My Town Monday: Library Panels, San Diego
(L to R) The suspects: me, Cindy Pon, Laura Preble, Marlene Perez, Mary Pearson. This is pretty much a local yokel panel, although Marlene actually lives a little north of here, in Orange County. Oh, and, thank you, Mary, for the photo. I remembered to charge my camera, but then forgot to put the battery back in. This is only one of many reasons why I'm not a professional photographer.
As previously mentioned, last Friday, I was on an authors' panel at the extremely cute, has-an-ocean-view Encinitas Library. It was part of the San Diego County Library's Book Festival. Very fun! And Marisa Lowe, the teen librarian from my very own branch, did a super job moderating.
There were several things I liked about this event. I think we did a good job answering the questions. We were having fun, and I think that made the experience fun for the audience as well. I'm not particularly talented at speaking off the cuff, so I'm glad I had a chance to practice this. In terms of writing, it was interesting to see what we had in common and how we differed.
And I LOVED the little personal connections I made with the other panel members. Laura Preble and I have 16 year old sons who were in the SAME class from fourth through eighth grade! Marlene Perez and I both have four kids, are at least slightly sleep-deprived and like Thai food. I'm aiming to be as thoughtful and professional and put-together as Mary Pearson. Also, I want a skirt like hers. Oh, and Mary can drink a lot of iced tea. Cindy Pon? Well, she has a wicked sense of humor, is refreshingly honest and has no sense of direction.
Andrew Smith, Cindy Pon, Laura Preble, me
This is Saturday's author panel at the Poway Library. Also a very fun time and I enjoyed meeting Andrew Smith. As the only male around, he kept us on our toes. Plus, he had some GREAT one-liners. Which I will probably steal.
I'll be at the Santee Library (9225 Carlton Hills Blvd, Santee, CA 92071, (619) 448-1863) with Cindy and Laura for a discussion on writing (informal and fun, I hope) and book signing this coming Friday, Oct. 23 @ 5:30. In fact, I have a little surprise gift for each of them.
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Looks like a blast! I wish I was in the picture :)
ReplyDeleteWriting can be such a solitary endeavour. Success has put you “out there” – meeting so many wonderful people. What an added bonus that is to doing something you love.
ReplyDeleteThere's a motley crew.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing about your library panels. It sounds really fun. San Diego must have a GREAT library system.
ReplyDeletePJ--I wish you'd been on the panel too!
ReplyDeleteBeth, as you know, writing is lonely. That makes these kinds of events even more special.
ReplyDeleteCharles, I'm sure you mean everyone EXCEPT me!
ReplyDeleteTeresa, the librarians were incredible. As were the Friends of the Library.
ReplyDeletesounds like great fun, barrie... i did not realize cindy and you lived that close to one another... but then, i only know her from her blogs
ReplyDeleteLooks like you were all having a great time!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have an AMAZING library there!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic panel! Looks like a blast ... wish I lived closer!
ReplyDeletelove your description of moi! thank you! and i dunno what it says about your sense of direction since i had to guide you back to our fancy green room. haha! btw, i stole all the links from this blog for my post! =D
ReplyDeleteCindy--I had conveniently forgotten how you had to lead me back to the Green Room!
ReplyDeleteAs everyone has said, it was a great panel! I learned a lot about YA writing and about our local authors. I even found a few new books to read, too. :D
ReplyDeleteI hope to someday be part of a panel, inspiring other kids to write.
It was such a great experience to meet my favorite author and talk with her. :D
At my age, I haven't had a lot of instruction in school about how and what to write. It was so cool to learn from published authors and to know that it IS possible to become an author - my dream.
Thanks for a great panel!
Your life sounds fun but busy. No need to change your look - the orange top is bright and eye-catching. It says I'm a MG writer, not a banker. It must be wonderful having a big support community of writers in your neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteLibrarians are amongst my favorite people. This sounds like fun -- for you all AND the kids.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I like your orange "sweater." (I hesitate to call something with short sleeves a sweater.)
I'm trying to remind myself to not wear so much brown and gray.
How great that young adult authors are made to accessible to their readers in these types of formats!
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteVery nice and intrestingss story.