NBF, part III

Friday night was the reception at the Botanic Garden. Most of the guests there were from various states' Centers for the Book. I got the chance to speak with John Cole, greeter and Master of Ceremonies (and director of the Center for the Book); and various folks from the Wisconsin Center for the Book, the Kansas Center for the Book; the Texas Center for the Book; and the Michigan Center for the Book.

The setting was gorgeous - if you've never been there, make time to go on your next trip to Washington. (They did turn the sprinklers/misters on us at the beginning of the evening, but it was kind of refreshing. And they turned them off before it got too tropical. :-)). A very fun evening that was over too quickly.

Afterwards (and after Cyn returned from the gala), we had a late night snack and drink at the Bistro with Holly Black, M.T. Anderson, and Jennifer Holm. (Jenifer and Holly, below)


Next morning we were up early for breakfast and opening ceremonies at the White House. The breakfast buffet in the State Dining Room included yogurt-fruit parfaits, mini-muffins, eggs benedict, mini-pancakes, and an assortment of breakfast pastries.

Opening ceremonies were in the East Room and featured speeches by Laura Bush, Michael Beschloss and Patricia MacLachlan (as well as Ruth Riley from the WNBA and Al Harrington from the NBA).


From there, we shuttled to the Author tent at the Mall, where we met Cynthia's escort, a charming gentleman who has been with the Library of Congress for over twenty years. We didn't get to hear a lot of the speakers, but we did go to Gail Carson Levine and M.T. Anderson's presentations.

Cyn's speech was a great success and we ended up arriving about thirty minutes early to her signing -- there were already about twenty people lined up...in the (by then) hot, dusty afternoon.

One of the highlights of the signing was seeing Amy Lin, my former editor and her husband and new baby. Thanks for coming!

Thanks to Laura Bush and the Library of Congress, including John Cole and the Librarian of Congress, James Billington, for a great event!

More pictures, thoughts, tomorrow. (Maybe).

NBF, part II

Well, yesterday the International Spy Museum was a blast: you go in through this great stainless-steel elevator with glowing "security lights" and have to pick a persona, which you're grilled on a couple times before you leave. (I, apparently, am a suspicious personage). Exhibits include bugs, gadgets, weapons, and spies in film. The World War II and Cold War exhibits are particularly good.

Afterwards, we had lunch in the Zola Restaurant inside the museum. The tuna tartare and chopped salad were excellent - definitely not run of the mill museum food.

This morning, while Cyn worked on her speech, I went for a run down the Mall (from the hotel to the Capitol and then down to the WWII Memorial). Very picturesque - but it's sort of hard to get a good run in when you're rubbernecking. :-).

They're putting finishing touches on the book festival pavilions. This time, it's between the Castle and the Natural History Museum, instead of right up on the Capitol grounds like it was in 2002 (the last time Cyn spoke).

Tonight, Cyn is off to the gala at the Library of Congress, while I'll be at the alternate event at the Botanical Garden.

Washington, D.C.

We arrived in D.C. yesterday for the National Book Festival. The Festival itself is not 'til Saturday, but we decided to come early and take in some sights.

We're staying at the Hotel George, this very modern and fun hotel a few minutes away from Capitol Hill. We flew into Dulles and were met by the driver Cyn's publisher provided (very convenient! Thanks, guys.). First view of D.C. was the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

Our room wasn't ready, so we had lunch at Bistro Bis, the hotel restaurant. Very good artichoke soup and salad nicoise. Afterwards, we headed over to the National Museum of Natural History.
Very impressive elephant in the rotunda and the new mammal exhibit is amazing - very bright, multimedia, and the animals are in natural poses. The dinosaur exhibit was also impressive. They have a diplodocus, a T.rex, a triceratops, an albertosaur, and a stegosaur.

The hotel concierge recommended Acadiana for dinner. (Sort of high-end cajun - very rich and very good.). After eating our fill of the turtle soup, deviled eggs, and redfish, we walked back to the hotel and crashed.

Today, the plan is to check out the International Spy Museum. We'll let you know if we see any mice.

Busy summer...

Okay, so I haven't blogged at all this summer. Things have been busy...and speaking season is now upon us.

Various random news:

Cyn is now at the Wrangling with Writing conference in Tucson (which is why the lads are huddled together on the guest bed).

My former editor at Little Brown, Amy Hsu (now Lin) is operating a manuscript critique service. Check out her web site at Editomato.

At the end of the month, we'll be in Washington, D.C. for the National Book Festival, where Cyn will be presenting Tantalize. One of the highlights is the breakfast/opening ceremonies at the White House. (Incidentally, the return address on the invitation is simply "The White House, Washington, D.C. 20501").

In October, Cyn and I will both be speaking at the Kansas Book Festival. Also in October, we'll be at the Star Lit Festival in Dallas.

In November Cyn will be presenting at the Texas Book Festival and we'll both be speaking at the Sam Houston State University Children's Book Festival and Young Adult Conference in Huntsville. Other speakers include Joan Bauer and Mo Willems.

And tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 15), Brian Yansky will be signing his newest book, Wonders of the World, at the Round Rock B&N from 2 PM to 4 PM. WW is a WriteFest novel and so Cyn and I had the pleasure of reading it in manuscript form. If the finished novel is half as good as the manuscript, it's definitely a must-read.

Back in town!

Cyn and I just got back in town after our working vacation. I managed to get a bunch of pictures and notes that'll be useful in the draft of my WIP. I'll post some pics later.

Random notes:

Cynsations is on hiatus until August.

NINJAS, PIRANHAS, AND GALILEO was mentioned in the June 10 Los Angeles Times in an article titled "How to Hook the Reluctant Boy Reader." Thanks to David Lubar for letting me know!

Cyn is interviewed at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

The tentative lineup for this year's National Book Festival has been announced. Cynthia's Tantalize is one of the featured novels for YA/children. (I understand there was a mention/write-up of Cyn in last weekend's Austin American-Statesman).

And we returned to Austin to widespread flooding in the Hill Country. Fortunately, thus far, most of the rain has missed Austin. But the drought is definitely over...

Light blogging...

Hmmm. I hadn't realized it's been two months since I blogged. Much has been going on: Speaking, writing, reading...and the most important of these is WRITING!

I have a draft of a new novel (the first of a planned trilogy)...and I've been trying something new. In order to encapsulate the story arc, I created a table in WORD and, for every column, put in a description of the corresponding chapter. This allowed me to quickly see how the story arc was (or was not) developing. It's also useful now that I'm revising it, since I can enter changes and shift scenes from chapter to chapter quite easily.

This weekend, Cyn and I are on a panel at the Writers' League of Texas Agents and Editors Conference. And next week, we're going on a real, actual not work-related vacation for the first time in years!

What with both of us writing and the day job, we realized recently that we need to take more time off. So this summer, in addition to vacation, we're going to try (hold your breath) not working on weekends. I know that the vast majority of the country takes weekends off, but for Cyn and me it's a new concept.

One of the things we're going to try to do is more weekend trips, like Shakespeare at Winedale, which we haven't been to in a number of years...

Suitcase? There's no suitcase here...

Above are Sebastian (l) and Blizzard (r) as they try to hide our suitcase...and thereby prevent us from leaving again...(or maybe they're trying to hide in our suitcase, and are thwarted by the zipper and the lack of opposable thumbs)

We just returned from the annual conference of the Texas Library Association. Cyn spoke Thursday on a panel with Tim Wynne-Jones and Margaret Peterson Haddix on a panel called "Magic in the Middle," sponsored by the Young Adult Round Table (YART) (Gary Schmidt was also scheduled to come, but was snowed in in Grand Rapids). In a lively discussion, the three handled questions from the moderator and then a Q&A with the audience. Topics ranged from covers to sources of inspiration to reader interaction.

After the session, Cynthia signed Tantalize (now in its fifth printing!) at the Candlewick booth. Sharon and Rona were, as ever, supremely gracious and unflappable.

Writer sightings Thursday included Debbie Leland, Jerry Wermund, Gene Brenek, Joy Hein, Anne Bustard, Brian Anderson, Chris Barton, Patricia McMahon, Grace Lin, and Kathleen Duey. That evening, Cyn had dinner with the YART people, and I had dinner at the Westin Riverwalk with Anne Bustard, Gene Brenek, Chris Barton, Brian Anderson, Helen Hemphill, and Joy, and editor from Front Street Books. After dinner, we had a drink in the Westin bar and ran into a great bunch of Austin librarians, as well as John Green, E. Lockhart, Scott Westerfield, and Justine Larbalestier. Alas, Cecil Castelluci couldn't make it, as she came down with something on the plane. We also got a chance to talk with Jill, formerly of Book People, and now a rep for Penguin.

Friday morning was my signing at the Little Brown booth. It went terrifically, thanks to the energetic and lovely Victoria!

Friday writer sightings on the floor included the Houston SCBWI gang and the Texas SCBWI booth people, including Julie Lake, Marianne Dyson, Carmen Bredeson, Mary Wade, Don Tate, and Lila Guzman. That evening was the publishers' joint party on the 22d floor of the Hilton Palacio. Authors there (whom I actually spoke to) included Avi, Sarah Weeks, Eileen Spinelli, Esme Codell, Dianna Aston, Mark Mitchell, Brian Anderson, Anne Bustard, Peni Griffin, Kathleen Duey, Tim Wynne-Jones, Mitali Perkins, and a host of others.

Thanks to all the librarians for a great conference and enthusiasm about books and reading! Thanks also to Candlewick for sponsoring Cyn and to all the publishers at the joint party!

BROTHERS, BOYFRIENDS AND OTHER CRIMINAL MINDS

Brothers, Boyfriends, and Other Criminal Minds, by April Lurie (Delacorte, June 12, 2007)(ages 10-14) is a terrific sophomore novel by the author of Dancing in the Streets of Brooklyn: April Lundquist lives in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, a quiet neighborhood where the streets are clean and safe. Sure, three murderers live on her block, but they're just mafia hit men. Problems start when April's older brother begins to date the daughter of a mobster and when one of the neighbors has a business proposition...

In this novel set in the late 1970s, author April Lurie evokes the classic feeling of the decade of disco in a humorous and touching story based in part on her own teen years. Brothers, Boyfriends, and Other Criminal Minds is a fun and affecting tale of family and friendship and (like Dancing in the Streets of Brooklyn) would likely appeal particularly to fans of Jennifer Holm's Penny from Heaven.

Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo in Japan

So yesterday I received my author's copies of the Japanese edition of Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo, published by Poplar Sha. I love the look Shohei's giving Elias. :-). Thanks to translators Noriko and Koshi Odashima!

The Muffin Joke - Is it funny?

So there are these two muffins baking in an oven.

One of them yells, “Wow, it’s hot in here!”

And the other muffin replies: “Holy sh*t! A talking muffin!”

I think it's pretty darn hilarious.

Tuesday's New York Times, however, has an article discussing laughter and the muffin joke, which the author, a Mr. John Tierney, rather haughtily disparages as NOT funny and states that "most laughter has little to do with humor," but is merely a social lubricant.

Occasionally we’re surprised into laughing at something funny, but most laughter has little to do with humor. It’s an instinctual survival tool for social animals, not an intellectual response to wit. It’s not about getting the joke. It’s about getting along.

Thus, the article contends that the only reason anyone could laugh at or find the muffin joke to be funny is for purposes of "getting along" and that laughter arises or is particularly useful in social situations involving a disparate power dynamic, i.e., it occurs more typically in a situation in which social inferiors are responding to social superiors, rather than between colleagues.

As evidence of the assertion that laughter is just a social lubricant, and not a response to humor, the article states that when the speaker ("a lowly graduate student") was telling the muffin joke to his undergraduate class, the response was laughter, but when talking to a conference of (more prominent) neuroscientists, he got nothing.

Well, okay. But has anyone, in the entire history of the human race, ever said, "Oh boy! A conference of neuroscientists! That'll be a barrel of laughs!"