They really shouldn't let me out in public...but they did! And last week, I ran away to New York City for adventures that included ComicCon, more fancy meals than I can count, books, book signing, and JK Rowling.
YES. JK ROWLING. But that was one of the last things I did in NYC. First, there was a book signing for the wonderful anthology AFTER, which I am very lucky to have been a part of! It took place at Books of Wonder, one of my favorite bookstores (such a magical place!)
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I think my mother would be most excited that I'm standing by Gregory Maguire,
author of Wicked, which is the base for one of her favorite Broadway plays. |
And then...NY ComicCon! ComicCon is basically a haven for nerds like me. It is where I am among my people.
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| I waited in line for nearly an hour to attend this panel! |
One of my favorite events at ComicCon was Geek Geek Revolution, where Colleen Lindsey quizzed authors on their geekiness.
I tried to cheat by going to the first panel on Saturday so I'd know the answers for when I went on Sunday.
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Amber Benson, Rachel Caine, Morgan Rhodes (winner!),
and Maureen Johnson, along with Colleen Lindsey |
Tricksy organizers made sure that the questions were changed, however! And there was a sad lack of Sailor Moon questions. Which meant by the time it was all over...I was not the Geek Queen. *shame*
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| And as winner, Geek Queen Andrea Cremer won Rock'em Sock'em Robots. |
The other place I hung out at was the Penguin Booth. Yay Penguin!!
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| Man, I love that poster. |
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Ahh!! This was the line waiting for me on Saturday
for a signed ARC of Shades of Earth! |
And I also moderated
a panel on magic and monsters in sci fi and fantasy. I was crazy nervous about this--what if no one came? Um. Yeah. Didn't have to worry about that...
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| People waited an hour to come to the panel! |
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| We ran out of room and had to turn some people away! |
After the panel, we had a signing in the big autograph section. It was awesome to see everyone--especially the girl who told me that AtU was the first book she ever read on her own. <3 p="p">
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The buck might stop at the president's office,
but the line ends at Andrea's. |
But there was also a lot of nerdy fun to be had at ComicCon--including the floor, which was full of awesome people that I tried not to geek out on.
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| THIS is what it's all about--a kid excited to explore the world of fiction. |
Now, I wasn't just in NYC for ComicCon--I wanted to see NYC, too! One of my first orders of business...
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| SHOPPING!!! |
My friend Lauren--you know, this Lauren:
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| Lauren DeStefano! |
Anyway, Lauren had been telling me how great MAC makeup is, and I needed some new foundation...and lip gloss...and eye shadow...and anyway, let's just say that I'm glad my husband didn't mind me going on a little shopping spree!
After spending all my money between Macy's and Lush, I walked around NYC and visited some of my favorite places.
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| I almost don't feel as if I'm in NYC without seeing the Flat Iron Building. |
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| No matter where I went, I could always see the Empire State Building. It was like the Northern Star. |
Almost as fun as real shopping is window shopping, and NYC has the best!
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| To give you an example of size, the Hershey's syrup is a gallon. The Nerds box is as long as my arm. |
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| I think this was an interior design store. I don't know. I got distracted by the pretty store front. |
I also found my way into one of the NYC Public Library branches. What can I say? I'm attracted to books. And I'm glad I wandered in--this branch had braille books, something I'd never seen before.
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| It was designed almost like a cassette tape. Anyone know how these work? |
There were also two things that I scheduled for NYC just for fun--on Monday, I went to see the avant garde play Sleep No More, and on Tuesday...on Tuesday I got to see JK ROWLING!
Sleep No More is...a strange play. It's loosely based on MacBeth, and instead of a stage, it takes place in a hotel. Five floors, all with something going on. You chase the actors around and try to catch the strings of the plot. I definitely recommend seeing this play--it's an experience unlike any other!
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You can't take pictures inside Sleep No More--this is the candle display on the tables.
The whole set-up was like a 20s party...with MURDER. |
And, for the grand finale! JK ROWLING!!
She did one event in North America--in NYC. And tickets sold FAST. I am HUGELY grateful for the wonderful people at
Hypable who were able to hook me up with tickets.
The event was...magical. Amazing. Fascinating. Everything I'd hoped it would be.
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| The stage before the event. Of course they set out water in goblets. |
During the event, Ann Patchett interviewed JK Rowling. There are so many things that I'd like to engrave into my memory--the sound of JK Rowling cursing (which was hilarious), the perfect intonations of her voice reading the story, the humble way she seemed flabbergasted by the amount of applause...
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| In the signing line, JK Rowling made an effort to look into each person's eyes and respond to him or her. |
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| Here she is signing my copy. I may have been so excited that I nearly threw up. |
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| Me with JK in the background! This picture was taken by the wonderful Victoria Schwab, and my only regret is that I forgot to get a group picture with her and Michelle and Lev (also in the background). |
After all that awesome, I came home...to the plague. I've had a cold ever since I came back to NC! Clearly NYC is ensuring that I never leave again...
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