language-to-an-elementary-student (the 'u' word) and told some stories about his other school visits.

He described the origins of Percy Jackson's story and showed covers of his books from other countries. He shared information in an easy give and take manner that kept the kids totally engaged.

His presentation skills are excellent. Authors who make school visits or do book signings have to learn how to handle groups and must become polished at answering inevitable questions such as, "How long does it take to write a book?" etc. To the credit of his fans there yesterday, he did NOT have to handle "Where do you get your ideas?" (my pet peeve.)

Riordan knows 1) to repeat the children's questions so everyone can hear them, 2) how to handle the inevitable kid buzz/noise after a joke or provocative comment 3) to move around the audience 4) to remind kids to put their hands down after a question he has posed has been answered.

[FYI: Elementary kids will raise their hands to answer questions and then forget to put their hands down. You can end up with a virtual forest of distracting arms hanging in the air if you do not remind kids to lower their hands to be ready for the next question.]

The highlight of the presentation was hearing RRR read a passage from The Titan's Curse. The students were leaning forward into the story (along with the teachers) as he re-enacted a chapter. Riordan throws himself into his reading (you can see why he is a good storyteller) and ducks and lunges and weaves and shoots virtual arrows as the action unfolds.

When he closed the book, there was a huge chorus of moans.

Signs the author visit has been a success:

1. The kids mob the author at the conclusion of the talk, despite their teacher's pleas to line up and return to class.

2. The campus security guard comes up to tell the author how much he enjoyed the presentation and that he had never seen the kids so attentive.

3. Within ten minutes of returning to class, over ten kids hit the library looking for the book to check out (the clever librarian at this school had thirty copies of the paperback available for checkout.)

4. There are more books to be signed than you have ever seen in your life for a visiting author

5. Many of the books awaiting the author's signature were obviously brought in from home and looked like they had been read multiple times with creased spins, blunted corners, and battered edges, the signs of true love.

My librarian friends politely invited me to crash their lunch with RRR between gigs and I shamelessly accepted.

After lunch I floated a few doors down and wandered my local quilt store.

It was a perfect day.

During the summer of 2005, I was perusing the listings of author signings in the area and suggested to my entling that we should pop over to Blue Willow Book Shop and see this Rick Riordan guy. His book sounded interesting and knowing my girl's interest in all things mythologically Greek, I thought it might be worthwhile.

I am not a soothsayer, a prognosticator or even a weather forecaster but as I listened to him talk about his new book, The Lightning Thief, I swear I felt un frisson about this book. When my girl disappeared for several hours upon returning home, I knew something special was going on.

Since then the book was selected for the Texas Bluebonnet list and it has become part of novel study units. His rockstar status grows daily. My entling has sworn she must have a Hunters of Artemis t-shirt so we will be in line at The Titan's Curse signing for sure.

I sat with a friend at TLA last year where Riordan appeared on a panel to discuss books and the industry. After the session was over my friend said, "I have to have him."

Of course she meant she had to "have him" visit her school and present to her students. When librarians make those comments, it can be misinterpreted. One time I said that I'd "had" Jack Gantos and I got the strangest looks from the non library folk I was dining with. The further explanation, "At my library, I mean!" didn't help. I digress.

I've written a lot about Rockstar Rick Riordan over the past two years because he is important. I've seen Riordan's books hook kids that parents thought would NEVER EVER read a book just for the fun of it. I've heard from many parents who say, "you know that book you recommended for young Horatio (Hortense?) He/she didn't play with his/her (insert expensive electronic media device here) all weekend. He/she said they just wanted to read!!!"

I know kids who have never picked up Harry Potter (too thick) who are fervently, desperately and impatiently awaiting The Titan's Curse.

My friend will indeed "have" Riordan at her school next week and she's invited me to come hear him. I am looking forward to sitting in the back and watching the magic happen.