This is a long post, but here goes...

On Saturday night, I was one of two dozen guest authors who joined the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) for dinner at their annual trade show. It was a blast to meet so many bookstore owners, authors and book lovers. During the evening's feast, each author had an opportunity to join four different tables of booksellers and pitch their their book. I printed up little business cards with the Defining Dulcie cover on it. I have to say that they looked very cool. During the evening, each author was also handed a Mister Microphone to speak to the whole room for two minutes. It was basically your chance to sell your work to a couple hundred bookstore owners. It was a little scary and a lot of fun. Here are a few highlights:

With a last name that begins with A, I was not surprised when the microphone hit my hand first. It would have been nice to hear some of other more experienced writers go before me, but such is life at the beginning of the alphabet. Luckily, the very gracious and very kind Virginia Kantra helped me rehearse my spiel during the authors' dinner which took place before the main event. Virginia is a USA Today bestselling author whose award-winning mystery/suspense/romance/fantasy novels are SMART, SEXY, SOPHISTICATED and PACK A WALLOP! It was  lot of fun talking to Virginia, and her good advice made me sound semi-intelligent when I got the mike. I only believe this because Fancy Nancy author Jane O'Connor (who was seated at my first table) told me so. I think she would know.

There weren't very many children's book people at the event, but I did get to meet Jordan Sonnenblick and Peter Catalanotto. I'm a fan of both Jordan and Peter's work so that was a thrill. Michael Berenstain was there, and he encouraged booksellers to continue selling Berenstain Bears books or else he'd have to start using titles suggested by a recent Daily Iowan column entitled Berenstain Bears Books I'd Like to See. They included things like "The Berenstain Bears Maul a Camper and Have to be Put Down" and "The Berenstan Bears Stop Living in Trees Like Bat-Ass Crazy Hicks." For the love of God people, go out and buy a Berenstain Bear book today!

Okay, so there was this one other YA writer at the event. She was a guest, not there to pitch a book but there instead to accept an award. And when I got to the third table in this pitch-your-book-athon, I looked across the table and said hello to very kind and gracious (wait for it): LIBBA BRAY.

Libba Bray I tell you!

And did I babble or did I pitch you wonder? Did I go into my ...fans-of blah blah blah will love Dulcie Morrigan Jones... or did I say OH MY GOD YOU'RE LIBBA BRAY AND I READ YOUR BOOKS IN LIKE ONE SITTING AND WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE COMING OUT AND I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M SITTING WITH LIBBA BRAY... 

Yes, well. Moving on.

I learned lots of other interesting stuff too. I received a four-ton bag of signed books just for showing up. I've already started more than a couple. I'm halfway through Avi (not THAT Avi) Rubin's really fascinating Brave New Ballot. (Avi insisted on providing me with regular updates via his blackberry on the debacle that was yesterday's Notre Dame-Michigan game. Avi is a Michigan alum. I am a Notre Dame alum. Notre Dame did not win. Damn. And his book is really good too. Damn. Damn.) In other lessons learned, I didn't realize how much romance there was going on out there. Over half of all books sold today are romance. The fact that none of my characters get to know each other in the, ahem, biblical sense made Defining Dulcie unique for fiction represented during the evening. In nonfiction, I got a copy of something called A Perfect Mess which looks intriguing. I also started a memoir called A Three Dog Life because the author, Abigail Thomas, brought the whole room close to tears while she promised that really, her book was actually quite funny. Also, the front cover blurb got me: "The best memoir I have ever read". -- Stephen King. Also in the bag is a novel called Goodnight, Texas which, according to author William J. Cobb, starts when a very large fish washes up on the Texas coast with a horse in its mouth. I cannot resist that. 

Finally, my favorite moment of the night came just before the evening came to an end. A bookseller at my table let me know that her store is carrying Defining Dulcie because a smart, savvy twelve-year old reader reviewed an advanced copy and let the store folks know they just had to get it. Thank you, young lady, whoever you are.