I’m not having a launch party for Fortune’s Folly, but this was the weekend I planned to do fun stuff to celebrate the book being out. And it really was an excellent weekend! I worked on my current writing project both mornings and got my daily quota in, had delicious Thai food for dinner on Saturday, watched Moonlight and LOST (and re-watched part of one of my all-time-favorites, Labyrinth, while cooking on Saturday), found my dog Charlie a new all-natural kibble that seems to have addressed his recent spate of stomach troubles (it’s made with herring, which somehow amuses me), went out to the beautiful woods at Dodge Point Park, visited the Coastal Botanical Garden (though sadly the tulips are still a week or two from blooming), had a tasty late lunch with my husband and good friends, and best of all: saw Fortune’s Folly in a real bookstore!

Here I am, visiting my book:

I am wearing my new-to-me turquoise jacket that looks very much like the one Kaylee (my favorite character!) wears in the pilot of Firefly.

The Maine Coast Book Shop was one of the nicest bookstores I’ve visited in Maine so far, with an extensive collection of books for younger readers. I definitely recommend a visit if you are in the area (Damariscotta, right on Route 1 as it goes up the coast).

I spoke with the children’s book buyer, Lauri, who was lovely and knowledgeable and a fan of Patricia Wrede which made me instantly inclined to approve of her. I really wish I lived closer to this bookstore, but at least now that I know about it, I have one more good reason to visit the Boothbay area!

My friend Maureen bought Fortune’s Folly, and I picked up The Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede, and James and the Giant Peach for the upcoming Enchanted Inkpot bookclub. All in all it was a wonderful visit!

Speaking of the Enchanted Inkpot: there’s a new Topic of the Week up today by myself and Ellen Oh, talking about various issues related to gender expectations in the worlds of various children’s fantasy novels. Ello talks about the issue as it relates particularly to fantasy set in Asia, and I talk about how while I do still appreciate a book where a butt-kicking heroine prove herself “as good as a man”, I would enjoy seeing more books in which the fantasy world starts off with the expectation that a girl hero is on equal footing to a boy, and she faces other, non-gender-based, challenges. Please stop by and join in the conversation if you like! It is open to all, you don’t need an LJ, or to be signed up as a watcher.