Going Back Home to New Mexico

I just found out that I'll be reading at Bookworks, one of Albuquerque's best independent bookstores, on June 22 at 3pm. I can't wait to get back home, eat some stuffed sopaipillas from Sadie's, and read some fiction. If you're in the area, I hope to see you there.

Writers love free stuff

Just a quick story. Last night after the conference, I went out to dinner with four of my best and closest friends at Hyperion and two other authors: Kelly DiPucchio and Sara Pennypacker. We had a tasty meal, (I even had a Pisco Sour, in Atlanta of all places, que viva la bebida nacional!) and as we were leaving, I noticed a large box of matches, about the size of a deck of cards, with the restaurant's name on it. I commented to the hostess on how fancy that huge box of restaurant matches and she asked if I wanted one. Sara and Kelly and I all jumped at the chance to walk out of the restaurant with a FREE box of matches. As I pushed through the door with my very own box in my hot little hands, I caught a glimpse of the smile on my editor's face, which seemed to say, "Ahh, writers."

IRA Conference

I just got back from Atlanta (that's my book in Hyperion's booth!) where I had a ridiculous time talking about the book and meeting other authors and being impressed once again by how much teachers and librarians care about their students. I spoke on a panel with Jerry Spinelli (who was both legendary and gracious) Gail Giles (whose books pretty much scare the hell out of me) and E Lockhart (whose new book The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is great stuff, and not just because the narrator is named Frankie). I spent most of my time at the conference trying not to look over my shoulder for the reality police, who I was sure were going to jump from behind one of the booths to give me the old heave-ho.
At the panel, E (do I just call you E?) gave a fantastic response when we were asked what we'd say to parents who refuse to let their children read books because they object to the content, even if the books are within the publisher's suggested age range. Essentially, she said that the minute a parent refuses to talk to his or her child about the "mature" content of a certain book, that ensures that the child will never again bring up that "mature" content, even if it's something in the child's real life. Telling a kid he can't read something because of content effectively closes off the topic of conversation.
Not that I was able to recreate her eloquence, but the point is that I was on a fantastic panel with some incredibly smart writers and I couldn't believe it. Hyperion, if you're reading this, I'd be happy to go to more of those.