Part Two: Ohio & NYC in Pictures. (And Some Words.)

I'm completely about to start a week's hardcore work on the tinfoil hat book so I wanted to blog now before the awesome begins. Before I do...TWO groovy events this week:

TOMORROW---> TUESDAY, October 25th at Alvernia University at 1pm. Details on website!


FRIDAY October 28th at the Keystone State Reading Association's conference in Lancaster, PA. I'll be chilling all day at the Aaron's Books stand signing copies of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS and dancing randomly alongside Josh Berk, awesome author of The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin and the upcoming Guy Langman: Crime Scene Procrastinator.

OHIO & NYC ROCKED.

It started here at Philly airport on a blue, gorgeous day.

Then the actual Ohio business started here, very early:

Where I talked to Meghan on the Morning News for about 3 minutes about Lucky Linderman.

This was the Noon News studio at WDTN

[Imagine a picture here of the cool students of Beavercreek High School who totally rocked and asked awesome questions like: Who was your role model? The answer, eventually: Aside from my parents and other family members, etc. my role model was Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H.]

After Beavercreek HS, I went directly to Books and Co...

Dayton's Awesome Books & Co. What a great store!

But before I read at Books an Co. something AWESOMECHUTNEY happened. I got to see my best friend from growing up for the first time in 20 years. Since my wedding, actually. How awesome was that? Answer: pretty awesome. We spent almost every day together until I was 14 and she moved away. So, we spent 3 hours catching up before my event and I will treasure it until I get to do it again! Make it soon, Cincinnati!

Me and Tara, BFFs since birth, pretty much.

View from my awesome hotel room in Cleveland.

So, the next day was so busy, I didn't get any pictures. But trust me--it was great. The elements of this awesome Tuesday were:

• CJ Bott. This is the link to her website. I'm giving it to you because it's an amazing resource, as are her books. CJ is an amazing woman and I need to spend more than a day with her next time. She cares so much about students and about our society's silence about bullying that she's inspired me to do as much as I can to get to schools during the next year to talk about this and spread her passion for the subject of bullying education. If you want me to come to your high school and talk about this, contact lbvisits@aol.com
• Normandy High School (shout outs to the students, and also the librarians and teachers who made this happen. Was SO STOKED to come to Normandy! Great to meet you all and thank you for having us!) (True story: I even saved my visitor sticker and stuck it on my favorite filing cabinet to remember you by.)
• Independence High School (shout outs to the same people as last time--students, librarians and teachers and to those who came up to us afterward and chatted. That's my favorite part, you know? Meeting awesome people.)
• And then the totally killer The Learned Owl Bookshop.Where I not only met Rollie, one of the two missing Printz committee members from last year's ALA (I am so incredibly grateful for that Printz Honor and I was so glad to say so in person.) But I also got to meet awesome bloggers Lizzie, Brynne and Sarah...and librarian/supporter, Laura. Had a great time and thanks to Kate and Co. at The Learned Owl.

I had Wednesday off except for a mid afternoon flight...so when I got back to my hotel with the waterfall on Tuesday night, I did simple math for the final element to the perfect day.

SIMPLE MATH:

Simple math says: 1 jacuzzi + 1 copy of Lisa McMann's DEAD TO YOU + one Viklets ginger ale = A really relaxing night after a few hectic days.
Also: YOU WILL LOVE DEAD TO YOU. IT IS THE PERFECT READ.
Trust me. (You have to wait though. Doesn't come out until February.)

Then, a delayed flight to New York. Found huge paper airplanes in Cleveland airport while wandering...these are for Charlie and Vera:

This picture probably doesn't do them justice, really.

I had the kind of flight where you think you're going to die. And I've flown a lot. It was white knuckles all the way to NYC, man. I nearly kissed the ground when I got off the plane except that it was pouring...which was made evident by the soaked suitcase I opened in my hotel to find all my clothing wet. Rock on.

I also found mystery powder on the radiator. I'm thinking it's Ajax. But the dork in me had to take a picture. And the even bigger dork in me is going to share it.

This is a writing prompt picture if I ever saw one. Go write about what you think this is and how it got there.

[Insert a picture of me reading at the gorgeous and awesome Brooklyn Library and me FINALLY getting to meet the Book Muncher AND the bonus meeting of Kody Keplinger.]

[Insert another picture of me having an amazing dinner with Victoria Stapleton and her merry band of awesome NYC librarians and teachers. I had such a great night that I'm still kinda pinching myself.]

[Insert picture of me pinching myself.]

Pic thanks to @doseofsnark/awesome Chris at HFPL.

 The last stop on my trip was the Hamilton Fish Park Library where I got to talk to a class of fifth graders. My work isn't for fifth graders, but this group of fifth graders makes me want to write for fifth graders. As I say in a COOL INTERVIEW with awesome indie bookseller Joanne Fritz that will go live on Friday October 28th:

The first question I got this week from a room full of 5^th graders at the New York Public Library was, “Are you rich?"

I shook my head no and said, “I am not even close to rich.”

To which they answered, “How old are you?”

And I said “How old do you think I am?”

And they all called out numbers that started with twenty to make me feel better about not being rich. Anyway, it played well for me 30 minutes later when I asked them, “So, since you know I’m not rich, then why do you think I do this?”

All of them got the answer on the first try. “You must like it.”

Have I mentioned how much I love fifth graders?

And so, the tour is over until my next local-ish stops which I will tell you later this week in a blog about quilting and being badass at the same time.

RANDOM GROOVY REVIEW STUFF IN CASE YOU STILL AREN'T CONVINCED THAT YOU REALLY SHOULD READ EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS:

The Compulsive Reader wrote a smashing review HERE. I love this quote: "Everybody should read this book."

Stacked had an amazing review that Mr. King made me read twice (because he has to make me read the good stuff sometimes.) Thank you! Favorite line: "It’s literary fiction with popular appeal." Rock on!

IF YOU GOT THIS FAR YOU GET A BONUS VIDEO:

The ALA Banned Books Week Video! I didn't see it until today.