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Monday, June 27, 2011

Authoress's Great Escape

Hello!  I'm still a bit discombobulated, but it's good to be back.

I think.

Transitions can be tricky, yes?  So I'm kicking off my Big Return with a pictorial history of my awesome vacation.  Because it was crammed with memorable moments, and a few of them are share-able.

Our first stop, after parking for the night at the home of Mr. A's relatives, was an IN-THE-FLESH MEETING WITH JODI MEADOWS.  Not that we were excited to discover that we actually AREN'T the same person.  And that we could, yanno, TALK TO instead of TYPE AT each other.


We met in the parking lot of a local diner, and of course I couldn't wait to plop my red hat onto Jodi's head.  You can see how reluctant she was to try it on.

After a loooooong breakfast (my coffee got so cold that we asked the waitress to nuke it), we headed to the bookstore, where we met up with Ricki Schultz. Okay, it was a little weird being introduced as "Authoress." So I told her my name.

If you try to wheedle it out of her, I will hunt you down.

Anyway, Ricki looks WAY better in the hat than I ever could, don't you think?


And of course, I had to capture the uber-cuteness of Writerly Girls in Hats, just because:


Naturally I had to get in front of the camera, too.  See that flash-drained book?  That's the brand-new-shiny copy of Elana Johnson's POSSESSION I bought while visiting with Jodi and Ricki.  Totally appropriate purchase, don't you think?


And if that's not enough proof that Jodi and I are actually NOT the same person, maybe this will be:


After bidding farewell to Ricki and making my purchase, I made my way to Jodi's house, where I was, with much trepidation, introduced to her Ferret Army.

Clearly my feet are attractive to the long-bodied, hairy type.  Or maybe it was my Birkies.  At any rate, the silly little things won me over in very short order.

This is the part where I publicly apologize to Jodi for maligning ferretkind:

I'M SORRY FOR MALIGNING FERRETKIND.

Because, yes.  They are extremely cute and friendly.  Even when they are biting bits of me.

Regardless of the fact that favoritism might be damaging to ferrets, I was definitely fondest of Bobby, who was too small to wear my hat.  So it wore him instead.


Before it was time for me to leave, Jodi taught me how to--wait for it--spin.  As in, fiber into yarn.  As in, the kind of thing my fingers and brain aren't designed for.

But I did it!! And only because Jodi is a patient and attentive teacher.  And a master of spinning and all-things-yarnish in her own right.

Here is my wee skein, of which I am measurelessly proud:


My delightful Jodivisit was followed by a few days at my parents' home, which was followed by an entire week at the shore.  My heart, soul, spirit, and about half of my brain are still there.


Yep.  Birkies and beach.  The above photo sums up the week.  I can only add that there is something about the ocean that lubricates my mind.  I spent the earliest part of each morning alone on the beach, and part of that time was spent plotting.  I can honestly say that I didn't have a single bout of blank staring.  Not one!  Which proves that I should be living by the ocean.

The pain of leaving my favorite beach town was softened by my trip to New York, which was the last Big Exciting Thing on my agenda.  I met Josh at the sparkly-new Hannigan Salky Getzler Agency, where he introduced me to his delightful assistant Maddie Raffel, who deserves to have been photographed but was, sadly, overlooked.  You can get a peek at her adorableness, though, by following her on Twitter.

I spared Josh the humiliation of wearing the hat in the restaurant, but nabbed him after lunch for the Josh-In-Hat photo shoot.

Honestly, I DIDN'T tell him how to pose.  He just owned the moment.


Of course, Josh isn't the one who needs to stay anonymous.  So here's the faceful version:


Can't you just hear him saying, "Look at my new digs! AWESOME, huh?"

And, yeah. Those are stuffed muppets on his desk. (I didn't ask.)

Anyway, it's always interesting to see if you "click" with someone in real life, right?  Jodi was a no-brainer; we spend so much online time together that it's almost like we're in the same room already.  Not to mention the cell phone squeeing during peak moments in our lives -- like the sale of her book last June and my signing with Josh in December.

My relationship with Josh, on the other hand, has consisted of a few phone calls, a steady slew of emails, and occasional Facebook banter.  It could've gone either way.  As in, "Wow, this guy is NOTHING like the way he portrays himself online!" or "Yep, he's totally the Josh I know."

You guessed it.  He's totally the Josh I know.  And I'm certain (yet again, as ever) that I've signed with the right agent.

I have no idea if he had a similar response to meeting me.  You'll have to ask him.

And, yeah.  One more picture.  With BOTH of us.  But you know I can't REALLY let you see me.  Not yet!

So here it is--Josh and the Ghostly Authoress:


There you have it!  And now I'm back to business as usual.  Thanks for hanging around while I was gone!  Now, what should we do next...?

26 comments:

  1. This was fab. I haven't gone anywhere personally in, like, FOREVER, so I travel through other people's pics. Thanks for sharing. (PS Your skein is marvelous. Sure you don't want to get a sheep so you can spin your own wool?)

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  2. I might get a sheep (or preferably an alpaca) if someone else will clean up the poop. :D

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  3. Welcome back! That is an awesome hat.

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  4. We had the best time, didn't we, Sparkleflower? *misses*

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  5. AA!!!!!!! I can't believe you posted that!! :D

    So much fun meeting you and *ahem* learning your name. I feel like one of the cool kids! And don't worry; I've vaulted it. Your secret's safe with me. ;)

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  6. Looks like you had a wonderful vacation. And I agree, there is something about writing by the ocean, the words just seem to flow.

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  7. I love seeing pictures of you! You and Jodi both look fabulous in that hat.

    Have a wonderful summer!

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  8. Thanks for sharing - and so glad you're back! Your comments about the beach make me even more excited for my upcoming lakeside vacation. I'm looking forward to the serenity and time to think.

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  9. so, all I can say about this is a boring-but-extremely-sincere-and-enthusiastic <3 <3 <3 !!!

    But then, you and The Jodester already know how much I adore you, so perhaps that's unnecessary.

    Ames

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  10. Ahhh your anonymity is so seamless! Every picture; every post...

    Awesome to have you back! And yeah, there's just something about the ocean...

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  11. Looks so fun. Especially the beach! *jealous!*

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  12. I agree, the beach is awesome for the brain. I think it has something to do with the movement of waves and the white noise. Glad you had a great trip!!

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  13. Fun photos and vacation spiel! Welcome back. We missed you.

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  14. Delightful photos. Love your graceful ways of maintaining the anonymity.

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  15. Sounds like an awesome vacation! Welcome back though. It's been too quiet without you.

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  16. Glad to hear you're back! Your trip sounded wonderful and thank you for the photos :-)

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  17. Looks like you had a ton of fun! (And who doesn't love the beach?)

    Also, I'd just like to take this moment and say hello; I'm a new follower, and love your blog (happened upon it last night)!

    Welcome back!

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  18. Welcome back!

    I'm guessing you got some weird looks at the bookstore with all those pictures of the red hat, hiding behind books, and turning your back on the camera! :P

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  19. The ocean AND ferrets. It doesn't get much better than that!

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  20. Eee, ferrets. I don't think they're allowed in this country any more than snakes are, but they're so darn cute! The one in the hat is just gorgeous.

    Oh ... and welcome back! ^_^

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  21. ohhhhh...boyyyyy.

    Well, between the Sleuthfest pink boa and the Authoress red hat, I may win Most Shameless...

    Wonderful to see you, MS A!

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  22. Back when I was stalking you? The pink boa terrified me. ;)

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  23. Wonderful! I'm jealous of you getting to meet your writing buddy in real life - I want to do that too!

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  24. Personally I'm a little bit let down that you didn't bring along the black sequined dress for Josh to wear too. I think he needs to be able to comprehend the awe-inspiring wonder that is Authoress! (hee hee hee).

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  25. C.M. -- I didn't want to scare him away. :)

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