Because on Saturday, January 30 I will be, and would love to see you! I’ll be at the Middletown, RI Library (700 West Main Road) kicking off their “Meet the Author” series and talking about books and writing. It’s at 3 pm, so if you’re around, please come say hello!
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January has been less January-ish than usual (you know what I mean, right?) mostly because I was able to spend at day at the American Library Association’s Midwinter Conference in Boston, visiting the Exhibition Hall. Usually very large public events like this wear me out; I’m a classic introvert in that I re-charge by being alone and get drained by being around large groups of people. But for once, that didn’t happen: not only did I get to have lunch and hang out with friends from the Class of 2k8 and The Enchanted Inkpot and meet Alisa Libby with whom I’ll be presenting at the Teen Book Festival this spring, but I also got to meet various Blueboarders and other cyber-friends face-to-face at the Tweet-up hosted by Mitali Perkins and Deb Sloan. By the time Nandini and I left (and I loved hearing about your books, Nandini–fingers crossed on your submissions!!) I felt energized, not drained, despite the astonishing load of ARCs I brought back. If you’re at all interested in children’s books and/or libraries, and an ALA conference is happening near you, go.
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We’ve decided to try something new over on NineteenTeen, the teen history blog I share with my dear friend and partner in historical geekiness, Regina Scott: namely, a book club! We’re calling it the Young Bluestockings Book Club, and our goal is to read and discuss books related to the 19th century and 19th century teen life. That covers a lot of territory…and I hope we’ll read some non-fiction as well as fiction over the coming months. Our first meeting will be on Tuesday, February 16, when we’ll be discussing Mairelon the Magician by Patricia C. Wrede, a delightful historical fantasy set in a Regency England that includes magic. Okay, it’s a no brainer that I’d love this one…but won’t you read it too and stop by to join the discussion?
