Branson Retreat photo recap!

I am home safe and mostly sound, but apparently those remaining at the Branson Retreat are now stranded by snow. Seemed like a good time to share some photos before they go all Stephen King on each other. It could get ugly . . .


Our strong but silent host, Freddy the Moose.

He stared. A LOT.


The view from the balcony.


Victoria Schwab and Myra McEntire.


Jackson Pearce and Beth Revis during our first live chat.


Maggie Stiefvater looking mischievous with Werewolf wine and Kraken rum.


Sunday night's live chat with Jackson and Kiersten White.


Live chat with Sarah Darer Littman


The gang during chat -- during a non-rowdy lull. I'm sure you recognize lots of faces!


Julia Karr's live chat. Poor Julia got stuck in a multi-semi truck accident on the way in and didn't arrive until Sunday. Like me, she left on Tuesday to avoid the snow.


Victoria, Myra, Julie Kagawa, and Carrie Ryan.


A productive Monday morning. (Okay, Natalie Parker might be checking her Twitter page, but really -- we Word Warred and everything.)


Monday night Tarot reading for Frankie Diane Mallis.


The not-quite-official Elevensies photo. (We're missing Julia Karr, who left early Tuesday, and Beth Revis, who was still sleeping!) Tessa Gratton, Dawn Metcalf, Sonia Gensler (me), Myra McEntire, and Victoria Schwab.

Tonight in Branson . . .


REDRUM!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

NY SCBWI

SNOW DAY!

Everything is shut down. Husband and cat are sleeping in. Seems the perfect opportunity to ramble on about my weekend at NY SCBWI.

Despite the earlier snow storm in NYC, our Friday flights were all on time and we made it to the hotel quickly enough, but there were no cabs available once I'd freshened up. So I had a 25 minute walk through the slush (& the craziness of Broadway) to see my editor. It's always a bit mind-boggling to walk into the Random House building. (I wish I'd had the guts to take a photo, but I'm so afraid of getting yelled at.) Anyway, I chatted with Michelle and lots of cool people in the Knopf office AND snagged an ARC of the The Penderwicks at Point Mouette (Eeeee!). After that, Michelle and I went for tea and a snack. Lovely!

That night I met up with Agent Jenn and two more clients, Tiffany Trent and Margie Gelbwasser, for dinner at Metrazur in Grand Central Station. There was so much gabbing and laughing that I forgot to take photos. Good times! Later we went to Kidlit Drinks night, where I got to catch up a bit with the wonderful Shana Silver.


On Saturday it was so nice to hang out with Tiffany Trent, Kathleen Foucart, and Jessica Spotswood -- they are such charming and lovely ladies!


Not sure why this photo turned out so red, but this is Mary Kole, Sara Zarr, and me. I am such a fangirl for National Book Award finalist and generally awesome Sara Zarr! Really, I was quivering with glee to meet her (and this was before her amazing keynote speech.) As I was standing next to her for the photo I said "You are so tiny!" Now, in Southern girl speech, this means "you are so slim and fit!" but I realize she might have interpreted it as "you are a little gnome!" or "you are too skinny!" She is a petite woman, but not miniscule by any means. I really wish I could control my blurts. :(


JC Geiger, Bryan Bliss and Mary Kole before the Saturday luncheon. RL Stine was the keynote speaker and he had us howling!


Saturday night was date night with Steve. Here we are looking over the Rockefeller Center Ice Rink. Love to see the pairs holding hands.


Me, sprinkled with snow. I got several fat flakes right in the eye that night.


Tea at The Morgan Library on Sunday. We saw Jane Austen's letters last year, and this year I had to go again to see the Diary Exhibit -- in particular, this portion from one of Charlotte Bronte's journals. As it turned out, my favorite piece within the exhibit was a page from Kingsley Amis's journal in which he 1) writes a poem, 2) comes back later and rants about how terrible the poem is, 3) adds a later note in which he's glad he doesn't feel so negative anymore, and 4) if I remember correctly, yet another note about how he quite likes the poem now. It was charming.

Okay, so that's about it! It was a great trip, I must say.

Now to breakfast . . .

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Off we go!

Hey all! I'm heading out to NYC tomorrow (in the wee wee hours of the morning) to attend the SCBWI Winter Conference. Maybe I'll see you there? Hope so! (If I don't see you at the conference, maybe we can have a drink at Kidlit Drink Night?)

I'll definitely post some photos upon my return.

I also wanted to direct your attention to a giveaway the Elevensies are really excited about. Click the poster for more information:



Have a great weekend, everyone!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Wintry getaway

This past weekend we spent time with childhood friends in a . . . what would you call it? A lodge? A retreat? Whatever it's called, it lies about an hour north of St. Louis.

(Please pardon crappy iPhone photos.)


It was very remote and snowy.


We couldn't make it up the hill in our SUV the first night (rental place LIED about it being AWD, argh). Another member of our party actually ended up in a ditch and had to call a tow truck. It was a long walk with suitcases, I tell you. (The creepy noises in the woods didn't improve matters.)

On Saturday, the kids and some of the adults sledded the hill pictured above. (I'm not sure if the photo accurately represents the steep incline. Or maybe I'm just a nervous old lady.) On my first trip down, I crashed most disastrously, flipping Charlie Brown-style (only frontwards)*. For a moment I had grave concerns about brain damage, but then I shook it off and dragged myself up the hill . . . to try again. And again and again. SO FUN!

*It really felt like I was spinning through the air, but I probably just flopped over.


On Sunday we had a banquet-style tea. French Breakfast, Earl Grey and Rooibos Chai were served along with scones, jam and real Devonshire cream. Oh, and delicious cucumber sandwiches!

We also discussed Wolf Hall. I'm pleased to report that everyone who started the book finished it by Sunday. Yay! We all miss Thomas Cromwell now.

I'm fortunate to have such good friends, and to have kept them for so long. Until next time, mes amis!


ETA: speaking of tea, on Saturday Steve and I picked up this tea set from ASL Pewter Foundry in Louisiana, MO. Isn't it handsome?

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]

Friday Five -- bringing back the happy

It's been a rough week, so I'm dedicating this Friday Five to happy things.

1. In case you didn't see me raving on FB and Twitter -- Tangled is a must see! The trailers just didn't do it justice, in my opinion. It's beautiful, funny, romantic, and features the most delicious secret tower I've ever seen. I want one of my own! Full-sized, please. This is cute, but I'm afraid I just couldn't squeeze the old carcass into it. :)

Also, this is an embarrassing admission, but when I saw the credits . . . I didn't know who Zachary Levi was. It's Chuck, of course! So you Chuck fans need to go see right away. Mandy Moore is quite good, too.

2. Downton Abbey is finally coming to PBS. I hardly know a thing about this show, except that a) it's an ITV costume drama, and b) people are raving about it. Weee!

3. I am loving Wolf Hall. I avoided this book for a long time -- wasn't sure I wanted to read more about that clever lunatic Henry VIII ruining so many lives with his whims and lusts. And for some reason I thought Thomas More was supposed to the main character. ("But he BURNED people," I thought.) Duh, the novel is actually about Thomas Cromwell. I'm only 200 pages in, but already I'm quite in love with him.

4. Looky, looky what I've got:


Julia Karr's XVI! The first of many gorgeous Elevensie books that I'm going to DEVOUR this year.

5. And finally, I must share this review of THE REVENANT by Kate Messner. I admire Kate ever so much -- she's amazingly accomplished and talented. I LOVED The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z and can't wait to get my hands on Sugar and Ice. She teaches full-time, writes like mad, sells books right and left, presents at conferences, etc., and yet she always takes the time to write very detailed, thoughtful reviews of the books she's read. Even if all my industry reviews are terrible, I'll always be able to go back to this one and say "Kate liked it, and she's COOL." Thanks, Kate!

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy your weekend!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]