This Monday post comes to you a bit later than usual, courtesy of US Airways, who stranded me in Charlotte last night. Blergh.
I spent the weekend at the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance conference in Mobile, Alabama. I sat on a panel, went to dinner with some lovely booksellers and Houghton Harcourt friends, had a signing, and collected about 6.02 x 1023 free books. Yes, that’s right, I now have a mole more books than I had before.
I learned that downtown Mobile is right on the Mobile River and the Mobile Bay, which feed into the Gulf of Mexico. From my hotel room I had the most wonderful view of the dockyards and many big, big boats. I LOVE dockyards and big, big boats.
I learned that southern independent booksellers are awesome and that some of the nicest people ever work for my publisher. Which I already knew. But now I know it even more.
I learned that the band The Who has ruined any possibility of my ever pronouncing Mobile correctly (because of that song about how they’re “going mobile,” which always pops into my head whenever I try to pronounce the city name…).
I learned that these type of events are exhausting, but worth it — though, I don’t think I have it in me to do them very often. I’m worn out! :o)
And I learned, in a moment of heartbreak, that I overlooked someone the other day when I claimed not to have celebrity loves. Dear, dear Paul Newman. Raindrops are falling in my heart.
What about you? Learn anything this weekend?
