They either read my blog or...

I have unfairly maligned them. Who? Abercrombie and Fitch. Passionate readers of this blog (if any exist) will recall that back in 2005, I posted on "trusting your audience," using A&F as an example of a store from up north that, unfathomably, tries to sell wool and sweatshirts here in central Texas in September (when the average temp. is still in the mid-90s).

Well.

A couple months ago, Cyn and I went to the mall (sadly, yes) to do some clothes shopping. I needed a pair of khaki trousers and was having a hard time finding any that fit (The customer base seems to be several inches shorter than I).

Finally, in desperation, after visiting four stores, I decided to go into A&F. Now, I have never actually owned an article of clothing from A&F and it's been a number of years since I have been in the place (and never at this particular mall) and so was completely astonished. No, not at the fact that the store has the look-and-feel of a just-out-of-college pick-up joint where they also happen to sell clothes, but at the fact that the ONLY long pants they had were jeans, and these were outnumbered by about twenty to one with shorts.

Shorts. In late September in Texas. Imagine that.

It's that time of year...

Can you believe Christmas is only a month away?

Cyn and I are recovering from an intense fall of out-of-town events and speaking engagements. These have included Wrangling with Writing, Star Lit, Kansas Book Festival, National Book Festival, Texas Book Festival, Sam Houston State University Children's and YA Literature Festival , and the Native American Heritage Festival in Norman. Oh, and Cynthia finished up a revision of her novel Eternal.

We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home. Breakfast was hearts of palm with salmon sashimi with deviled eggs. A light mid-afternoon snack involved cheese and smoked salmon. Dinner was a roast turkey with giblet-bread stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet corn, and cranberry sauce.

Our last event is a signing of Santa Knows at the Barnes and Noble Westlake at 1 PM on December 2. See you there!

SHSU and Texas Book Festivals

This weekend was a whirlwind of books and authors and festivals. On Friday, Cyn and I drove up to Huntsville for the Sam Houston State University Children's Book Festival. We had dinner in The Woodlands (where we also stayed) at Macaroni Grill with the conference organizers, workshop leaders, and the other keynoters, Joan Bauer and Mo Willems.

We were up at 6:30 the next morning for breakfast and the drive to Huntsville (where they have a 70 foot tall statue of Sam Houston). After a quick set up, Cyn gave her morning keynote speech on gothic fantasy and Tantalize. Joan Bauer followed with a moving discussion of Story and her trip to Kazakhstan.

We then retired for lunch and book sales and signing, while the workshops were going on. After lunch were more workshops and then I delivered my keynote, followed by Mo's speech, which included a discussion on the entirety of the picture book as a work of art (He also showed how to draw Pigeon).

After more book sales and signings, we packed Mo into the car and high-tailed it back to Austin for the Texas Book Festival. After only one wrong turn, Cyn arrived in the nick of time for the "Not for Required Reading" panel at Alamo Drafthouse. Other panelists included Austinites April Lurie and Brian Yansky; and Sherman Alexie, Adrienne Kress, Perry Moore, Neal Shusterman, and Jacques Couvillon.

The theatre was sold out and the crowd was enthusiastic. Attendees included authors Linda Sue Park, Mark Mitchell, Frances Hill, Kimberly Willis Holt, and Gail Carson Levine. Several of us (Linda Sue Park, Neal Shusterman, Varian Johnson, Lindsey Lane, Brian Yansky, April Lurie) then went for a late night dinner at Magnolia Cafe.

The next day, Cyn was on a panel titled Tough Girls, with April Lurie and Adrienne Kress
and moderated by Julie Lake. The conference room was overflowing and the crowd was treated to insights into the authors' creative processes and behind-the-scenes looks at their books.

By this time we were completely exhausted, but later in the evening, we briefly stopped by a party hosted by Cyndi Hughes at Nuevo Leon.

Many thanks to everyone involved in organizing both festivals! We had a terrific time and your work is greatly appreciated.

Star Lit

This weekend we spent in Georgetown and Plano. Friday, Cyn spoke at the Annual Meeting of TLA District III. The audience was receptive and enthusiastic, and we got the chance to tour the new Georgetown Public Library. Very impressive facility.

After that, we drove up to Dallas for the Star Lit Festival, a fund-raiser for the Dallas Bethlehem Center. We stayed arrived in late afternoon at the Hotel Adolphus and spent the evening at a welcome reception at the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.

Next day got up early to attend the "Breakfst with the Authors" event, then spoke to two packed sessions at the St. Andrew's Methodist Church in Plano. Other authors/illustrators/advocates in attendance included Kimberly Willis Holt, Will Hillenbrand, Laura Numeroff, Dee Scallon and Daniel Myers, Bryan Collier, Kim Brown, and Tracy Dockray. It's a terrific event - highly recommended, especially for families with children.

Many thanks to the folks at Star Lit, especially our escort par excellence, Hope, and Star Lit chair Jeff Morton.

The World in 1908

The last time the Cubs won a World Series:

Mark Twain was still alive.
Leo Tolstoy was still alive.
Geronimo was still alive.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were still alive.

Edward Teller was born in January.
Rex Harrison was born in March.
Lyndon Johnson was born in August.
Simon Wiesenthal was born in December.

Theodore Roosevelt was president of the United States.
Nicholas II was Czar of Russia.
Wilhelm II was Kaiser of Germany.
Edward VII was King of Britain and Emperor of India.

It was the first year of production for the Model T.
The following year, Bleriot would be the first to fly a heavier-than-air aircraft across the English Channel.
In three years, IBM would be founded as the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation and the New York Public Library would be dedicated.
In four years, RMS Titanic had its maiden voyage.
In six years, Wrigley Field opened.

Wait 'til next year.

Kansas Book Festival

Cyn and I are just back from Wichita, where we spoke at the second annual Kansas Book Festival. We arrived on Friday afternoon, and stayed at the Hotel at Old Town, a restored turn-of-the-century warehouse (highly recommended!). That evening, we had the pleasure of dining at Larkspur (also highly recommended!) with Kimberly Willis Holt and Pulpwood Queen Kathy Patrick (who, alas, was not wearing her tiara).

Saturday we gave a reading of Santa Knows to a group of brownies and then spoke on a panel called "All in the Family," about our writing for older audiences. We weren't able to attend a lot of the talks, but we caught part of Richard Uhlig and J.B. Cheaney's talks. Other author sightings included Roderick Townley and Lois Ruby. Later that afternoon, Cyn spoke on a panel moderated by Cyndi Hughes called "Kansas on the Literary Map."

Our book signings were hosted by the lovely, vibrant, and entertaining proprietors of Emporia's own Town Crier Bookstore. We also had the chance to speak again with the scintillating folks from the Kansas Center for the Book (see photo above).

Many thanks to all for organizing a terrific event. May it be merely the second of many!

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.