My NYC Midnight Submission (Flash Fiction)

Yes, I have entered another NYCMidnight writing competition. This one is the flash fiction contest that I didn't have time to enter last year. But I made time this year! I also entered the flash fiction micro contest but didn't make it past the first round. I got the word 'stand' and you had to create a 100 character story, poem line, or what-have-you in twelve hours. I read through the posts and voted for a bunch and wish the best for those who made it to the next round. Something I realized when reading them was that many were light-hearted/poetic whereas mine were not. So, perhaps that's something to consider for the future.

Anywho, as is the way with NYCMidnight you can post your story for feedback until results come in for those who've made it to the next round.  You may remember this from my post earlier this year of my entry for the short story competition (top 5!). For this first round I was in group 1 and the mission was:

Genre: Science Fiction, Location: Fitness Center, Object: Knife Sharpener.

Pretty random huh? I know some others who got Sci-fi had a locale on a fish farm and heroin as an object. So I'm amped to see what comes out of that. 

While I don't generally write sci-fi, but do read it and fantasy and dystopian from time-to-time I found this a challenge. But luckily, the first idea I had after seeing my prompt was one I liked and stuck with. I do think it's kind of dark and that this may be a trend with me. I just don't write light-hearted I guess. Not in my creative DNA.

Well, without further ado here's "Friend or Foe":

 Friend or Foe

The stagnant smell of Patriot’s Gym invaded Celestra’s nostrils as she made her way to her father’s office. The fitness center went as far back as ten generations in her family. It seemed odd she was seeing glistening skin, energy capsules, weight balls hovering for the last time.

Unlike the bubble-shaped, iridescent buildings lining the streets of New Terra, Patriot’s was a sickly orange color, a relic brick building. It stood out for people like her father who preferred the world before humans and Soldarians co-existed.  The layout of the planet—balanced, ecological, relying on solar power—was the first strike her father had against them. No Soldarian was allowed to set foot on Patriot’s premises.

And it was unfortunate for Celestra that she fell in love with one. Devon’s smile revealed the sharp teeth of his people, but it hadn’t instilled the fear her father had when she was younger. As she and Devon made love the scales on his chest and arms rubbing against her skin became an aphrodisiac.

Celestra twisted the ring on her finger as she passed through the weight room glimpsing women struggling to finish another squat as a simulated trainer stood over them with arms akimbo. Reaching her destination she took a deep breath before going through the sliding door.

Her father was hunched over his desk. Holograms with line graphs dipping towards the floor were projected around him. Behind him was a shelf with awards he’d won for fitness, for helping fight obesity once the epidemic became pandemic. There were also medals from the war between humans and Soldarians, prior to the peace accord.

“What’s doing today, sweetheart?” he asked without taking his eyes off the projections.

“I’m okay, Daddy. How are you?“

“Fine. Just wondering about things is all.” His skin sagged under his eyes.

“I wonder too. How are you and Mom going to survive after…” she let it hang in the air.

Devon offered to help. He was financially stable, all Soldarians were. They were socialists in nature. This was the second strike against Soldarians, especially for people like Celestra’s father who had been wealthy and now suffered from his own prejudice.

As she took a seat across from her father a large butcher knife with an ivory handle on the shelf behind him caught her eye.

“Where’d you get that?” she asked.

Her father craned his neck and looked around before spotting the knife. “Friend gave it to me.”

“Why?”

Her father met her eyes. There was a coldness in them she hadn’t seen since he showed her the tip of his finger cut off from an unfortunate encounter with a Soldarian.

“My friend Ralph and I were in South Asia, where they first landed. We were alone for a bit then someone came through. Seeing as how they look like us straight off we couldn’t tell. First clue was the thing wouldn’t talk. Second was it was buttoned up tight in it’s fatigues, even though it was hot as a sauna.

“Me and Ralph hatched a plan to see if it was friend or foe. I ended up butting it with my laser rifle. When it stumbled it opened it’s mouth and we saw those nasty fangs.”

Celestra froze, recalling Devon’s teeth, how she thought they’d devour her, but were actually gentle, nibbling her skin.

“We tried to shoot it but they had those damn gun disablers. Ralph was a grade-A cook. He maneuvered to his rucksack and threw the knife right at it.

“After that it was friend or foe. And if they were foe, we always took a prize.”

His fingers massaged his temple. “Ralph died and left me this. And a sharpener for it.” He scanned the shelf before finding the sharpener. The cogs inside looked rusted and chipped. Celestra squirmed in her seat.

As the projections faded her father stared at her, his eyes unwavering causing Celestra to look away.

“Where’d you get that ring?”

She glanced up.

“You’re holding your hand trying to cover it like I wouldn’t notice.”

“I. Um. I met someone. And he’s wonderful, Daddy.”

Her father got up from the chair with force letting it swivel in mid-air.

“What’s he look like?” he asked looking out the window displaying the center.

“He has light eyes, dark hair, and a cleft in his chin. He’s tall and striking. We met at that event for people recovering from supercancer—“

“You leaving something out, sweetheart?”

She gulped at that. “I’ve never felt this way before. About anyone.”

“He’s one of them?” He turned around and she felt the shame wash over her. Celestra nodded.

“You’d marry one of them?” his voice rose with each word.

“It just happened. He spoke so eloquently, so passionately—”

“You’d let one of them touch you!”

He stormed back behind his desk. His face was a sickly red. His pallor went back to normal as he sat down. His hands drummed against his armrest before pushing a button.

Celestra heard humming before she felt the measured vibrations of her chair.

“Do you know what the prizes were?”

Eyes cast to the floor Celestra shook her head.

She heard a creaking sound then a thump. Celestra looked up to see a bulging satchel.

He lifted the bag letting the contents fall to the desk, some rolled off the sides. A fetid smell wafted to her nose. She tried to cover it with her hand but felt her body going numb.

They were rotting. But some were newer. She could tell by the color of them. Some had scales, but some were human.

“Daddy, please.”

He got up and waved his hand signaling the lights to dim.

His voice was tender as he asked for her hand.

“Soldarians aren’t bad—“ she began.

“Shhh.”

He forced her hand onto the desk.

She tried to pull away but found herself fixed, the chair holding her back, tricking her muscles.

“Friend or foe, sweetheart. Answer the question.”

[© 2011 Jennifer Baker-Henry 2011]

Goodreads Bookclub Slideshow Story Contest (My entry: "Where Dads Go") - Updated

Update as of August 3rd: So, I ended up winning the Goodreads Bookclub Slideshow Story Contest. Go figure on that! Jennifer Egan announced the winners yesterday evening during a live chat on Goodreads.com.  (The winners are announced towards the end of the video around the 54:00 mark.) Runner up was a slide show story that I also really enjoyed "Criminal Consultation." And another I liked a lot and voted for was in the top 5 also: "Frowning on the Inside."

I have to say I'm quite surprised and thrilled by this. The aim was to make the top 5 mainly, but to know that people were touched by the piece I wrote was fulfilling in itself. To hear women say that the slideshow made them cry was endearing to me as a writer because you always want your work to resonate and mean something to readers and knowing that it did meant a lot, still does. And to see that about 4,000 people viewed the slideshow story and a couple commented positively on it blows my mind. Add in the fact that Jennifer Egan found it a "complex" piece and said it had a "big reach." Wow.  So major thanks to everyone for the comments and well wishes and votes! They mean everything and definitely reinvigorate me to keep pushing along.

Original Post from July 25th: 

Hello! Just an FYI that my story "Where Dads Go: a story for my unborn child" is in competition for the Goodreads Bookclub Slideshow Story contest.

You can view my and other great entries here: www.goodreads.com/bookclub/slideshow. But you must be a member of Goodreads to vote. (Registration is free and if you're a fellow book lover it's fun to track what you and others read and write reviews.)

The contest was inspired by a chapter in the Pulitzer prize winning book by Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad. She wrote one chapter in Powerpoint and it is just phenomenal. Even Jennifer said that her agent kind of raised an eyebrow when she said she wanted to do this. But it works great in her book. So it's a lot to live up to.

It took me awhile to get an idea for a story that may fit as a powerpoint (PPT) presentation, but when I did it it just clicked! I figured how interesting would it be for a mom to write to her unborn child about the men, or lack thereof, in her life and how it runs in the family. Personally, the men in my family weren't very prominent in my childhood and that of my cousins so it definitely struck a chord. And my husband has even had an absence from his father where they are recently reconnecting. It's an interesting premise I think a lot of people can relate to and I thought it'd be interesting to delve into that visually.

I have to give Jennifer Egan credit for creating an emotional story within PPT and it's not easy to really capture as much as you'd like in a truncated yet visual form, especially for those of us who manipulate words for a living (or passion). But in the end I am very proud of what I created within 10 days time. (Yes 10 days! Lots of starts and stops people.) And while I know there are probably more edits to be made I hope that it resonates with many when they read it.

When logging into Goodreads you can see this contest as part of the monthly poll on the bottom right-hand side of your main page. So feel free to view and vote! I believe the deadline to vote is July 31st. Stories in the top 5 will be sent to Jennifer Egan for judging to pick a winner and runner-up! Keep your fingers crossed for me and the other authors!

If you're not part of Goodreads but would like to see my entry anyways feel free to view it here on SlideShare:

Where Dads Go: A story for my unborn child (fiction)

View more presentations from Jenn Baker-Henry

Artist Residency Withdrawal: Re-entering society after living the dream

As I've stated many times on this blog and for those who know me in-person,  heck random people on the street may have also been informed, that last month I returned from one of the greatest experiences of my life at the Jentel Artist Program Residency. June 13th marked the one month mark that I've been home and attempted to re-enter my everyday life in New York City. A couple weeks ago I met up with some writer friends who have and were about to embark on a residency. For Ennis his current time in Upstate New York serves as the longest that he's been away from the home he's made in Harlem. He asked my friend Kim and I for any advice as to how it is to be with other artists (and only other artists) as well as what he may look forward to (sarcasm!) when he returns.

Kim is a veteran in regards to residencies. She was the one who implored that I apply for them. She mentioned it was hard for her to re-immerse herself into life at work, especially when she returned during a really hectic time in the office.

Another friend of mine returned from her residency this year a few weeks before I left for mine. At present time she is still having a rough time of being back at work as a teacher and working on her novel preparing to send it out to agents. She's re-evaluating life after her residency and I'm sure is antsy to do another one.

Me, I just applied to another residency program for the beginning of 2012 and am lining up applications for more come the last quarter of this year. I believe the week of June 5th, a week before my LIU Summer Writers Lab workshop,  I just got back to life and the productivity level I was at before I headed off to Jentel.

Let me try and summarize the first four weeks back:

Week 1: Reeling, and I mean reeling, from being home. I was picked up from the airport and I was glad to enter a clean apartment. Went food shopping and I got to eat some old faves, Chipotle & Dani's Pizza, before mentally preparing to return to work on Monday.

Returning to work entailed me having to deal with rush hour and wondering why I work in the first place. I kept comparing my surroundings to what I'd just left and found them extremely lackluster, especially my apartment which does not compare in scope to the large bathroom I had to myself at Jentel and the huge room, lovely open kitchen, and spaciousness, spaciousness, spaciousness.

In dealing with co-workers I was met with many who were happy about my return and excited about my experience. I also experienced a few who asked some arcane questions that I'm sure many artists in general cringe at. Ones like "If you're a writer, why do you work here?" "Oh, you're a writer what books have you published." "Oh, if you're a writer that means you've been published in The New Yorker?" And so on and so forth.

Week 2: Sorting through photos, updating the blog on my experience, and just sleeping and being lazy for the most part. I was not ready to be social with friends and pushed off many invitations to see people upon my return. I was lethargic and didn't cook, only re-heated, and didn't bake a lick. My usual routine of baking for people's birthdays in the office was non-existent and I just went from bakery to bakery to purchase goods I thought they'd like.

The upswing to this week was Book Expo which lead to attaining a lot of books, attending some book events, and standing a lot. But it was a good time!

Week 3: A friend's wedding and another work week. Mind you in these weeks that I'd been home I didn't do a lick of writing outside of e-mails and updating my blog. I wrote an article for Book Expo for AroundHarlem.com. I started reading a very good book that gave me a great amount of inspiration (see Goodreads list). I barely cleaned, leaving someone else to kindly pick up the slack when it came to sweeping and scrubbing the bathroom regularly. I hadn't done a full overhaul of the kitchen, usually my domain to clean, but couldn't muster the will to do so. I did start hanging out with friends more regularly, but still begged off some events and now had to worry about money since I wasn't saving as much by simply writing and staying in. I actually had to go out, look at my checkbook, and pay bills as well as for groceries and household needs again.

Week 4: Slowly getting back in the swing of things. I actually sat for a whole five+ hours to read and review all the stories I revised while away and started to make edits during my free time in the office. I attained some freelance work and did this as well. I made self-imposed deadlines for myself as well as submitting an application for a residency. I decided to enter some contests due at month's end and submit a YA piece for consideration. I'm also looking into revising pieces for a friend's anthology which is due by month's end. In addition to this I am starting other residency applications due in September, making contacts for references, and researching places to submit my more complete flash fiction pieces as well as compiling a list of places to hopefully submit a piece from my collection at the end of this year.

What helped during this time is having friends who've been through this. Fellow Jentelian Heidi Durrow was kind in asking how I was dealing with my return on Twitter and said she related but to give it time. This seemed to be the main piece of steady advice: just give yourself time to get back into the swing of things.

It took three weeks for this to happen but it did. During the fourth week I no longer looked at those on the subways as my enemies but as my equals just as I had prior to my leaving. I didn't look at work as a prison anymore, but a means to an end. I didn't think badly of those ignorant comments, though they still irritate me, of how I could be an artist when it wasn't how I was making my living. I got back into my routine and even tried to be more of a stickler to my craft by denying invites during the weekend so that I could stay home and focus and work. Whether it be on my own projects or ones assigned. I got back into cooking and just baked some blondies for a friend and the LIU SWL group.

At the Summer Writers Lab Akashic Publisher Johnny Temple said he was irritated with the thought that we should "just write." "With everything going on in the world" why would anyone feel a sense of "entitlement" at just writing. He was right. That's how I felt upon my return. That I was entitled to just be an artist and not have to work a full-time job or do freelance or do the work to make myself successful and support myself so that I could focus on my art. The dream is to make a living solely on our work because we enjoy doing it enough without pay, so how much more awesome would it be if we were getting paid. Well, that's not a reality for a crapload of artists.

I've come to terms with what I've been doing and look forward to the light at the end of the tunnel. It doesn't pain me to wake up and not see the vibrant colors of Neltje's decorated home. I'm up early and to bed early and slowly getting back into the swing of exercising regularly. I'm being kept awake by my work and have been blocking off time to work on it. It's been good these past few weeks and in giving myself the time to get there I feel reinvigorated to pursue my work.

Inaugural Summer Writers Lab @ Long Island University

It's always nice to be a part of the first of something, especially when it comes to creative endeavors or anything that results in something good and positive. This year I was honored to be included in the first group of attendees for the Summer Writers Lab (SWL) hosted at Long Island University's Brooklyn campus and directed by author and LIU MFA professor Jessica Hagedorn, with instructors/authors Gabriel Cohen, Jennifer Egan, and Marlon James. I was lucky enough to get into, what appeared to be by the amount in attendance, the popular Jennifer Egan workshop. Now, my definition of workshop is one in which you write, you submit, others read & critique it. This was not the same framework for LIU's three-day seminar. It was that, a seminar. While we wrote short in-class or at-home exercises and read these in class time, especially with the twenty or so people in attendence for her class alone, mainly permitted us to comment on what caught our ears and provided great visuals. What struck us immediately to help the author know what to continue to do or leap off from moving forward. Turns out that this is how Jennifer Egan's reviewers handle critiquing each others work primarily. Intriguing, and something to learn from seeing how much Jennifer had a keen ear.

Jennifer is lithe, easy-going, kind, supportive, likes baked goodies, and is a great listener. Learning from someone like this who has achieved so much in her career is something that always sets the emerging writer's mind at ease.

Three days and twenty-one students means there may be a high expectation to achieve a lot in nine hours time total. And while I think a smaller group may have helped delve into Jennifer's agenda more fully, the wealth of sincerity and intrigue and kindness and creativity and support in this room was some of the most satifying I have experienced in 3 days than in 4 years of undergraduate studies in Creative Writing and two years as an MFA student. In three days Jennifer went over Characterization, Dialogue, and Voice and gave as much help and advice as she could as the minutes ticked by.

In the first day we spent about two hours introducing ourselves and asking each other questions to get to know each other better. Jennifer was adamant about this and in the end proved herself quite capable in remember details about us and all our names in the matter of a couple of hours! The exercise itself lent itself to the overall theme of the day "characterization" but was also a way for us to get to know each other better as writers and as people.

One of the other workshop participants, Julie, said it best "I could listen to her for hours." And it's true. Jennifer speaks in such a way that you feel like you're equals. She never references her prizes or how much her books have been lauded. She even has a self-depricating humor at times when it comes to her process and how many of her books have started out. When placing an author on such a high pedestal to know that there's no clear-cut process, no "a-ha!" that hits them in one week flat to create, that they're not completely sure of their work at all initially can help you to breathe so deeply in relief at the realization of no one having all the answers and allowing the process itself to take over, trust those around you, and believe in yourself to persevere. It's something that can't be learned, but hearing it from someone who's just won the Pulitzer helps tremendously.

In the midst of my workshop with Jennifer I heard nothing but praise for Marlon James' workshop, which has a smaller number of participants who enjoyed more one-on-one specific critiques of work.

At the first night's evening event with a reading by all three instructors and Jessica attendees were enlightened and introduced to some powerful prose. The standout of the evening was Marlon James' reading from the new novel he's been writing about seven young men who attempted to kill Bob Marley. It was written in Patois and Mr. James' being of Jamaican descent was able to give the prose full force in his reading. Everyone was blown away and I'm sure he added several dozen new fans to his work and social media pages. The next evening brought a lively discussion from authors Wesley Stace and Rick Moody where many learned about their process as writers.

Saturday afternoon's Q&A panel with representatives from the publishing world that authors often need in their corner was incredibly insightful for those who are used to these types of discussions or who are new to them and need to get thinking on what the publishing world is like and where it's heading as the millenium moves along. Faith Childs, Rakesh Satyal, Johnny Temple, and Harold Augenbraum were extremely kind and generous in their time, (2 hours!) as well as answering additional questions we had. Learning that Faith, as an agent, invests in careers not one-off works; that Rakesh, as an editor, admits that writers should be the most enthusiastic about their work amidst so much competition; and Johnny, publisher of Akashic Books, bringing awareness that us as artists shouldn't pity ourselves because we can't just be artists, but be glad that we can afford the luxury at all even if it is in spare time or time we make at any hour of the day available. And Harold thinks we should not look down on the dinner party in terms of writing or readers. (You had to be there.)

Throughout these three days we were immersed in a community, one you're aware of, but may not be privy to always be around. Like Jentel being surrounded by artists who understand what you're going through in your angst, insecurity, and unfailing ability to procrastinate are there to support and listen. That's what a community is. From the day I walked through the English department and introduced myself to one of my workshop mates I felt the connection. From the moment I looked around at attendees and was approached by Jessica who eagerly wanted to know who I was I felt it. From the smiles I received from those each morning and evening at every event, on our way to and from the bathroom during break, on Twitter, on the street, getting a round of applause from workshop mates because I made blondies, I felt it again and again.

I felt a slight sense of remorse when I left the Greenlight Bookstore yesterday as the SWL reading confirmed the end of the first year of  this new fiction immersion program. I would miss the encouraging smiles and words and hearing Jennifer admit that no one knows it all but that you keep going. I'll miss hearing Jennifer compliment my workshop mates and myself on things it took us minutes to write and I'm sure many of us weren't overly confident in. Something I wrote on the subway was structurally sound? No freaking way! I'll miss seeing a familiar face from graduate school and catching up on what we've both been through as we've plodding along on our work over the years. But in the midst of missing this I know that there's another community I got to know, from another convention/conference what-have-you and that there'll continue to be people you'll meet who'll help you and believe in you. And that this is what these types of conventions are created for. They want to bring people together and in this case SWL was successful.

Book Expo 2011: Come one, come all!

This year's Book Expo of America (BEA) brought back memories for those of us who'd attended years prior.  While last year was truncated both in size and scope and also in terms of what publishers offered, this year sought to improve upon that with many giveaways and choices and even a joint convention with the Book Bloggers Convention at Jacob Javits Center in midtown Manhattan. It wasn't as humid as last year but the sun was in full effect which made for a lovely week for visitors and natives to enjoy this event pre-Memorial Day weekend. Last year some notable trade publishers did not have booths. But this year they came back full force. When talking to one of the publicists with Scholastic she mentioned that a big complaint was that they did not have giveaways last year except for author signings in the autograph area, but this year they had a huge booth in the Children's pavilion and had many giveaways including a new book by Maggie Stiefvater (The Scorpio Races) along with galleys of the last book in her Wolves of Mercy Falls series, Forever, and Wonderstruck a new book from Brian Selznick with a lovely, durable tote to accompany the galley.

Hachette Publishers had many giveaways as did HarperCollins, Macmillan, Random House, Gray Wolf Press, Harlequin, Cleis Press, and Penguin. Authors in high demand and with huge lines included Colson Whitehead, Chuck Palahniuk, Tom Perotta, Ally Condie, Melissa Marr, Rick Riordan, and Scott Westerfeld among many others including celebrities with books out (or due out) like Duff MacGrath, Tyra Banks (yes, Tyra is in the book mix now), Julianne Moore, Diane Keaton, Jane Lynch, Michael Moore, and the list goes on and on again.

Tuesday was a mad house with ARCs (advanced reader copies) everywhere! At 9am sharp the masses tend to divide and conquer and get their hands on items that they hope will keep them from standing on a massive line later on in the day. In speaking with many people on lines that you, inevitably, stand on it's always interesting to talk to attendees about their excitement in meeting established authors or being introduced to new ones that they end up loving. These ARCs do a great job to promote debut authors and familiar ones while entertaining readers to no end with the amount they can get their hands on.

While last year's main "theme" was Books in a Digital World it wasn't the main element in panel discussions as it was last year. This year Book Expo was held in conjunction with the Book Bloggers Expo and BlogWorld in addition to the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) conference. Press who registered for Book Expo were able to get into some of the other events held at Jacob Javits Center that week. There was a section devoted completely to the rise and growing efficiency of digital publishing for books and the many companies offering services in conversion and distribution.

Self-publishing is also on the rise. I conducted an interview with actress and new author Tanya Wright on her new book Butterfly Rising published with CreateSpace (a self-publishing sector of Amazon) and author Maria Murnane (Perfect on Paper), and CreateSpace sr. marketing manager, Aaron Rosenstein, about what CreateSpace offers as a newer face in the self-publishing world and how it really caters to authors giving them back control of their work. Amazon has also grown in the publishing world with their own publishing imprints as their awards to find breakthrough authors has set them on track to publish many beyond those voted on by Amazon members/visitors. Amazon conducted many signings at their publishing booth and had a strong presence at Book Expo via CreateSpace.

The New Title Showcase is where many self-published authors with more familiar services like iUniverse, Xlibris, and AuthorNotes had their books displayed, but sometimes these get lost in the crowd when it comes to being exposed to a new audience. This is where CreateSpace has more pull in its connection to a stronghold in the publishing and book buying world. Especially since they had a booth to display their authors and their titles rather than having their work lumped together on shelves making the choices akin to being in a bookstore for readers. And when you're on a schedule you may not have time to search through New Titles in the hopes that something may catch your eye when there are so many publishers, authors, galleys, and booths vying for your attention on the main floor.

Many of the Author Stages talked about anticipated upcoming books, ebooks, and also conversations with authors about their process and what's next. There were many "buzz panels" where editors talked about upcoming books they were excited about, many of which had galleys available and were being pushed from new YA series to "The American The Kite Runner" and so on.

Wednesday was just as busy but probably a bit more subdued in the fact that many people got key finds on Tuesday. I was able to navigate and got to meet some wonderful authors. Tayari Jones' new book Silver Sparrow came out last Tuesday and she signed copies of the hard cover.

Laini Taylor was around signing ARCs of her new book with Little, Brown Young Readers Daughter of Smoke & Bone where about a thousand copies were available. Tom Perotta signed for more than his designated time and was kind to each and every person in line who patiently awaited his signature on his new look at a world post-Rapture (perfect timing no?), The Leftovers.

Thursday is always the more relaxed day in that many people use this time to recover from standing in lines and carrying hefty totes full of galleys and new titles. There was less of a rush on Thursday and the doors closed at 3pm allowing exhibitors to clean up and pack up and attendees to prepare shipping and perhaps even enjoy the city.

The week of Book Expo in New York also marks New York Book Week and that means...after-parties! On Monday I went to the Teen YA Carnival in SoHo with author Shana Silver and heard a nice discussion with David Levithan, Kody Keplinger, and Torrey Maldonado among others on writing teen angst though this discussion turned more into their background and how that's helped their process in writing for a YA audience. There were some giveaways and a lot of books to get signed by these authors and others including Malinda Lo!

Tuesday's big after-party was in SoHo where many went to the Bookrageous BEA Bash at Lolita Bar where many authors such as Scott Westerfield, Lev Grossman, and Catherynne M. Valente were. There were numerous author talks in the afternoon and evenings and various events not listed in the New York Book Week guide attendees received along with the list of exhibitors, author signings, and coupon book for deals around the city during the week.

On Wednesday my friend Bonnie and I attended the first ever Goodreads Book Club event at Housing Works where Jennifer Egan's Pulitzer Prize winning book, A Visit from the Goon Squad, is the pick. Ms. Egan signed copies of her books and chatted with the audience while we were entertained by teenage band Care Bears on Fire. Good times. (All proceeds from this event go to Housing Works' mission of supporting AIDS research and individuals with AIDS).

Thursday, more events, but Anna and I attended Scholastic's ThisIsTeen event at the Scholastic store where Libba Bray, Meg Cabot, and Maggie Stiefvater briefly spoke on their writing methods and about their new titles. For Ms. Bray Beauty Queens has already gotten a lot of buzz and was recently listed as one of the "must" on Entertainment Weekly's 10 Must List. 

The rapport with the authors was one of camraderie and comedy and it was a pleasure to hear them speak and then engage with them as they signed copies of their books as well as ARCs that may have been made available at Book Expo or to bloggers/press.

By week's end I believe I collected less books than I did last year. And having learned from years past I made sure to have a wheely suitcase along with me to prevent me from having a sore back and shoulders for days. Though, my feet are a whole other story.

I've met many wonderful authors and fellow book lovers/bloggers at Book Expo and am connecting with people more and more via Twitter each day based on our experiences.

For book lovers Book Expo is similar to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and us being Charlie or one of the other kids having the golden ticket. But I'll go with Charlie cause he was in awe and so appreciative of what he was able to be a part of. As book lovers, book sellers, publishing professionals, authors, publicists, bloggers, and so on we all come together at this huge event to learn more about authors, the book world, and the tomes we love or may grow to love. We post and report and review to share knowledge of what we deem good or bad and no matter what we're constantly entertained by what's out there for us to consume.

Here's looking forward to another Book Expo in New York next year. It'll be the first week of June, which hopefully means more sunny skies and brilliant evenings.