First off, congrats to Lisa P. who won the ARC of Kiersten White’s Paranormalcy that I snagged at ALA. When you read the book you’ll see why the title must be in pink. This was a very fun, well-crafted read for ages 12 and up. I especially loved the character Lend and the new twists on paranormal.

I am headed to my summer haunt on the beaches of Lake Michigan with my large family. This summer has been blistering, and I’m thrilled to be able to escape the craziness that is D.C. for awhile. I have a huge stack of books to read by lots of my YA friends. And, if you haven’t read The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson yet, do so. It’s lovely and poetic and whimsical and wrenching.

I will, however, be making stops along the way at some fine indie bookstores to sign Forget-Her-Nots. So please come see me in you live in Michigan. I’ll be in Ann Arbor at Nicola’s, in Traverse City at Horizon Books, and in Leland at Leelanau Books. And please keep your fingers crossed that I hear some good news about a certain manuscript soon. Also, I hope to see you at the amazing Bring YA to PA on August 21st in West Chester, PA.

Sweet basil and orange crocuses to you!

I’m so excited to be the guest on the awesome Readergirlz today for Story Secrets! Holly Cupala and I became fast friends at ALA a few weeks ago, and I wished we lived closer. Her debut novel, Tell Me A Secret, is emotionally wrenching, hopeful, and insightful, and you should definitely run out and get it!  AND, I forgot to mention this earlier, you can also enter for a chance to win a signed, hardback copy of Forget-Her-Nots!

Today I’m also excited to be hosting an interview and ARC giveaway for fellow Tenner, Kiersten White. Her debut novel, Paranormalcy, hits the stands in August. It’s a fun, fast read, and I could already see the movie in my head. Welcome, Kiersten!

What’s your favorite flower and why?

Lilies—both Day Lilies, a beautiful bouquet of which my husband gave me the first Valentine’s Day we were together, and Lilies of the Valley, because my grandmother used to sing me a song about them and I think they’re so dainty and lovely.

Lovely! In the language of flowers, day lilies are for flirtation while lilies of the valley are for the return of happiness. What a combo!

Is there a quotation you live by or have posted at your desk?

You know, there really isn’t.  I’ve never been one to put a lot of stock in quotes.  My theory is that if I can’t be inspired to do it on my own, I probably shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.  Besides which, I don’t have a desk!  I write at the kitchen counter next to the stove during the day, and on the couch at night.  Although there is a very nice painting of a shark that watches me while I write.  But he doesn’t offer any quotes.

Which book do you wish you could live inside?

Wouldn’t that be terribly small and cramped?  I can’t imagine it being at all comfortable to live inside of a book.  Plus, think of the mildew when it rains!

Oh.  Probably not what you meant.  The first book that always comes to mind is Harry Potter.  Who doesn’t wish their adolescence was spent in Hogwarts?

Who’s your favorite dead writer and what book of his/ hers would you recommend?

Willa Cather.  My Antonia is a beautiful, rich book, and O’Pioneers has one of the most devastatingly beautiful kisses ever written.

[Note to self:  Reread Willa Cather!]

What book have you read more than any other and why?

Other than the scriptures (I’m a pretty religious person and read them daily), I have probably re-read the Harry Potter series more times than any other books.

How do you structure your writing time?

I really don’t structure it at all.  I’m a full-time mommy, so I used to write during naptime and as soon as my kids went to bed. Then naptime disappeared (a fact I still mourn daily) so I would write after their early bedtime.  Then somehow the bedtime ritual with my rather difficult but infinitely adorable son turned into an hour-and-a-half long ordeal.  I really wish I could have a regular schedule, but I write when I can, where I can, and however much I can.  If I’m on a deadline, I go to the library as soon as my husband gets home in the evenings and get a couple of hours in before it closes.  Otherwise I just take what I can get and am grateful that I’m a pretty fast writer.

In Paranormalcy, accessorizing is important to Evie.  What’s your most important accessory and why?

Flip-flops.  I simply can’t live without them and can’t abide other shoes.  I really ought to go for heels since I’m severely lacking in height, but my aversion to socks and discomfort is too strong.  It’s a good thing I live in San Diego and can wear sandals year-round!  It’s funny because Evie is very girly (in a positive, fun way—I don’t think it’s a bad thing) but I’m really not.  Just another example of how we are not our characters!

If you could be any paranormal creature, what would you pick and why?

I know my faeries are kind of amoral, if not downright evil, but the ability to walk between our world and the Faerie Realms and use the Paths to get to anywhere on earth they want to go at any time?  Yeah, that wouldn’t suck.

What’s the best part of being a Tenner?

It can be a scary, stressful, lonely journey figuring out this whole author thing.  It’s so nice sharing experiences with other authors and realizing we’re all floundering, learning as we go.  I’ve met so many perfectly lovely authors I never would have otherwise, and been introduced to some seriously rocking books as well!

I know just what you mean. Thanks so much for coming by, Kiersten!

And if you can’t wait to get your hands on Paranormalcy, you’re in luck. I picked up an ARC at ALA and would love to give it to a deserving reader, along with some signed Forget-Her-Nots swag. Here’s how to enter:

+ 1 entry for following me on Twitter (@amybrecountwhit)

+ 1 entry for following Kiersten on Twitter (@kierstenwhite)

+ 2 entries for friending Kiersten on Facebook

+ 2 entries for friending me on Facebook

+3 entries for telling me what’s your favorite flower and why

Good luck and please comment below with entry details.  Contest is over on 7/26 at midnight, because I’m heading on vacation. Yay! Contest is open to anyone over 13 with a U.S. mailing address. Thanks for entering.

Today I welcome fellow Tenner Christy Raedeke whose very cool book, Prophecy of Days, was released in May. Full disclosure:  I’ve not yet had a chance to read it — too many books on my nightstand — but I’m really looking forward to it. A Scottish castle, Ancient Mayan prophecies, an origami monkey — what’s not to like?! Welcome, Christy.

What’s your favorite flower and why?

My favorite flower is the Peony. Is there anything better than a handful of spring peonies in  a vase?

I adore peonies too.  In the Victorian language of flowers, they mean shame or bashfulness, but the Chinese meaning is good luck.  Let’s go with the Chinese this time!

Is there a quotation you live by or have posted at your desk?

I’ve always loved this Emerson  quote:

What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.

Which book do you wish you could live inside?

Frances Hodges Burnett’s The Secret Garden wins by a mile! One of my biggest recurring dreams is finding a door and discovering some wonderful space behind it—I think that has been entirely inspired by reading The Secret Garden as a child and wanting that so badly!

That’s one of my favorites too, as you could probably guess. Who’s your favorite dead writer and what book of his/ hers would you recommend?

My favorite dead writer is Herman Hesse. I love, love, love his coming of age novel, Demian and Siddhartha made a huge impact on me as a young person.

What book have you read more than any other and why?

It’s a tie between East of Eden, Damien, and The Fountainhead. I’m so over The Fountainhead now but for years I’d read it every fall!

How do you structure your writing time?

I have two kids, a husband, and an intense full-time job, so unfortunately “structure” and “writing time” are not words that are usually uttered in the same sentence! I write when I can steal the time, usually at night after the kids are in bed (which really cuts into my trashy TV watching time). My favorite way to write is to go to my family’s cabin for the weekend—no phone, no internet, no interruptions! I set the time for 40 minutes (a trick I learned from author Teri Hall) and write without stopping, then take a 20 minute break. I can do this for about three hours then I need to nap or take a walk before sitting down to do it again. I can get a LOT done in a weekend away.

That cabin sounds wonderful, and I’m might borrow Teri’s trick too.  How did you become interested in Mayan mysteries?

About ten years ago, I read a book called Secrets of the Talking Jaguar by Martin Prechtel, an American guy who moved to Mexico and ended up becoming a Maya shaman. That book introduced me to Maya cosmology, and once I dug deeper into that I discovered the Mayan Calendar mystery of 2012. There wasn’t much written about it back in 1999, but it completely captivated me and became the engine for what would become Prophecy of Days.

Love the origami-making monkey and the Feng Shui master. Did you intentionally give the novel an international feel?

I think we write about what we love, don’t you? We have to spend so much time with the material it would be difficult to write about things that we were not passionate about. I love travel and anything that has an international feel so naturally that was a big part of the book.

Why did you decide to set the novel in Scotland?

Well, mostly because I love everything about Scotland! I was inspired by the Isle of Skye and the big/boxy Dunvegan Castle that sits on it. I wanted a setting as far removed from the Mayalands of Mexico as possible, and a place that had a rich history with ancient cultures, sites, and symbols.

What are you working on now?

I’m taking a short writing break! I have another finished manuscript, completely different from Prophecy of Days, that I need to do a bit of revision on but I’m trying to enjoy the summer and my kids before I go on lockdown. I’ll be getting my editorial letter on Prophecy of Days, Book two: The Serpent’s Coil any day now and once I get that I’ll be on a serious revision schedule. I’m also in the dreaming stages for the next book. I have two ideas and am trying to figure out which one I’d be more passionate about writing. One would take a lot of research; the other would take some intricate plotting. I guess I’m weight the advantages/disadvantages before diving headlong into writing.

Thanks so much for the interview, Amy!

Thanks for coming by, Christy, and hope you have a wonderful summer! You can find out more about Christy and her novels here or at her blog.

Wow! Was that fun. ALA was a whirlwind weekend of authors, librarians, and great HarperCollins and Greenwillow folk. It’s a story best told in pictures:

First off, Holly Cupala. We met at the Teen Author Carnival at BEA and later offered to host interviews for each other. She’s a readergirlz diva too.  Next thing I knew, she was staying at my house for the ALA long weekend. (I did invite her!) We had nearly matching schedules, and it was so fun to hang out together. Her novel, Tell Me A Secret, just released on 6/22.  I highly recommend it, as do Deb Caletti and Ellen Hopkins! Holly is sweet, thoughtful, and always beautifully accessorized. Here we are (above) at the terrace of the W hotel after meeting lots of cool librarians at the HarperCollins breakfast and getting to wear Author, Author! buttons. The wonderful Jackie Dolamore, author of Magic Under Glass and a forthcoming mermaid novel, also stayed at my house, but I didn’t get a shot of us. I know lots were taken, so if you have one, please send it my way.

Holly and Jackie got lost on the way to the DC Kidlit night, which isn’t fun when it’s about 110 degrees out, and you have luggage. I rescued them from the horse and rider statue they had ended up at, and we had a fabulous time at the DC Kidlit drink night on Friday night. Huge thanks to Tami Lewis Brown and Sara Lewis Holmes for organizing it!! It was great fun to see Sara, Tami, Erin Murphy, Anne Marie Pace, Moira Donahue, Susan Kusel, and lots of other Kidlit locals.

After wandering through the booths on Saturday morning and picking up some great ARC’s, a bunch of Tenners met up for lunch at a tapas restaurant. Starting from the left and going clockwise, it’s me, Karen Kincy, Christina Gonzalez, Lindsey Leavitt, Holly Hoxter, Margie Gelbwasser, and Jackie. It was so fun to meet everyone in person and exchange writing adventures and misadventures. We ordered the unlimited tapas and had TONS of yummy food, but I didn’t want to eat anytime soon.

Except I did. Next up was a fantastic party at the home of Tami Lewis Brown to celebrate Katherine Patterson and the Vermont College writing program. Wow, was that party star-studded!! My highlight was getting to meet Carrie Jones and actually having a conversation with Nancy Werlin. I picked up her latest ARC, Extraordinary, and can’t wait to read it. I really enjoyed Impossible.

I’m thinking about having a very fun ALA ARC giveaway soon, so stay tuned. (I also got both Elizabeth Scott’s latest releases, although I had to do a double-take at one booth, as in … why is the Elizabeth Scott, whom I’d just met earlier that day at another booth, signing books for someone named Ivy Devlin. Duh, paranormal pseudonym.)

A subplot of my ALA weekend was that my husband was out of town, so I had to keep changing from author hat to mommy and back again. Holly and I had to detour back to Arlington (giving Pam, aka MotherReader, a ride to the metro) to pick up my son and his date and take them to Toy Story 3. (He doesn’t drive yet.) Holly was such a great sport! Then Holly and I met up with an amazing bunch of writers, librarians, and bloggers who had waited patiently for us at Austin Grill. Here’s the gang:

(from left: author Jeri Smith-Ready, Holly, teen librarian Tiffany, James (Book Chic), and author Stephanie Kuehnert)

And here I am with two of my favorite teen librarians, Drea, aka Book Blather, and Sarah, aka GreenBeanTeenQueen.

I also saw Harmony, a force behind Bring YA to PA, all over, including at the dinner. Here we are at the Harper booth in front of a poster for the amazing Lynn Rae Perkins’ new novel.  She’s a Greenwillowian too:

I spent Sunday morning giving our golden doodle, Jessie, a long walk and making blueberry pancakes before I deserted my kids to play author again. My signing was at 2:30, and the books were gone – poof - by 2:50. I was thrilled to see FHN so prominently displayed on the shelf in the HarperCollins booth. I got to hang out with my editor, Virginia Duncan, too. Here’s me on my signing high:  (notice book directly overhead)

Holly had her first-ever signing right after mine, so I hung out with some eager bloggers and HarperCollins folk for awhile. Then Holly and I jumped into my car to head to the Newbery Ball — I mean, banquet. We so elegantly changed in the restroom and then had a quiet glass of wine in the hotel bar and discovered that we had even more in common.  Holly and I were both interviewed on the SCBWI red carpet, which was great fun. I forgot to take pictures.

I’m a huge fan of Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me, so I was thrilled that she was charming, witty, and warm in her speech. As a special treat, I got to sit next to Mary Quattlebaum, an author buddy from my Washington Post days.

We headed back down to the booths on Monday morning, but we were all feeling a bit glazed. I’m still a bit glazed, but excited to share a couple more shots:

Mitali (Perkins) and Mitali (MitaliandMe on twitter). I picked up a signed copy of Bamboo People and have heard it’s powerful. And another highlight was meeting the REAL John Green while he was standing in line and waiting to sign Heidi Kling’s Sea. (She’s in the background with her editor.) Pretty darn cool, and he was very nice and even congratulated me on publishing my book.

Right now, I’m exhausted after a very fun event last night at Stifel and Capra, a cool and ecletic store in Falls Church, VA. Next time I’ll have to leave my daughter at home, though. She found a few too many irresistables.

I feel like a chapter in my life has just ended, because I don’t have any more events until late July (in Ann Arbor and Leland, MI). I’m taking a much-needed break from the public life, although you can still find me here when I come out of my author/ researcher cave. And I’ll leave you with this lovely shot taken at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. (I visited their exhibit on Emily Dickinson and the language of flowers during my BEA excursion. Food for thought.)

This is my first ever ALA, and I can’t wait. It’s right here in D.C., and  there’s a party almost every night — one starting in about an hour, in fact. I’m so excited to hang out with my writer buddies and meet some wonderful librarians. Friday night, I’ll be at the Mid-Atlantic SCBWI’s Kidlit drink night. Saturday, I’ll head to the HarperCollins Fiction breakfast with Holly Cupala, David McGinnis Gill, and other awesome authors. A bunch of Tenners I’ve never met — Lindsey Leavitt, Christina Gonzalez, Holly Hoxter, Jessica Leader, and Jackie Dolamore –are gathering for lunch, and then onto the Convention Center Halls to snag some ARCs and gawk at books and famous authors.

If you’re in town, I’d love to see you on Sunday between 2:30 and 3 pm at the HarperCollins booth where I’ll be signing copies of FHN. And I am super-excited to be attending the Newbery Banquet with the DC Kidlit group on Sunday night. I’m a huge fan of When You Reach Me and can’t wait to hear Rebecca Stead speak.

Hope you can make it and that our paths cross!!

In other news, the marketing maven, Saundra Mitchell, sent our picture into Children’s Bookshelf from a recent books & co. event in Dayton, Ohio, and we made this issue.  Dude, you rock!

And congrats to Jessica, aka Confessions of a Bookaholic, for winning the ARC of Holly Cupala’s Tell Me A Secret in my recent contest.

I am thrilled to be the second stop on Holly Cupala’s blog tour for her debut novel, Tell Me a Secret. I had the privilege of reading this one early. It’s thoughtful, layered, unique, and so authentic. You’ll be instantly swept into Miranda’s — aka Rand’s — complicated world and want to stay there through the very last page. Holly herself is lovely and sweet in person, and I’m looking forward to hanging out with her at ALA later this month here in D.C.

I’m also excited to be able to give away an ARC of Tell Me a Secret to celebrate its pending release. (See below for details to enter.)  Welcome, Holly!

What’s your favorite flower and why?

It’s hard to pick a favorite! Big, chunky poppies are so scrumptious, as are peonies. I love simple daisies. I have this beautiful blue rose bush in my garden that I haven’t managed to kill yet, even with my black thumb. Maybe…snapdragons? Or lilacs? Lithodora? Is there a classification for multiple flower personality disorder…?

You can never have too many flowers.  And blue roses… cool!

Is there a quotation you live by or have posted at your desk?

My favorite quote comes via my librarian friend, Jackie Parker (http://interactivereader.blogspot.com):

“You want weapons? We’re in a library! Books! The best weapons in the world! This room’s the greatest arsenal we could have…arm yourselves! ”

~The Doctor (#10) in Dr. Who “Tooth and Claw”

Love that one !  Which book do you wish you could live inside?

When I was younger, I would have gladly lived inside The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende—I read it no fewer than a dozen times. It’s so rich and layered, the journey with love as its object.   Now, it’s any book that has utterly captured my attention. At the moment, it’s Adios, Nirvana, a debut novel by Conrad Wesselhoeft coming out in October. Gorgeous.

I’ll look for it.  Love the title.  Who’s your favorite dead writer? (We don’t want to hurt the feelings of the living here!)

Italo Calvino. But if he were alive, he would still be my favorite! He wrote these amazing novels of the fantastic —every one of them different and more brilliant and fascinating than the last. My favorite is Invisible Cities, an imaginary conversation between Marco Polo and Kublai Kahn. He was writing a book on writing, Six Memos for the Next Millennium, and died before he could finish the sixth essay. True confession: there are a couple of clandestine references in Tell Me a Secret.

I knew we had lots in common.  I’m a big Italo Calvino fan too!

What book do you wish you had written and why?

I would say Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, but then only Laurie could write that book. It’s an arterial root in the YA tree. So instead, I’ll say the next book! My agent and editor are really excited about it, and I’m a little nervous. It will be a stretch, somewhere I’ve never gone before—very intense, with a lot of surprises. It would be lovely for it to already be written instead of yet to be!

What do you wish a fellow writer could have told you long ago?

That’s sort of like asking why nobody told you that pregnancy was the easiest part of being a parent! What I’d really love to know now is how any of them manage to write after they sell a book. Of course, we could ask the same thing about writing after joining Facebook…

LOL, but I do love FB.  Did you draw on any of your own teen experiences for Tell Me a Secret?

A few of my teen experiences, and a lot of my college experiences. Most of the events in TMAS are fictional…with a few notable exceptions, my friends—who are sworn to secrecy —will tell you! But I remember the emotions of those years very vividly. I remember relationships and friendships and longing quite clearly, and I tried to draw on those memories.

The emotions of the novel feel very real!  Who was the most difficult character to write?

I think probably Miranda, the main character, because she’s so complex. She has so much going on—grief and fear and desire and love and hope, against the backdrop of some intense secondary characters…a wild sister, a suffocating mother, manipulating friends, and mysterious men. Perhaps the strongest character of all is the one who helps save her in the end. Miranda has to navigate all of these voices to find out who she is.

Thanks so much for dropping by, Holly! Best of luck with the launch!

And, if you want to get to know Holly up close and personal, check out this video. She even sings! Be sure to stop by her blog on June 22, her book b-day, for lots of fun prizes and partying! You can find the full tour schedule here. She is hosting awesome contests and giveaways for the entire tour, so be sure to comment to enter.

Next on Holly’s tour is my good buddy and all-around sweetheart, James, at Book Chic.

Giveaway Rules:

You can enter to win my ARC of TMAS by doing the following:

- 1 entry for following @hollycupala on Twitter

- 1 entry for following me @amybrecountwhit on Twitter

- 2 entries for tweeting/retweeting about this contest

- 3 entries for becoming a fan of Forget-Her-Nots on Facebook here

-3 entries for becoming a fan of Tell Me A Secret on Facebook here

- 5 entries for posting this contest on your blog

Please comment on this post with your entry details to enter.  Thanks!!

Fine Print:  You must be 13 years old to enter and live in the U.S.

When I first approached the public relations director at Books and Co., The Greene, in Beavercreek, Ohio, about doing a tussie-mussie demonstration and signing, she was intrigued, but hesitant. When I upped the ante and told her I could assemble a four-author panel of YA authors, she was excited.

Turns out that YA Author panel idea is a great one. Even up against a new episode of GLEE, we had over 30 people come out on a rainy Tuesday night to listen and buy our books. A lot of our books.  Woo hoo!

And we all had a fabulous time talking about our books, plotting v. pantsing, content and language in YA, and why we write YA. Here’s the gang:

As Saundra observed, we are one Elevensie (Sara Bennett Wealer), four Tenners (Julie Kagawa, me, Kay Cassidy, and Kristina McBride), and a Deb (Saundra Mitchell.) Sara and Kristina came out to meet us and cheer us on.

It was so great to meet these awesome authors, and special congrats to Saundra on the release of Shadowed Summer in paperback!

Next stop for me, Cincinnati at Joseph-Beth on Saturday, June 12th at 2 pm. It will seem a little lonely up there, as I’m flying solo this time.

My dad always thought I was a little nuts to major in “big books” as he called it.  The Program of Liberal Studies, as it is officially called, wasn’t practical enough for him. Its completion guaranteed nothing other than knowing lots of answers to obscure questions about Kant or The Bhagavad Gita. We always joked we were good at cocktail party conversation.  But I LOVED it.  I adored the range of learning and the breadth of studying human history — math, philosophy, literature — from an historical perspective. The challenging primary texts and small classes made me think and articulate and dream.

My biggest dream? Why becoming a published author, of course!

So this weekend, I am thrilled to be signing at my alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, for my reunion weekend. It feels like a homecoming and a completion. I’m so grateful for the people who taught me there, for the books I read, and for the friendships I made there, including my husband.

And my dad? He wasn’t such a curmudgeon. He’s also the one who once gave me a card of a kid fishing in a puddle on the street outside his suburban home.  He told me it reminded him of my desire to be a writer. Which might not be so great, except that the stubborn and hopeful kid has a bucket full of fish next to him. (That card is now framed and hanging next to my desk.)  So while I’m at ND, I will lift a glass to my dad who passed away too many years ago, to bottomless puddles of ideas, and to coming full circle.

It was crazy wonderful to hang out with so many amazing writers, bloggers, editors, and publicists for three whole days in NYC. Here are a few of the highlights:

Meeting up with Sharon of SharonLovesBooksandCats at the amazing Strand Bookstore. Here’s a shot of Sharon and Steph of StephSuReads next to my book on the shelves. Yay!

About an hour later and after some book scores, Sarah Darer Littman and I headed to Teen Author Carnival at the lovely Jefferson Market Branch Library. Huge thanks to the amazingly organized organizers – bloggers Mitali Dave, Devyn Burton, and Korianne Wey. I was on the “Real Life” panel with a bunch of amazing writers, including Sarah, Lauren Oliver, Barry Lyga, Jon Skovron, Sara Mylnowski, Stephanie Kuehnert, Ned Vizzini, Courtney Scheinmel, and Melissa Walker. Our panel really gelled, and I had so much fun chatting and getting to know all of them. Hope our paths cross again!

After we had three sessions of excellent Q and A’s, we went into the signing area. I left my brain somewhere and forgot to bring my lovely swag to pass out, which was doubly unfortunate, because I was standing next to Linda Gerber who had brought ARC’s to pass out and sign and had a huge line. It took me about ten minutes to figure out that they were ARC’s and free.

I was thrilled to meet Emma, a twitter buddy, aka @sekritemusister or her blog, Booking Through 365. Vania of Reverie Book Reviews and my awesome swag designer came by to say hello.  And I also got to meet Kristi, the Story Siren, and give her a big hug. Here’s a shot with Mitali, me, and Kristi. I’m the one wearing flowers — kind of a theme with me.

Other highlights included meeting my Tenner and critique buddy, Denise Jaden, author of the forthcoming Losing Faith.  Denise and I were on the same wave-length, because I seemed to run into her everywhere. I also had drinks at the literary mecca, the Algonquin Hotel, with Tenner buddies, Jen Nadol, Dia Reeves, and Jackie Dolamore. Jackie and I crossed paths frequently, and I had a great time getting to know her.  She has an amazing mermaid book coming out next spring … more later. Jackie and I parted ways on Thursday when I couldn’t resist a signed audio version of Rick Riordan’s The Red Pyramid and she went off in search of a graphic novel for her beau. It was also fabulous to see “old” blogger friends, like James aka Book Chic and Susan of WastePaperProse. I also got to meet bloggers in person, including Khy, the Frenetic Reader, and Sarah of Sarah’s Random Musings.

Here’s a shot of Denise and me at BEA.

I also spent lots of time with the wonderful Irene Latham, author of Leaving Gee’s Bend, including a visit to the American Folk Art Museum, which was very cool. Jame Richards, author of Three Rivers Rising, another Tenner buddy, joined us for the museum and lunch. Here’s Irene in front of a very cool quilt.

My signing on the last day was amazing. I had a huge line of people for Forget-Her-Nots, and it was fun to meet librarians, bloggers, and book-lovers who were all excited to meet me. Toward the end, they had to tell me to sign faster and write less so we could get to everyone, which my publicist said was a great thing.

In short, it was a whirl of friends, books, laughter, and lots of walking. I’d do it again in a heartbeat!

I just can’t believe that I’m leaving for BEA on Monday. I am so thrilled to be a part of Teen Author Carnival on Monday at 5 pm the Jefferson Market Branch Library.  I’m on the Real Teen Life panel with some amazing authors — Sarah Mylnowski, Lauren Oliver, Jon Scovron, Barry Lyga, Melissa Walker, and more!!  Wow, I can’t wait. And I have so many Tenner buddies to meet, too!

If you’re at BEA and want our schedules to intersect, please tweet me (@amybrecountwhit) or send an email to amybrecountwhite@gmail.com. I’m also planning to hang out at the New York Botanical Garden to see their exhibit on Emily Dickinson’s garden and the poetry of flowers.  Sounds right up my alley, and I’ll be sure to post about it.

On Thursday, I’ll be signing at Table #21 at 3 pm.  I’d love to see you, so please stop by.