Here are the details: Clickity Click

Got on plane to Chicago. Had dinner with seven friends I’ve never met. Slept. Had breakfast in presence of Newbery rock star. Signed many books. Wandered the hall. Listened the best young adults talk books. Floated out of room. Had dinner with editor and partner in crime. Accidently offed writer during conversation. Slept. Klatched a bunce of coffee. Wandered the hall. Grabbed a sub. Heard old Neil talk about us. Sang a song with a man. Slept. Wandered the hall. Saw Neil’s line. Wandered the hall. Saw Neil’s line get longer. Testified. Dinner with little brown friends. Watched Pratchett make a sword. Hugged many women. Slept. Got on plane for home. Wrote a blog post. Got back to work.

The original post is below.  But first, a couple of words from out sponsors: Soul Enchilada has been nominated for BBYA, Best Books for Young Adults, a honor presented by ALA. Nomination is only the first step in a very deliberate process, but it’s nice to be mentioned.

Also, David Lubar mentions his recent purchase of Soul Enchilada and writerross beats me to a most excellent pun.

The Wonder Twins Tour Part B

Holland Boys & Girls Club

For someone who once toyed with doing open-mic stand-up, the venue at the Holland Boys & Girls Club was perfect. Espresso bar, pool and ping-pong tables, computer lab, and small gym, plus a stage, lights, a mic, and a stool. Who could ask for more. But wait! There is more. Add an uber energetic youth programs director named JJ and a group full of smart, funny, engaging teens as an audience. They hadn’t read the book, but I didn’t mind–I taught high school English, so I;m used to leading discussion where no one has read the material.

A sign that I was in the right place.

Boys & Girls of Holland

JJ and friend

Asked EXCELLENT questions.

The whole crew. Thanks guys!

BrillianceAudio studio tour:

The third day of the trip, I had the delightful experience of touring the production and engineering studios of Brilliance Audio, the audiobook publishers of Soul Enchilada. It’s a humbling experience listening to professional readers work their magic from inside a sound proof cubicle with nothing but a book, a reading light, and the sound of their voices. The geek in me loved watching the engineers work through “punches” or mistakes in the readings, and then clean up the recording for any page noises, missed words, hiccups, sighs, or tummy rumblings.

Another sign that I’m in the right place.

This is where they record.

This is where they fix the recordings (note happy engineers).

And this is how they decorate the conference room (turn your head to the right).

I stayed  in this beautiful B&B below, the Harbor House Inn. The room had a great view of the river, and the breakfast was yummy.

So were the table fowl. Bring on the chikins!

With some free time and Google Maps on my phone, I ventured into nearby Holland, where they grow lots of tulips. I was a couple of weeks early for the Spring blooming, so I found a reasonable facsimile.

Eventually,I located the bookstore that was sponsoring my talk with the Boys & Girls Club later in the day.

I was intrigued by the Famous Nutty Paddle Pops. Alas, I didn’t get the chance to try one.

And then…

On to Harbor Lights Middle School to meet with Cindy Dobrez, Lynn Rutan, and the BBYA Reading Group. My name in lights! W00t!

Here’s one half of them….

And the other half….

This sculpture was too fun to let escape photoless.

They made me a cake! My name in lights AND a cake?

Let them eat cake!  And drink pop! (You know Southerners don’t call it pop, right?)

The BBYA Club kept me on my toes with a string of great questions. I managed to answer them all–I think. Way too quickly, I had to move on to the next event…

…but not before getting a pic of Cindy’s Printz Award Chikin.

Next up: The Boys & Girls Club of Holland!

When they were doing a sound check on my mic, Laura asked me what I had for breakfast. “Nothing,” I said, “and I’m starving!” Remember what I wrote about the stuff that comes out of my mouth? That’s a prime example.  Another thing they didn’t except was my hands. When I get hyped, I talk with my hands. So my hands were flying everywhere. Also, the guests after me were musicians, so there was a humongous bass on the floor next to me.  It was everything I could do not to pluck it.

The interview is archived on the WUNC website here: http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/sot0417b09.mp3/view

After we finished, I slipped out of the studio to take a couple of photos.

Then I drove down to Raleigh, where I met the boy and one of his friends for the best burgers ever.

Thanks to everyone who sent tweets, posted, emailed, and followed along. I was reading them during breaks.

Next up, Michigan! Home of Brilliance Audio and the Wonder Twins of YA!

SOUL ENCHILADA has launched!

Please stop by and see us at booth #112 at this year’s NCTE Convention in San Antonio, Texas, and check out the newest books from HarperCollins. We’ll have lots of free galleys of upcoming titles, including those pictured at the right, so don’t miss out! Also collect other great giveaways, including an exclusive Teacher’s Edition of Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, which has a teaching guide for both Love That Dog and the newly released sequel Hate That Cat. (All free promotional materials have limited quantities.)
And don’t miss our star-studded lineup of authors, who will be signing their new books (plus other favorites!):
Sharon Creech
ALAN Breakfast Speaker – Sat. Nov 22, 8:00–9:15 AM
Booth #112 Signing: Hate That Cat (sequel to Love That Dog) – Sat. Nov 22, 9:30–10:30 AM
Sid Fleischman
Author Strand: The Realities of Biography – Sun. Nov 23, 8:30–9:45 AM
Booth #112 Signing: The Trouble Begins at 8 – Sun. Nov 23, 10:00–11:00 AM
Melissa Marr
ALAN Workshop – Mon. Nov 24, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM
Booth #112 Signing: Ink Exchange (companion to Wicked Lovely) – Sun. Nov 23, 9:00–10:00 AM
Virginia Euwer Wolff
ALAN Workshop – Mon. Nov 24, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Booth #112 Signing: This Full House ARCs (final novel in the Make Lemonade Trilogy) – Sun. Nov 23, 9:00–10:00 AM
Naomi Shihab Nye
Conference on English Education Luncheon – Fri. Nov 21, 12:30–2:15 PM
AAL Roundtable Session Keynote Speaker – Sat. Nov 22, 5:45–7:00 PM
Booth #112 Signing: Honeybee – Fri. Nov 21, 2:30–3:30 PM
Ralph Fletcher
Children’s Poetry Notables Conversation – Fri. Nov 21, 9:30–10:45 AM
Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Conversation – Sun. Nov 23, 1:00–3:00 PM
Booth #112 Signing: How to Write Your Life Story – Sun. Nov 23, 10:00–11:00 AM
Pat Mora
Featured Session: Our Community: Creative, Connected, Committed – Fri. Nov 21, 9:30–10:45 AM
Booth #112 Signing: Here, Kitty, Kitty!/¡Ven, Gatita, Ven! – Fri. Nov 21, 1:00–2:00 PM
Rita Williams-Garcia
Author Strand: The Realities of Culture – Sat. Nov 22, 8:00–9:15 AM
ALAN Workshop – Tues. Nov 25, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM
Booth #112 Signing: Jumped galleys – Sat. Nov 22, 11:00 AM– 12:00 PM
Jane Yolen
Author Strand: The Realities of Poetry: Shifting Forms, Formats, Content – Sat. Nov 22, 9:30–10:45 AM
Booth #112 Signing: Johnny Appleseed – Sat. Nov 22, 1:00–1:30 PM
Terry Trueman
The Right to Write: Authors on Writing Outside Their Culture Panel – Sat. Nov 22, 8:00–9:15 AM
Booth #112 Signing: Hurricane – Sat. Nov 22, 2:00–2:30 PM
E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Myracle
ALAN Workshop – Mon. Nov 24, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM
Booth #112 Signing: How to Be Bad – Sat. Nov 22, 3:00–4:00 PM
David Macinnis Gill, ALAN President
Booth #112 Signing: Soul Enchilada ARCs – Sat. Nov 22, 2:00– 2:30 PM
Jody Feldman
New Voices for a New Generation Panel – Fri. Nov 21, 11:00 AM –12:15 PM
Booth #112 Signing: The Gollywhopper Games – Fri. Nov 21, 4:00–4:30 PM
Chris Riddell
Engaging the Disengaged: Taking the “Boring” Out of Books for Boys Panel – Fri. Nov 21, 11:00 AM–12:15 PM
Booth #112 Signing: Ottoline and the Yellow Cat – Fri. Nov 21, 4:00–4:30 PM
Laura Ruby
ALAN Workshop – Mon. Nov 24, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM
Beth Kephart
ALAN Workshop – Mon. Nov 24, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM
Allan Stratton
ALAN Workshop – Tues. Nov 25, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM

Many thanks to Humanities Tennessee for providing the venue and the bag of Tennessee goodies for authors. A shout out to Emily Masters for making it all so easy. And a special thanks to my hosts, Helen Hemphill ( Long Gone Daddy, Roundabout, and The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones) and her husband Neal for giving me a place to bunk, as well as inviting me to join them for the inaugural Authors in the Round dinner the first night of the Festival. Helen is gracious and welcoming, and her reading of Deadwood Jones Saturday morning was spot on–and hilarious. 

Next up, NCTE and the ALAN Workshop in November.