I Might Have A Problem

The last thing I had to do after the madness that was BEA is sort through the books I got for myself. After several runs to the post office last week, I finally can see my dining room table again. Because not only did I score books for myself, I found myself grabbing several titles for family and friends. For the record, Lil' Sis made out like a bandit, thanks to the plethora of YA titles that I came across. As a high school English teacher, she's always looking for books for her classroom, so whenever I stumble across YA authors/books at a conference, I do my best to score her some freebies. Hey, she's a teacher. Trust me. She deserves whatever freebies I can scrounge up for her.

I just counted my pirate's booty, and I have 31 books to add to the TBR. Thirty-one. Big hearty sigh. I think I might have a problem. I'm dangerously close to owning 1000 books. It might be time for another mass weeding project. ::adding to to-do list::

But enough of me wallowing in TBR guilt. On to the important stuff! Here are just a few of the titles I scored:

Celluloid Memories by Sandra Kitt, out now - Some of the biggest names on the Kimani roster were on hand for a signing in the Harlequin booth - Brenda Jackson, Donna Hill, Rochelle Alers, Gwynne Forster, along with Kitt. I was particularly excited to get my hands on Celluloid Memories because it's got a Hollywood storyline and takes place in L.A. Why don't more romances take place in L.A.?







Red by Jordan Summers, pub date 11/08 - Ahhh, a paranormal romance. Normally I probably wouldn't have touched this one with a ten-foot pole, but Summers is a columnist over at Romancing the Blog (just like me) and I wanted to meet her to say "Hi." And actually? Red looks kinda interesting. Heroine is in law enforcement, and meets a sheriff in a remote town who has secrets to hide. The tag line? What if Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf turned out to be the same person? So yeah, I'm going to give it a go.






Hooked on Murder by Betty Hechtman, out now - This was an impulse grab when I stumbled across the Mystery Writers' of America booth. This is the first in a cozy mystery series, and oh how I love me the cozies. This looks cute, and I'm always on the lookout for new authors. Heroine works for a bookstore, and becomes prime suspect number one when the leader of the local crochet group she belongs to turns up dead.







The Actress by Elizabeth Sims, out now - I actually had already ordered this title for work based on good reviews, and was intrigued by it then. Lucky for me the author was signing at the MWA booth as I happened by! Out of work actress desperate for a gig takes a job for a defense attorney who wants her to prepare his client for her day in court. Sounds like easy money right? Naturally mayhem ensues. Oh and this one also takes place in L.A.






Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland, pub date 11/08 - The first in a new urban fantasy series for Handeland, and the way the back cover copy reads - definitely urban fantasy (over romance) as the series is going to follow one lead character. Heroine learns that the end of the world is near, and she's determined to stop it. Mainly picked this up out of curiosity, but I've enjoyed Handeland's first person writing style in the past (yep, this is first person).







Cold Hearted by Beverly Barton, pub date 9/08 - Dang, Barton has written a ton of books and I've never read her. I picked up this shiny ARC because Kensington had a ton of them on display. I suspect this is part of a series, but the back cover copy promises me a female serial killer and a cat-and-mouse style plot. I'm game.

Besides The No Talent Thing

Why I Could Never Be A Writer, Reason #76: My memory is like a sieve when it comes to names and faces.

In fact I'm really horrible about it. I'm the sort of person that when you introduce yourself to me, I'm asking you 15 minutes later, "What's your name again?" Honestly, it's not that you aren't an interesting, wonderful, vibrant human being. I'm just a dumb ass. It's sad really. I can remember the vague plot outline of a romance I read and didn't like five years ago, but I can't remember the name of the person I met at a dinner party last night. Alcohol being involved has nothing to do with it. I'm this much of a dumb ass totally sober.

I would say the vast majority of authors I've met are really quite good at this. It's especially impressive in the Internet age. Because honestly, how much of "personal interaction" is Internet-only these days? Dang, I know I get a ton of e-mail - and I'm sure authors get even more! Names only, no faces. Imagine trying to keep all that straight!

When I go to conferences my name badge tends to read Wendy MyLastName, My Cool Job Title, My Place of Employment. It does not say "Super Librarian," and I really don't advertise it. Why? For one thing, I just don't think I'm all that and a bag of chips. Yes, I've been blogging a long time, but I wouldn't say the traffic on this site is off the charts. And that's just dandy by me. I didn't start blogging for the "traffic" and don't keep it up for the "traffic." I blog because I like it. Oh, and I'm a dork.

I'm also, bless my soul, a bit of a "fan." Even for authors I don't read, have never read, and might never read. Period. One such star-struck moment happened last year at RWA when I saw Judith McNaught. Judith McNaught people! I've never read one of her books. I'll be honest, the desire ain't there for me. But still - Judith McNaught! As The Boyfriend would say, "Cripes you're such a book dork." (Me, petulantly, "Yeah, well you're a book dork lover!")

Which brings us to the memorable moments at BEA. I stood in line to see Susan Wiggs, who was autographing ARCs of her upcoming contemporary, Just Breathe. Wiggs is one of my favorite historical writers, and many years ago (geez, at least 7 or 8 now), I corresponded with her via e-mail. A small book group I was hosting at the former job was reading "Michigan" books and I convinced them all to read The Hostage (which starts in Chicago, but the bulk of the story takes place on an island in Lake Superior). Wiggs sent me some giveaways, I sent her our discussion questions. End of story. So imagine my surprise when I see her at BEA and the first words out of her mouth are "OMGosh Wendy! How are you?" I haven't seen this woman, spoken to her, or even e-mailed her in years. And she remembered me. Sharp as a tack that one is.

And for those of you who care (yeah, I asked) she is interested in writing more historicals, but there's the small matter of finding the time. Her contemporaries are really keeping her busy. This came as no surprise to me, because I've seen her library circulation numbers steadily increase with each new Lakeshore Chronicles book. I'm thinking if her library stats are that good, her sales numbers must be quite healthy.

Then we get to moment where I was floored. Julia Quinn. I've never met Julia Quinn before. Never e-mailed her. Nothing. She was there signing copies of The Lost Duke of Wyndham. I get to the front of the line and say, "You can make it out to Wendy," to which she says, "Are you the Super Librarian?" Um, yeah. Then she asks if she can make the book out to "Wendy The Super Librarian." At this point I'm thinking she can make it out to Zulu The Wonder Dog because all that's going through my mind is "OMG - Julia Quinn knows who I am!"

Honestly, it takes so little blow my mind. I still get a giddy thrill knowing that Nora Roberts occasionally reads my blog. Hell, I was floored when I found out Margaret Moore gets a kick of my rantings about the Tigers. Who knew?

Which I guess goes to show that you never know who is reading your blog and not commenting. Hey we all do it. I read a slew of blogs that I never comment on. I think we all need to get in touch with our inner-lurker and give them a big old hug.

Which concludes my gushing fangirl post for today. Honestly, I promise not to make a habit out of it. The Bat Cave will return to our regularly scheduled program with the next blog post. Promise.

My Mom Thinks I'm Cool

Besides being a venerable book orgy, BEA is also a time to do a little celebrity watching. There's always a few there, promoting their latest children's book/biography/health/fitness title. Most of the celebrity book signings require a ticket and standing in long lines, and honestly, I had me some bigger fish to fry. That said, I did stand in line for one such signing.

When I heard that Victoria Rowell was going to be there, signing the newly released paperback edition of her memoir, The Women Who Raised Me, I knew I had to try and meet her. For those of you who have no clue who she is - it's Drucilla Winters from The Young And The Restless! At one time or another, all the women in my family have watched Y&R and we all adored Drucilla. She was the one character on the show that would say exactly what we were thinking. So having the chance to meet Victoria Rowell in person? I wasn't going to pass that up.

The meeting itself was fairly uneventful. She had a nice, long line of people waiting to see her, and she was very conscious of that fact. She really wanted to make sure everybody got through that line, got their book, and got to meet her. This was very nice of her, but it also meant there wasn't a whole lot of time for chit-chat. Probably a good thing because it gave me less time to say anything too incredibly stupid. Basically I told her that my mom, sisters and I adored her on Y&R and that we all remembered when she first came on the show. To that she let out a laugh, shook my hand and thanked me for supporting her writing and acting.

When I talked to my family this weekend, I told them all about meeting Drucilla:

Older Sis: That's cool.

Lil' Sis: I knew it! I knew she wasn't dead! That fall off the cliff didn't kill her! (fans of Y&R will totally understand where Lil' Sis is coming from).

Mom: OMG, OMG! I can't believe! OMG, I can't wait to tell Carol at work! Get out Wendy! You met Drucilla?!?!

My mom's reaction was the best, because you'd think I'd just met the Pope. Then I told her, "Yes, Mom. I met Drucilla. And I even got a copy of her book, autographed and personalized to you."

Mom: OMG, don't mail it! It might get lost in the mail! Save it for when your father and I visit in September.

Seriously, I love my Mom. I could have met Mary Higgins Clark, John Grisham and Stephen King and she probably would have said, "Oh, that's nice dear." I meet Drucilla Winters, and I'm a rock star. My 15 minutes of fame in my mother's eyes.

Fresh Book Goodness

The reason my blog has been dormant the last couple of days is because I spent the weekend at BookExpo America (BEA), which this year was back at the L.A. Convention Center. To say I was looking forward to this weekend would be a gross understatement. I've literally had it on my calender for well over a year.

First I have to give a shout-out to my home girl and fellow librarian Shayera. She gave me a very valuable BEA-first-timer suggestion - a spreadsheet is your best friend. I completely mapped out my plan of attack prior to the convention on a spreadsheet. So much easier, and handier, than flipping through the huge-ass program guide (that was about the size of Lonesome Dove - no joke). Also, she bought me tea! I know - like how sweet is that? A breakfast Earl Grey from Lupicia Fresh Tea. A lighter Earl Grey, and very tasty. Yummers!

I'm planning several posts about BEA, but I first wanted to share with everyone my biggest coup. BEA opened it's doors on Friday morning at 9AM. By 9:30AM I had the two books I was dying to get in my hot little hands.

Laura Levine was not there, but her publisher was, in full force. Kensington had one of the nicer booths, with oodles of books on display. Copies of Killing Bridezilla were up against a back wall and I innocently asked if they were available as giveaways - to which the nicest woman working there said, "Oh yes, please take one." Squeeee! I restrained myself and did not kiss her on the mouth.






The moment you've all been waiting for. Yes, I met Chelsea Cain. Yes, I have in my hot little hands, a signed ARC of Sweetheart (laydown date September 2). Let me say they had ARCs of this book all over the place at BEA. Seriously. Major promotional push on the part of St. Martin's. Anyway, meeting Chelsea Cain, I told her about how I book-talked Heartsick to a group of little old ladies. She found this story quite amusing and this is how she personalized the ARC to me:

To Wendy: Keep this away from little old ladies. Heart, Chelsea


And just to tease you all - OMG, the snippet that's on the back cover of the ARC is to die for. So I'm closing out this blog post with this deliciously evil teaser. Enjoy!

"I want to see you."

He could hear her breathing. Her long, light breaths only made his breath seem more strangled.

"Soon," she said.

"Then you're still in the area?" Archie asked, glancing up at Henry to make sure he heard.

She took another breath, exhaled. "I want to be close to you."

"Where are you?" Archie asked.

"Where are you?"

"Gretchen," Archie said. "Don't kill anyone else, okay?"....

The line went dead and Archie sat with the phone in his hand, only then realizing that he had been gripping it so tightly that his fingers ached.

Squeeeeee!