BEA 2011: Tuesday Part III

Okay, Reader. This will be the LAST post I write on Tuesday of BEA 2011. Promise. Geez, Tuesday was a full day, huh?

So, when we left off last time, I was standing in an almost empty aisle, promoting my last book of the day on very sore feet with an empty glass of champagne in my hand.

Then I met up with my friends at Soho Press to help them setup for the party! But first, we had to eat.

We went to a nice Mexican place, the name of which I can't remember. The important things to know are these: the sangria was amazing and they made guacamole fresh at the table for you! I have labeled the photo I took for emphasis.I could have drank sangria and eaten guacamole all night! It was so fun to have dinner with some of the lovely and talented ladies of Soho Press, including author Cara Black, my temporary roommate.

After dinner, we headed over to the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, where Soho's 25th Anniversary Party was held. It was SUCH an amazing space. Of course as soon as we got there, I locked my enormous bag with my camera in a back room so I have no photos. I borrowed a couple from the internet to show you.
This is the outside of the building. Do you not love it?? I snagged this photo from a cool website called Bookstore People, which reviews independent bookstores. I love stumbling onto cool websites!

Here's another shot of the inside of the cafe. I borrowed this image from the flickr account for NewYorkDailyPhoto.com

I started drooling when I saw the staircase. The bookstore is a creaky, dark wood, two floored fantasy, complete with a BAR and incredibly nice, smart, and helpful staff. I bet that when they aren't assisting customers or hosting book events, most of them are working on books of their own.

The Housing Works Bookstore Cafe is actually part of the larger Housing Works organization, which is dedicated to raising money for and awareness of AIDS and homelessness. To quote their site, "Since our founding, we have provided lifesaving services, such as housing, primary care, job training, and legal help, to more than 20,000 homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS."

Bookstore + a Good Cause + Soho Press 25th Anniversary Party = One Awesome Night!

Right?

Well, of course. It also equals a room full of industry professionals I didn't know. Eek. I am not great at mingling. I have this thing where I don't want to "burden" anyone or "be in the way." I inherited this from my grandmother. So first I went into Editorial Assistant mode and helped set up the food. More and more people flooded the cafe. I couldn't see the few faces I knew. My first thought was to hide in a corner. Then I thought, "get a drink first."

Right. Drink first, then find a corner. This was like freshman year of college all over again except at that time I would have just held the beer (without drinking it) so no one would ask me if I wanted a drink (non drinking college kids out there, this trick really works!). So I elbowed my way to the open bar and got a beer that I had never heard of before. It tasted like...beer. Okay, now I just needed a corner to hide in...

I turned around and bumped into Juliet! A friendly face! It was a good feeling. Juliet introduced me to her lovely friend the Shameful Baker. Then another friendly face, my friend Faye from Sirens, appeared. Thankfully, both women were tired and not entirely eager to work the crowd. We managed to find an open table upstairs where we could talk books while watching the crowd below. The Shameful Baker's agent friend showed up, so the four of us hung out and had a great time!

I had such an amazing time talking books with these women. We seemed to have similar reading tastes, which was so much fun, including Fantasy and Young Adult. In my life I've had very few female friends who read the same books as me, so I'm so grateful for every woman who does. I had such a good time that the party went by in a snap.

Then it was time to go. Juliet, in black patent leather heels, accidentally stole a cab from a couple cute guys. We apologized but they didn't seem to mind. Then we were off into the summer night, windows down as we drove through the lights and sounds of the city on our way home.

Coming Soon: Wednesday, in which I am reunited with a certain Author Crush from my past!