Okay, these guys now how to throw a party! I had a great time at the Author Feast on Saturday night with Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA). It was a meet-and-greet as well as an award ceremony -- and really just lots of fun.
And like the wonderful PNBA event I attended in September --it was speed-dating with booksellers for the writers. This time there were two writers per table which was a delight because I learned about some books that sound great including Liza Palmer's A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents (5 Spot) and Debra Ollivier's What French Woman Know (Putnam). And yes, I confess I was a little star-struck: I ate dinner with Ron Carlson (The Signal) and sat next to Lisa See (Shanghai Girls). There I was meeting REAL writers. It was thrilling.
But the all-time highlight of the night was when Elizabeth Kostova, best-selling author of The Historian and the forthcoming The Swan Thieves and the night's keynote speaker, walked up to my table to introduce herself to ME! She is connected with the Lois Roth Foundation -- a foundation which awarded me a grant for a work-in-progress about Denmark--for the work she does to support Bulgarian writers and writing. She had heard about me and wanted to say hello. She was so lovely and gracious--and I have to tell you it caused quite a stir at my table. "How did I know her?" they asked!
That's it for the book appearances until next year's book tour which now starts in January! I'm excited and nervous and excited and nervous and cycling between these crazy emotions as I think about how it will all go. I hope it goes well. Will you come out to see me if I'm in your town and cheer me on?
