Still home

Took a 4-hour nap. Puttered. Watched baseball. Unpacked. Sorted through a wodge of catalogs and junk mail.

This was my first Novelists Inc Conference, and it won't be my last. Three days of agent-editor roundtables and presentations, capped off by a fantastic talk by Lou Aronica about the business and self-development from the point of view of the multipubbed writer. It's my understanding that he's been confirmed for the 2009 conference, which will take place in St Louis in late September, and he's worth the price of admission. Other good talks centered around graphic novels (GB Tran, Alisa Kwitney, and Dallas Middaugh), and taking chances with your writing and your career (Jennifer Crusie and her editor, Jennifer Enderlin).

The Affinia Manhattan was a great hotel in every respect but the internet access--nice staff, nice rooms, and a cool restaurant. They even offered a "pillow menu," a selection of different pillows ranging from hypoallergenic to the one I opted for, a "sound pillow" which contained a connection for an iPod or other music device. If I woke up during the night, I put on Handel's Water Music, and drifted off before the end of the first piece. It was really nice.

Mealtimes were made easy for we first-timers--Ninc vets set out sign-up sheets for lunch and dinner so that no one would be stuck fending for themselves. Ate in a couple of Irish pubs. But Sunday night dinner proved the best, when a very nice lady whose name I can't remember (gah (it were Rosemary Heim!)) introduced Pari Noskin Taichert, Pati Nagle, and I me** to Patsy's, the Murray Hill location. I had the best Pasta e Fagioli I have ever had, along with a glass of Kris Pinot Grigio . I admt that I got it because of the name, but it turned out to be very, very nice. I'm not usually a fan of Pinot Grigios--the ones I've had struck me as pretty weak--but this was good. Must find out if it's sold locally.

The conference ended with a Dead Dog party--everyone brought drinks or snacks and came dressed in their favorite writing clothes, which in some cases turned out to be PJs. Much laughter, resulting in one visit from hotel security due to a complaint.

Then came bed, way too late, followed by a 4am wake-up call. 45 minutes later, I was in a cab on the way to Newark Airport. Came home to cold, fog, and rain.

**words are my life. Grammar, not so much.

Still home

Took a 4-hour nap. Puttered. Watched baseball. Unpacked. Sorted through a wodge of catalogs and junk mail.

This was my first Novelists Inc Conference, and it won't be my last. Three days of agent-editor roundtables and presentations, capped off by a fantastic talk by Lou Aronica about the business and self-development from the point of view of the multipubbed writer. It's my understanding that he's been confirmed for the 2009 conference, which will take place in St Louis in late September, and he's worth the price of admission. Other good talks centered around graphic novels (GB Tran, Alisa Kwitney, and Dallas Middaugh), and taking chances with your writing and your career (Jennifer Crusie and her editor, Jennifer Enderlin).

The Affinia Manhattan was a great hotel in every respect but the internet access--nice staff, nice rooms, and a cool restaurant. They even offered a "pillow menu," a selection of different pillows ranging from hypoallergenic to the one I opted for, a "sound pillow" which contained a connection for an iPod or other music device. If I woke up during the night, I put on Handel's Water Music, and drifted off before the end of the first piece. It was really nice.

Mealtimes were made easy for we first-timers--Ninc vets set out sign-up sheets for lunch and dinner so that no one would be stuck fending for themselves. Ate in a couple of Irish pubs. But Sunday night dinner proved the best, when a very nice lady whose name I can't remember (gah (it were Rosemary Heim!)) introduced Pari Noskin Taichert, Pati Nagle, and I me** to Patsy's, the Murray Hill location. I had the best Pasta e Fagioli I have ever had, along with a glass of Kris Pinot Grigio . I admt that I got it because of the name, but it turned out to be very, very nice. I'm not usually a fan of Pinot Grigios--the ones I've had struck me as pretty weak--but this was good. Must find out if it's sold locally.

The conference ended with a Dead Dog party--everyone brought drinks or snacks and came dressed in their favorite writing clothes, which in some cases turned out to be PJs. Much laughter, resulting in one visit from hotel security due to a complaint.

Then came bed, way too late, followed by a 4am wake-up call. 45 minutes later, I was in a cab on the way to Newark Airport. Came home to cold, fog, and rain.

**words are my life. Grammar, not so much.

Gee, thanks

As I said before, upon arrival at O'Hare, I was greeted by rain and a very low ceiling. Think fog and clouds just about on the ground. I don't watch descents because they tend to make me squirrelly--don't like to fly, me--but I could see the whiteness out of the corner of my eye--because even though I don't like to fly and don't watch descents, or take-offs, for that matter, I always ask for a seat by the window don't ask me WHY--and braced for the turbulance the pilot warned might be coming. Felt a big *BUMP*, and thought, this should be fun, then looked out the window to see we had landed. Clouds all the way from NYC, and one of the smoothest flights ever. Go figure.

The 4-hour nap messed me up. I didn't get to bed until after 1, and lay awake listening to the wind. Finally drifted off around 2, only to be awakened less than an hour later by flashes and beeps. Took me a minute to realize that the power was flickering. It finally went out around quarter to three, and I got to lie there and listen to the silence of my sump pump not pumping. No, I haven't had the battery back-up installed yet--I didn't want to get into that until I got back. So, got up and pulled out all the computer and UPS cords to stop the beeping. Avoided looking in the basement because I didn't want to know. Walked halfway down the basement steps and looked. No water. Yet. Went back to bed because there really wasn't anything I could do. I was tired by this point, but I couldn't fall asleep because I was waiting for the power to come back on. I mean, I went through this last summer, knew things were better this time around, potential basement flood-wise--the rain had stopped several hours before, and the water wasn't running into the reservoir all that quickly. But still, there had been some seepage in the usual areas and so I was concerned.

Thought I heard the rumble of large trucks. Less than an hour later, the power came back on. Plugged everything back in, made sure it all worked. Checked the basement, which was still dry. Figured this was just my house's way of saying "WELCOME HOME!" and went back to bed.

Gee, thanks

As I said before, upon arrival at O'Hare, I was greeted by rain and a very low ceiling. Think fog and clouds just about on the ground. I don't watch descents because they tend to make me squirrelly--don't like to fly, me--but I could see the whiteness out of the corner of my eye--because even though I don't like to fly and don't watch descents, or take-offs, for that matter, I always ask for a seat by the window don't ask me WHY--and braced for the turbulance the pilot warned might be coming. Felt a big *BUMP*, and thought, this should be fun, then looked out the window to see we had landed. Clouds all the way from NYC, and one of the smoothest flights ever. Go figure.

The 4-hour nap messed me up. I didn't get to bed until after 1, and lay awake listening to the wind. Finally drifted off around 2, only to be awakened less than an hour later by flashes and beeps. Took me a minute to realize that the power was flickering. It finally went out around quarter to three, and I got to lie there and listen to the silence of my sump pump not pumping. No, I haven't had the battery back-up installed yet--I didn't want to get into that until I got back. So, got up and pulled out all the computer and UPS cords to stop the beeping. Avoided looking in the basement because I didn't want to know. Walked halfway down the basement steps and looked. No water. Yet. Went back to bed because there really wasn't anything I could do. I was tired by this point, but I couldn't fall asleep because I was waiting for the power to come back on. I mean, I went through this last summer, knew things were better this time around, potential basement flood-wise--the rain had stopped several hours before, and the water wasn't running into the reservoir all that quickly. But still, there had been some seepage in the usual areas and so I was concerned.

Thought I heard the rumble of large trucks. Less than an hour later, the power came back on. Plugged everything back in, made sure it all worked. Checked the basement, which was still dry. Figured this was just my house's way of saying "WELCOME HOME!" and went back to bed.

photos

I made it a point to take my camera. Made sure I had a new battery. Took 13 pictures, total, and a few of them were repeats.

I'm reluctant to pull out the camera. I think it screams "ewww--tourist!" And of course, it's my loss. I would have liked more images of the city.

( behind the cut, as a mercy to the f-list )

photos

I made it a point to take my camera. Made sure I had a new battery. Took 13 pictures, total, and a few of them were repeats.

I'm reluctant to pull out the camera. I think it screams "ewww--tourist!" And of course, it's my loss. I would have liked more images of the city.

( behind the cut, as a mercy to the f-list )