I'm Home...Sort Of

Hello, Reader! So, I'm back from Sirens and I still have internet access. Things are looking up!

I had a great time at the conference this year. The guests of honor were Justine Larbalestier (How to Ditch Your Fairy, Liar), Nnedi Okorafor (Who Fears Death, Zahrah the Wind Seeker, Akata Witch), and Laini Taylor (Lips Touch Three Times, Dreamdark, Daughter of Smoke and Bone).

Here they are (in that order, left to right)

I was especially excited about meeting Laini for a couple reasons. One, Daughter of Smoke and Bone was one of my favorite books this year. Two, I see similarities in our writing styles (not to claim I'm like her/ as good as her/ whatever, but I admire her writing). And three, she apparently is a "slow" writer like I am AND she has a cute family and seems like a happy person...like me! Or at least, that's how I'd like to be. If we could both be fast writers, that would be nice too.

It's just nice to see someone that is sort of like you. I mean, I had a major girl crush/ OMG please be my friend sort of thing for Holly Black last year, but I didn't think we were similar. She is awesome and I want to have spiked coffee with her but I am not as cool as Holly. Alas, no.

This year rather than forgo food and sleep in favor of programming, I decided to relax a little. That meant I went in the hot tub several times, spent quality time in Vail Village, and generally enjoyed myself at the luxurious Vail Cascade Hotel (GO THERE. Seriously, it's so nice!) My brain wasn't buzzing as much as last year, but I think I struck a better balance.

The weirdest thing has been coming home. First of all, it took me OVER 25 hours to get from Colorado to Maine. This was mostly because of flight times. I knew this was going to happen in advance, yet it still sucked even more than I was expecting. Not. Fun.

And then finally, huzzah! Home at last!

Except, amidst traveling to Boston two weeks ago and then Sirens, I sort of forgot that I don't really have a home yet. The place where I'm living is not permanent. And we've only been here for a couple months. Plus, as you know, a lot of my stuff is still packed up, not the least of which are our books.

So, it's not really Home.

See, I'm orbiting Bates campus. Bates, where I went to school and where the door to my life was blown open and where I felt so welcome and happy. I find myself skirting the edges when I go for a walk. It's weird. It's just, when I walk through campus, I see the ghosts of what once was. Oh, that's where I met so-and-so for the first time. That's where I did this and this and this...

It's an odd feeling. Like maybe the way Pluto feels, wandering in a familiar pattern yet not quite welcome any more by the rest of the solar system. Oh sure, Pluto can keep on keepin' on. No one is going to stop her, but none of the other planets will talk to her now, not when anyone is looking. She won't get invited to the Planetary Club after school. There's a certain social order among planets, you know. People would talk.

I promise I will catch you up on my overdue book reviews! And to make it up to you, I'm going to do a giveaway of a SIGNED copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. And I'll post some Sirens pics. And I'll perform a couple miracles too. Hell, maybe I'll even buy an ironing board.

WHO KNOWS.

I'm back, Baby. In the words of Kevin Garnett, "Anything is possible."