Wow, I was only away for four days but it feels like a week! The adventure started on Saturday, when Bob and I (and our patient dog Charlie) braved the oncoming snow to drive south. We stopped in Cape Elizabeth Maine for a fantastic visit at the Thomas Memorial Library, where I got to speak with a bunch of kids who had read Fortune’s Folly in their book club. They asked such good questions! I had a blast. Thank you Rachel, for inviting me!

Fortified by caramelized banana pancakes and a bagpipe marching band rendition of jingle bells (courtesy of the annual Christmas parade) in Portsmouth NH, we forged onward into the snowstorm coming up the coast and finally made it to my parents’ house in NJ in the wee hours of the night.

The next day we headed into NYC for the big event: a book signing event at Books of Wonder with seven other authors from the Debut 2009 community. But first was a different sort of book event: a meet-up with Susann, a fellow fan of the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace. I love the fact that a series of books can be so powerful that they can bring together relative strangers and have them sitting down at a bakery together for an hour gabbing like they’ve known each other for ages. I had such fun chatting about libraries, books, NYC, travel, The Sound of Music, and of course Betsy-Tacy. Thank you, Susann!

We ate at City Bakery, which has some of the most amazing hot chocolate I’ve ever experienced. So thick and puddinglike! They are also famous for “pretzel croissants” which are indeed delicious, especially when dunked in the hot cocoa! As we were talking at one point I was something in a rather loud voice about librarians when a woman at the table next to us turned around and gave me a sharp and considering look. It was Kate Messner, one of my fellow Debs, eating lunch with her adorable family at the very next table!

After our serendipitous meeting, we all continued on to the bookstore. Right inside the door Kate and I found a fabulous display of Deb books:

And then a fabulous display of live Debs:

Pictured are: Neesha Meminger, Jon Skovron, Michelle Zink, Deva Fagan, Sarah Cross, Kate Messner, Shani Petroff and Megan Crewe.

I have to post this pic as well, just for Jon’s expression:

There were actually people there to see us read and ask us questions!

It was thrilling to be a part of the event, especially at Books of Wonder, which I’ve been wanting to visit for ages (since it’s an entire huge bookstore featuring only kidlit and YA books!). Thank you to Peter Glassman and the Books of Wonder staff for making everything run so smoothly, and to my fellow debs, especially Michelle Zink who took the lead on organizing the event!

On Monday Bob and I once again ventured into the city, this time mostly as tourists. We went to the Museum of Natural History, stopping to admire the tile animals in the subway stop:

Sadly the exhibit I really wanted to see (the Butterfly Conservatory) was closed. But we found plenty of other interesting displays. I especially loved the dioramas, like this one of the city of Isfahan. Do you see something unusual in the upper right corner?

And who doesn’t like dinosaurs? I love the contrast of ancient bones and opulent hall:

Then there was the origami Christmas Tree:

And my all-time favorite the big blue whale. Which you will just have to imagine because I am a dork and was so excited I forgot to take a picture of it.

After that we stopped in at Crumbs for some treats to bring to the Henry Holt office, and for our own “lunch”. I went for the pistachio cupcake and devoured it on the subway.

It was fun as always to visit the Flatiron Building and the Holt offices, and to meet some of the wonderful folks who turn my stories into real live books. My editor Reka and Bob and I went out for a hot beverage at nearby Le Maison du Macaron. I was afflicted most sorely with macaron madness, and left the store with a huge box of macarons: one of each! That is 17 macarons, people! Crazy!

Bob and I headed back to the museum after that, and then for dinner we went to Ippudo, which I’d read about (and drooled over) on the blogs of my author friends Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon. It really was absolutely amazing! Bob and I both got the house special ramen noodles and my mouth is watering even now, just thinking about them. It sounds so simple (noodles in broth) but it was one of the best meals I’ve had in a while. It was, however, very very busy and the waiting area in particular was jammed with people. I’d go back in a heartbeat, but I’d probably try to get there right when it opens.

And for those of you who may be wondering where Charlie was while we were having all this fun, here’s one last photo:

You can also read Kate Messner’s post about her trip to NYC here. Just be careful not to drool over the description of the soup dumplings like I did.

Now I am back in Maine, with snow falling and Christmas carols playing. My extrovert costume is packed away, and my editor’s line-edits for Circus Galacticus are sitting patiently beside me. It was enormously fun, but I am happy to be home, and to be getting back to writing!

Oh! And here’s one last piece of fun news: Fortune’s Folly is on BookPage’s Best Books of 2009: Middle-grade list. Wow! I am so very honored, especially given the high quality of the other nine books on the list. Thank you BookPage!

Tags: events