After a Strange Weekend...

Good morning!

On this Monday morning, after that horrible weekend, all is nearly well. The Tea Fire, here in Montecito, is now 80% contained. That's great news, but the fires in Northern L.A., Sylmar and Orange County continue to rage.

I never got back to the SCIBA posting - sorry about that. It was a lot of fun, I think I made some contacts, but most importantly, I reconnected with that Book and Author Lover within me, that part of me that has driven me and my life and dreams for over the past two decades; or indeed, nearly my whole life. I was thrilled to see some of my favorite authors (and favorite people, actually): T. Jefferson Parker, Robert Crais, Kim-from-LA and Wade Lucas, to name a few. I met Joseph Wambaugh for the first time! And Whitley Strieber -as I told him at dinner, "I have been listening to you on Coast to Coast AM for years!" I really enjoyed our conversation. A new pal, I hope, will be Paula Yee - what fun we had for the few minutes she sat at my table during dinner. And of course, it's always wonderful to run into my new friend, Selden Edwards.

I'm so glad I went - of course, I had my doubts and my grumblings: "why did I sign up for this, why am I schlepping to L.A. for this?!?" But I'm so glad I spent the money and made the effort. Alas, going to SCIBA has only served to whet my appetite for Book Expo 2009, in NYC!

That's it for the SCIBA Roundup.

I have to say, before I post this and log off - I had a wonderful week of books and book events recently. More confirmation that I'm still destined for a career in some way in the wonderful world of books and authors.

My Book Week started at Tecolote, in Montecito, for a reading/signing by author and poet Diana Raab. It was an event I set up, but she took it further, with a delightful launch party, attended by about 70 people, noshing, talking about books and writing, listening to poems from Diana's new collection, Dear Anais: My Life in Poems for You.

Friday, November 7th, I went to a publication celebration for Hometown Santa Barbara. My client Starshine Roshell is a contributor. It was another delightful evening, meeting writers and others, for what is a lovely book. I strongly recommend it, for gift-giving!

This past Tuesday, I not only attended a SB Book & Author Fest board meeting (I'm happy to say it's still alive and kicking - stay tuned!), I also went to another book launch party downtown. This one was for Jenna McCarthy, author of The Parent Trip. It was a great little party at Due, the maternity store, and I enjoyed reconnecting with Jenna.

Although last Saturday's AfterWORDS event in Santa Clarita was cancelled due to the fires, it was still an amazing week of books and authors. Honestly, I feel reinvigorated, in this new career I've chosen!

Gotta run - meeting a new client today, at Borders. See? I just keep moving forward!

K8.