Meeting Agent Laura

So yesterday was my big adventure with Donna in NYC--an adventure that started for me at 6am (WAY earlier than my normal wake up time) and took off when we arrived at Pennstation at 10:30am.

After we made the trek to the Javits Center...AKA...BEA...AKA BOOK EXPO AMERICA!!!!  We entered BEA and kind of went into shock. I mean...this was BEA! OMG!!!! We got to walk around a little bit...and even step on the official BEA carpet--yeah it has its own carpet.

But meeting with Agent Laura was the real purpose.

So I went to the lobby with the Hudson News Stand as instructed and then quickly realized as 11:05 rolled around that...OMG....BEA had more than one lobby and more than one Hudson News Stand. Oh noes!

So Donna and I took off using different clues that Agent Laura was texting from her location and after asking a helpful information person and then running up and down a few sets of stairs and in and out of a few different hallways...we found the right Hudson stand!

PHEW!

And there was Agent Laura!

We've talked a lot before, but meeting in person was super cool and I just love her to pieces and couldn't be happier that we're working together. So after one official BEA lemonade for me and one BEA tea for Agent Laura, and one hours worth of the most awesome conversation ever, she returned to BEA (notice she actually has a badge that gets her inside) and I do not. So I returned to stalking from the periphery and located Donna.

And then promptly got inside a Penguin Car.

No really.

Finally, accepting that we couldn't ACTUALLY get inside BEA, not to where they were hiding the good stuff, we left to go be the biggest dorks in NY and find bookstores to play in check out.

This included finding an Indie Book Store--SCORE! That was closed--FAIL!

Another Indie Book Store--SCORE! That was only travel books--DOUBLE FAIL!

A Barnes and Noble--SCORE! (SORRY Indies)! That was so Fugly and dungeon like we had to leave--FUGLY FAIL!

But then we found Books of Wonder--WIN! And saw Allary--my favorite bookseller/student of David Levithan's! DOUBLE WIN! And there were authors there talking about their books! TRIPLE WIN! And I picked up a secret prize package for my 500 followers contest. QUADRUPLE WIN!

We also went to my favorite raw vegan take out and got Cacao Lattes which are soooo good, they make me feel dreamy. I got to order a mediterranean salad and for once didn't have to ask them to hold the cheese (such small things make me happy).

Afterwards, Donna decided she wanted something solid like bread and so we promptly walked into a Czech bakery, and Donna--not being one to beat around the bush--walked up to the cashier and said, "I want a hunk of bread!"

That's the Donna I love!

After we ate our hunks...you really can buy a hunk of bread...and I found a vanilla soy latte, and we realized for the hundredth time that OW--walking miles and miles in NYC in 90 degree weather in flips flops hurts....we headed over to Kidlit Night!

Yay!

I got to talk to Cheryl Klein again--editor extraordinaire from Arthur A. Levine Books, see a bunch of agents and editors we love and finally meet Kody Keplinger, super debut author of The Duff which I'm DYING to read. Kody was super cute and cool and knew who I was--which was crazy!

Also, besides being awesome...she got an arc of Lauren Oliver's Delirium. I seriously would like promise my first born child for a copy of this book! I already tried to bribe her for it.

Anyway check out the FNC on Friday for Donna's version of the adventure. And also....500 followers contest on the way!