Don't Adjust Your Monitors...

It's not you, it's me. I haven't been blogging lately because I felt like I didn't have much to say. My BFF called me up to ask if it was her computer acting up or something, which made me feel a little bad about it, but no sense mucking up the web-waves with drivel if I've got nothing interesting to post about.

I now have things to say because I got to go to a SCBWI conference over the weekend, and - even better - hang out with the amazingly wonderful Agent E for the better part of TWO DAYS! She's lucky that she lives so far away, otherwise I'd be making batches of chocolate chip cookies to bring over just to give me an excuse to hang out with her. I hope to make that woman a lot of money some day because she deserves it.

Agent E actually braved dinner over here at the house, and I think she gets now why I hesitated at first. Even with the boys on their best behavior, it's...frenetic in this place. You can't have a conversation because everyone else is begging for attention, I'm all distracted and trying to keep the plates in the air (sometimes literally) and even the dog is in your face with his disgustingly damp toy bear. God bless her, she didn't even blink when T started climbing the dining room door molding until he could touch the ceiling.

The conference was awesome, editors Julie Romeis and Gretchen Hirsch spoke and were informative and adorable. Erin's talk was fab, even though she actually used my query letter as an example (of what to do, thank God) which was really weird, in a nice way. By the end of it, she had everyone in the place wishing she was their agent, and all I could think was "Can you believe she picked ME!" Andrea Brown Agent Jennifer Laughran was hilarious - if you ever get a chance to hear her speak, jump on it. She's so passionate and blunt about kidlit and YA in particular - we were wiping away tears of laughter when she was done.

I think the best part of the day was at the first break when I found myself standing next to Jennifer Laughren outside the theater. I'd met her once at an event at her bookstore in SF (Books Inc. in Opera Plaza - M.T. Anderson is coming on Nov. 5, and J and I are going), so I started to introduce myself again, but before I could finish, she looked at me over her glasses and said "I know who you are" (helped no doubt by the big white nametag stuck to my left breast). I stuttered a bit and said, yes, that I'd been to a bookstore event, and she gave me that look and said again "I know who you are." I hafta say, it was awesome. For the first time, I felt like one of the cool kids. Jen Laughren knew who I was. Awesome.

I went with the intention of finding a writing buddy - not so much to write with as to kvetch with - and I did! My sometimes Berkeley friend Heather Mackey was there, and we had such a great time together that we swore we're going to get together more than twice a year. She has a book coming out with Bloomsbury in 2009 about werewolves that is going to be great.

I was listening to Erin speak when the most perfect book dedication in the world came rushing into my head. I quickly wrote it down, and today it still looks perfect. Too bad all of you will have to wait until Spring 2010 to read it!

On this date: In 1955, Rebel Without A Cause opened.