The Blog

Whoops! I only just realized I hadn't done this!

If you're still following this Blog, please update your bookmarks and subscriptions! The new home of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes is:

http://www.atwaterrhodes.com/

Hope to see you there!

Those of you who frequent the Den of Shadows message board may have noticed that the board has been suspended for the last week. If you were around before then, you probably know why- for those who missed it, the board was being bombarded with so much spam I couldn't keep up with it.

The good news is that this problem has inspired me to give both the message board and website a full facelift for the first in a very long time. My goal is for the new site to be easier to manage and update, and for the new board to be accessible and welcoming to newcomers. The old board will (probably) still be available as a reference, but it will remain locked.

I say "probably" because, in order to do this, I need to update my server. The kind tech fellows at IXWebhosting will supposedly transfer all content to the shiny and new control panel, but since they warned me to back everything up before I told them to start the migration, they clearly have some concerns. I've backed everything up because I was told to, but if the board really goes down, I probably won't be able to restore it - the code is old and out of date and restoring such a huge database is a nightmare.

The official site relaunch is planned for October 31, in time for anyone who wants to join our writing community for NaNoWriMo2015 to create an account and jump on board. I hope to see you then!

I just finished rereading Fahrenheit 451 in anticipation of teaching it in my senior English class this year.

It's always interesting to read a book from the perspective of a teacher instead of just for fun. I notice things that I never noticed before – like last year, I discovered a whole new interpretation of the musical Into the Woods, which my freshman watched after they finished reading Briar Rose. (That's for different blog post, though). This time through Fahrenheit 451, I noticed a particular symbol developed throughout the book that I think will lead to an essay prompt. (That is also not the point of this post).

I can't remember when I first read 451. It wasn't a school assignment; I don't know where I got it or why I picked it up, just that I loved it. I do know I last read it before 2010, because that was when I got my first iPad and, shortly thereafter, my first iPhone. I was one of those people who resisted getting a smartphone for years. I had tried an early version in 2006- a Windows-based phone that was absolutely atrocious, and which I traded in for a "dumb" flip-phone as fast as my new-every-two would allow me- and it had soured me on the idea of a single device for phone calls, pictures, internet, music, etc. I had a camera for pictures, a computer for the internet, and a Zune for music. Why would I want one "Jack of all trades" device, which I assumed couldn't possibly do any of those things as well as a dedicated device?

These days, I get anxious if I'm separated from my iPhone for more than a few minutes. I read an article recently about how infants and young children start displaying the same behaviors in response to their parents' tablets and smart phones these days as they do in response to their parents' other children. In short, they experience sibling rivalry with our electronic devices. Disturbing, isn't it?

To return to my original topic, this was my first time reading Fahrenheit 451 since the iRevolution, since it's become almost impossible to go anywhere that is actually cut off from the constant barrage of noise, information and of course advertisements.

The novel was written in 1953. There are many aspects of the future (our modern day) that Ray Bradbury didn't predict accurately, but there are also many scenes that strike me as unsettlingly familiar. Modern news shows that seem little more than bread-and-circus, where we are barraged with a screen where there's one program going while another is highlighted in picture-in-picture format and headlines scroll across the bottom, interrupted every few minutes for commercials- some of them commercials FOR THE NEWS PROGRAM WE'RE WATCHING- and where lately there seems to be little difference between the Presidential campaign and an episode of a reality television show... Bradbury predicted it.

Bradbury didn't- in this novel- predict smart-phones. There are wonderful aspects about the modern world that he didn't foresee as well (our efforts toward gender equality seem to have taken him by surprise), but I wonder how his novel would have changed if he had realized that soon we would willingly bring the "parlor walls" and the "family" with us in our pockets? That we would pour so much real money into buying coins, gems, diamonds and other make-believe currency so we could lose hours of our lives in imaginary electronic worlds- or in something even more mindless, like crushing candy? That we could play "words with friends" and never actually meet, see or speak to said friends?

There are remarks online from Bradbury about modern cell phones ("too many") but reading those isn't the same as the conversation I wish I could have with this brilliant writer.

Next on my reading list: H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. Are you sensing a theme in this year's curriculum?

Last week was the fall equinox; last night, the temperature in the house dropped below 60 degrees and the heat kicked on (I could have toughed it out longer if it weren't for the baby).

The dogwood tree in the front yard is dropping its leaves, pumpkin and apple spice flavors have infused the world, the Patriots are playing football, and I'm wearing closed-toed shoes and sweatshirts once again. It must be autumn.

I'm a New England girl, and this is my favorite season.

I love when the swelter of summer makes way for crisp fall; when pumpkins, fancy gourds and maize suddenly fill grocery stores and farm stands; when the smell of cinnamon brooms and apple cider donuts greet me at the door to my local grocery store; and when...

I lost my train of thought. Apple cider donuts. Mmm. Fresh-made, I think those might be the best food in the entire world, and they only exist during apple picking season. The ones you find in grocery stores any other time of year aren't the same. I think I'll stop at Honey Pot Orchards to pick some up on my way to watch the game at my parents' house.

Have I mentioned chili, nachos, stews, soups, pot roast and turkey? I love the foods of autumn. Summer has watermelon, chicken salad, and fresh tomatoes of a dozen different sizes and colors- I think of tomatoes as one of nature's apologies for summer- but fall has all the warm, rich comfort dishes. Fall has candy corn, which I refuse to eat until October even though stores start selling it in August.

It's hard for me to imagine living in a place where the world doesn't completely transform with each of the seasons.

Fall is also writing season. I'm currently taking a break from desperately trying to finish revising the next novel I'm sending to my agent, which I promised I would have ready for the end of the month. Once it's in, I need to prepare for the next great adventure: National Novel Writing Month, part of what makes November the best month of the year (Thanksgiving and my daughter's birthday also help).

If I could capture the ten weeks from mid-September to the end of November in a snow globe, where I could live eternally in autumn...

I wouldn't, because what makes fall glorious is the change.

People often ask me what inspired me to write Demon in My View. Did I model the main character, Jessica, on myself? (Spoiler warning: DIMV)

I've always answered that Jessica was actually modeled on a friend of mine (named Jessica) who was an Aubrey fan and asked me to "set Aubrey up" with a character named Jessica. That's true, but until recently another inspiration had completely slipped my mind.

A reader asked me if I had ever considered using a pen name. I had, but when I published my first book, my agent and publisher convinced me to use my real name. They said it was more "writerly." I feel like there were other arguments made for each side, but I wasn't wedded to the pen name so I went with it. The reader-question reminded me of an odd and somewhat creepy coincidence that occurred shortly after I finished the first draft of In the Forests of the Night.

As I've mentioned many times in many places, Forests wasn't the first novel I ever finished; I believe it was the seventh. The first novel was titled Red Moon and featured a protagonist named Nancy Collins. It didn't have much plot and the characters were all directly inspired by my friends, but it introduced me to the Nyeusigrube vampires.

I kept developing the world and practicing the craft of writing until I finally produced Forests in 1997. For those of you who haven't read it, black roses have a special significance in Nyeusigrube. Aubrey gives one to Risika in Forests, and they appear in other ways in other books. So imagine my surprise when my friend Jessica comes in, shortly after reading the first draft of In the Forests of the Night, with this book:

A Dozen Black Roses by

Nancy A Collins

I had never heard of it, but the author's name (Nancy Collins) and the subject matter (vampires, black roses) were eerily familiar. Jessica had picked it up because she, too, noticed the coincidence and thought it was cool. If you decide to check it out, I'll forewarn you that it is very different from my work and NOT young adult (yes, I read it in middle school, but I also read Stephen King's Needful Things the same year) - the similarities are all found there on the cover.

Can you see how this started my mind pondering what would happen if my characters really were out there? I don't think Nancy from Red Moon would have made a very good novelist, but the possibilities intrigued me, so I started writing. When I got stuck and debated scrapping the story, Jessica demanded I set her up with Aubrey, and that was just the wrinkle I needed to finish Demon- and the rest is, as they say, history.

Last week I put a #ThrowbackThursday Fun Fact on my Twitter and Facebook, and it generated enough discussion I wrote a more detailed follow-up. There was further conversation after that, including the following question from a reader:

What made you decide that in the following book Aubrey would basically be the good guy (a bad boy, but still a good guy)?

Warning: Spoilers for In the Forests of the Night follow... (X-posted on Facebook)

When it comes to Aubrey's and Risika's complex relationship, In the Forests of the Night is only half the story. Someday, I would love to release a revised and extended version that includes Aubrey's point of view in addition to Risika's. Here are a few details it might include:

Pandora had claimed Alexander as a student; he had attacked Ather, and she had decided to retaliate by killing Alexander's sister Rachel. Why didn't she? Who do you think convinced her it would be better to change Rachel into a vampire instead of killing her?

After her change, when Risika was weak due to her refusal to feed, who convinced her that she needed to hunt?

Who finally baited her into fighting him, proving her strength and taking her rightful place as a force to be reckoned with among her own kind?

Aubrey has been around a couple thousand years. Do you think it's more likely he's stupid, or more likely that he's manipulative? Rachel never wanted to be a vampire, and maybe would have preferred death at Ather's hands back in 1704 (Did I get that date right? I don't have the text in front of me) but long-story-short: Aubrey saw her first, had his options limited by Ather's bloodclaim... and didn't want Rachel dead.

Try rereading In the Forests of the Night sometime with this point of view.

Long time no blog. My new goal is to put a post up once a week- we'll see how it goes.

Here in the Atwater-Rhodes household, it's the first day of school. I started back last Wednesday, but daycare and students only start today. I am very lucky to have daycare two flights of stairs below my classroom, so I can see my daughter during my breaks and be confident that she is safe and happy.

Right now, she is still sleepy and content. How do I maintain multiple full-time jobs? Setting my alarm for 4:15 in the morning is part of it. That gives me an hour to work on books or blogs before I need to wake the baby and get ready for my other work.

My current project is Mancer, a fantasy-romance trilogy I started back in 2006 and have finally decided to revise for publication. I'm intimidated, excited, terrified and optimistic all at once.

For those of you who missed it, I have a Twitter now- I'm @AtwaterRhodes. I'm not very good worth it yet, but I'm trying to keep up with it regularly, so feel free to tag me and I'll do my best to reply promptly.

As for news, it's almost September, which means it's almost time for the Boston Teen Author Festival! Please join me and many other fabulous YA authors:

Saturday, September 26th from 10am - 4pm
Cambridge Public Library
449 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02138

I hope to see you there. :)

Good luck to everyone else starting school (or already started), whether it's middle school, high school, college, or daycare for your kids. Go out and learn something!

A very good friend of mine who is also a very valued writing peer pointed out that it has been over a year since I last updated this blog, and that might give readers the impression that I am retiring.

I am not retiring. I consider Promises to Keep the official end of the "Den of Shadows" series because it makes such sweeping changes to the world, not because it is the last book I will write. The following deeper explanation could be considered slightly spoilery, but probably won't actually make much sense if you haven't read the book. If you don't want the Den of Shadows equivalent of techno-babble and possible spoilers, skip the next paragraph and move on.

"Den of Shadows" is the English translation I normally give for "Nyeusigrube." Nyeusigrube, however, is more accurately translated as, "The world of the Nyeusi." Nyeusi are all the creatures whose power comes directly from the elemental Leona- which, during the Den of Shadows series, means almost all the vampires, shapeshifters, and witches you have ever met. Up until the release of Promises, we were all living a world defined by Leona. The books that took place in this world were therefore Nyeusigrube books: Den of Shadows.

That said, the Maeve'ra Trilogy happens in 1803 and 1804 and could also be considered Den of Shadows books, so saying I'm DONE with that world is a bit of a lie. That trilogy looks back at a period in time that I have wanted to explore in fiction since I first published Shattered Mirror in 2001 and Midnight Predator in 2002: the era of the original Midnight.

What does the world look like in 1804?

Midnight is at the height of its power. New Mayhem is a baby town, still considered a backwater by most vampires and a relatively unknown entity by anyone else. The Vida, Smoke and Arun witches are huddled together in the town of Vieton; their main goal is survival, and even that looks questionable, as evidenced by the fact that the Light line was lost a century ago. The Bruja Guilds are newly formed.

The shapeshifters still have empires. The shm'Ahnmik, Shantel and Azteka are still powerful forces with extraordinary magic. An Azteka bloodwitch has the ability to boil your blood with a single touch. A Shantel sakkri can bend the laws of space and time. A jaes'shm'Ahnmik can warp reality, not to mention your mind and spirit. Yet Midnight still rules. The serpiente Diente and the avian Tuuli Thea are beholden to the vampires' empire, and even the Azteka, shm'Ahnmik and Shantel negotiate with them with wary respect.

That's where we are when Maeve'ra opens.

What about after Maeve'ra (2017)? I'm still not retiring. I have two books in rough-draft form already that I'm considering, and a couple more I'm playing with. I also have an adult fantasy trilogy I'm slowly moving in the direction of possible publication.

So why don't I update this blog more often?

I have a lot to do- including teaching, managing a household, and writing and editing those next books you ask about! If you want frequent updates from me, please log into the message board. I read new posts there all the time, and post there fairly regularly. I post to my Facebook less frequently, but again, I read comments. I am not good at replying promptly to private messages. This isn't because I don't care; I want to put attention into replying, and then I run out of time.

I read every word you send to me, even when I'm terrible about writing back. You, my readers, are my inspiration. You're why I keep publishing even though it's tough to scrape out the hours it requires to get a book ready for print. If you keep reading, I'll keep writing.

... it just won't always be on my blog.

Those of you who followed Inbox of Diana Smoke will be excited to hear that I am starting another web-based project in the near future, this one hopefully including substantially more opportunities for reader interaction and participation.

I'm hoping to start updating "Notes from the Desk of Xeke Catene" in February, after I submit the revised Bloodwitch manuscript to Random House... er, Penguin Random House (?)

Even more so than its predecessor, "Notes" will be less of a single, coherent story. Instead, I am hoping to make it a platform for reader-driven exploration of Nyeusigrube. I have no idea how this will go. Let's find out together, shall we?

For more information, you can check out the Blue-X site, or the message board forum. If you haven't yet read Inbox of Diana Smoke, I recommend you check that out, as well- it tells a lot about the events between All Just Glass and Poison Tree.

Nyeusigrube has suffered a great loss.

One of the hardest parts of living as a public person is the effort to separate the personal from the public. Private struggles generally manifests online as a period of silence, or a series of inane, meaningless posts as the public professional struggles to conceal private pain.

I was not sure at first whether this qualified as something that should be shared with you, my readers, or something that should be kept private. I consulted friends. I reeled in shock. In the end, I did not know what to say about anything- about my writing, my world, my career- unless I can share this with you. Saying nothing seemed callous and unfeeling.

You do not know it, but you too have suffered a loss.

If you haven't already, you should read through the "Publishing" post in the On Writing section of this site- particularly the third part, which details the actions of one man, who made it possible for me to share my world with you. Without him, you and I would never have met. Whatever inspiration and insight you may have taken from my work- entertainment, if nothing else- never would have occurred. This is why you deserve to know.

Tom Hart, my agent of fourteen years, the man who took a chance on a shy thirteen-year-old girl and enabled the Den of Shadows, Keisha'ra and Maeve'ra series, has passed away. Nyeusigrube is a colder and darker place without him.

I will try to make this spoiler-free.

I needed to make a decision yesterday: The Hobbit, or Les Mis? This ended up being an easy decision, because my wife brought home the soundtrack to the Les Mis movie, and I spent the entire listening-time ranting, raving and generally staring- aghast- at the laptop that was daring to defy me this way.

Les Miserables was the first musical I ever saw on Broadway, and continues to be one of my favorites. This does not mean the movie will be bad. I may even love the movie. But I don't trust myself to watch it in a crowded room full of people who would rather I not shout at the screen the whole time. I'll watch it on DVD and let you know how it goes then. On the other hand, I have never been a huge fan of Tolkien's style of writing, so while I loved the LotR movies, I've only read the first book-and-a-half of that trilogy, and I've never read The Hobbit.

I hadn't even seen the official trailer, just the one by Tobuscus. Which is funny, but not quite as awesome as his Literal Trailer of Skyrim.

On to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. In brief, I really liked it. I saw it in regular 2D, so I can't say anything about the 3D quality. In longer, here's the actual review:

The opening of the movie filled me with all the excitement you feel when you see scenes and characters again after a long time. They kept enough of the thematic music that important scenes were like coming home.

On the other hand, I couldn't help but be reminded of this comic, from Ctrl+Alt+Del, which is a comic I follow regularly. Mandi, who has read the book more recently, tells me this is done a bit differently in the book.

The scene continues, and I must say I laughed often. Where LotR relies on a heavy sense of Drama and Doom to move the story along, with occasional moments of humor to lighten the load, I feel The Hobbit uses humor as the primary drive with occasional serious moments to remind the audience of the story. Early on, one of the characters says something to the effect of, "We're a bunch of bakers, toy-makers, etc," and another one says, "There are some warriors among us." Well, it's the first part that sticks. It's evident that most of the people in this band of dwarfs have no idea what they're doing.

For me, this makes for an entertaining watch, as it really does feel like we're mainly bumbling from one adventure to another. I've been told that many of the extra scenes- the reason the shortest book ended up told in three movies, as well- have been taken from The Silmarillion, and it shows. The movie takes on the effect of the Canterbury Tales - a group of people happen to be traveling together to the same place, and every now and then the audience gets told a story. Given Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is probably one of the oldest and most famous works of literature most individuals have ever studied, I do not feel this is an insult.

I did wish the characters were more individualized. There is a character who is essentially Aragorn, but a Dwarf, and another who looks a lot like Robin Williams but is not played by him, but I don't think I learned anyone's name other than Gandalf and Bilbo. Oh, and the hedgehog. That was a dramatic moment- you'll see.

My primary criticism of the movie- though some of the blame should perhaps be shifted to Lord of the Rings- is that there are a few canon inconsistencies between the movies. I don't mean inconsistancies that you'll pick up on if you've scoured the books and are a huge Tolkien fan. I mean there was a point in the movie when I went, Gimli WTF?

For those who have seen it, you know what I'm talking about. Those who haven't, you will. There's also a smaller issue, featuring Legolas' homeland, which I think probably comes from taking a story from The Silmarillion and sticking it into the timeline of The Hobbit.

In summary, to quote Tobuscus: "Careful, it's Bind of Pick-up." I enjoyed the movie, and will certainly go to the next one when it comes out, at which point I hope to learn at least one more character's name.

"It happened in that season that one day

In Southwark, at the Tabard, where I lay

Ready to travel to that holy site -

To Canterbury, with my spirits bright,

There came at evening to that hostelry

A group of twenty-nine, a company

Of various folk, to new found friendship come

By happy chance - and pilgrims every one

That for the Canterbury shrine were bound.

- Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (modern English translation)

For those of you who have only been following this blog, make sure you check out the On Writing section of the site occasionally - I've been updating!

This most recent big update (how I got published) was inspired by the end of the world- er, year, and the end of the Den of Shadows series (Promises to Keep, coming out in March, is the last official book in that series) but I'm hoping to update semi-regularly with longer blog posts designed to compliment shorter "tip of the day" style posts on my Facebook Page.

We'll see how that goes.

Sorry for my silence on this blog the last few months, as was pointed out to me by a frequent reader. Part of the problem (change?) is that I have been using my public Facebook much more often, which results in my having less to say in long blog posts. I'm going to try to find a balance in the future, but balance has forever been my greatest weakness- I'm good at giving ALL my time to one thing at a time, but not very good at evenly maintaining more than one thing, especially in the virtual world.

I'm a paper kind of person. Even if I am slowly moving toward being more virtual- I've bought e-books!- I still have trouble keeping track of the virtual world. Too much Ecl in my brain, I guess.

As a quick update:

I made it through NaNo by the skin of my teeth and some good old-fashioned zombies. First dragons, now zombies. What is Nyeusigrube coming to? I don't know if I'll do anything with those two books, but they certainly were fun to write.

The world did not end on December 21, though I've had some rocking life-changes (which I will not go into here) that have also contributed to my silence. Hanukkah and Christmas, the two winter holidays I celebrate depending on which family I'm with, were both delightful.

I have a Facebook! I believe I've mentioned this before, but I'm using it frequently. Compared to the message board, it's not as good a place to hold a long, awesome, in-depth conversation, but it's still lots of fun. I even ran a mini-contest, and am planning to give away some ARCs to bloggers later this week.

Welcome to the brave new world... that's not ominous at all... now I'm going to figure out how to cross-post this...

Take care, everyone!
Amelia

Yesterday, I went on the biology teacher's web site to check her plans for the week, so I could plan modifications for my students accordingly. I was annoyed to see that the online calendar was glitching - instead of showing me this week, it was showing me the first week of October.

My defense: It was 5 in the morning, and I had just opened my eyes and stumbled to my computer. However, it took me a good twenty or thirty seconds before it trickled into my brain... it is October.

It's October!

October is my second-favorite month, preceded only by November, which comes next and therefore only makes October more awesome through the power of anticipation. I love the way the air gets cool and crisp, the leaves turn, and the world simply changes color and tone. It isn't cold enough to require a heavy jacket or to dread going outside, but it is cool enough to enjoy hot foods and beverages. All the fall flavors are out - pumpkin spice and apple cider being my favorites. The school year is in full swing now, people are feeling confident about their schedules, and we can really start to work. Life is good.

This year, I'm starting a Drama Club for the program where I work; our first day is tomorrow, and I cannot begin to explain how excited I am.

My writing-goal this month is to finish and polish a short story I'm working on, which will be published in electronic format ahead of Bloodwitch. In related news, I will also be at the Boston Teen Author Festival on October 28.

... and then it will be November, and time for NaNoWriMo.

The only problem with these months? They go by too fast.

Sorry, everyone, about the delay between updates here. I'm been traversing the interwebs in search of...well, I can't tell you that. It's a secret. But I had to seek out some of the greatest minds of our generation...

and then look even higher...

in order to find the answers I sought. I hate to break it to you, but the news isn't good.

I may need backup!

Seriously! I said, I need BACKUP!

Now we're talking! I don't know what any of this has to do with Batman, but I'm now ready to take on the end of the world. I'd love to get some support from Sam and Dean, but I've been instructed to only seek help from cartoon sources, and I don't watch the animated version of Supernatural.

Note: None of these pictures belong to me. All link to their original sources. Please go there for proper credit. I don't know the owner of the Twilight Sparkle movie poster; I just thought it was awesome and wanted to share it, because it made me laugh. You should click the link on that one. I glanced briefly at his/her gallery, but if there's anything wildly inappropriate in there... well, that's the risk you run following links on the internet. It's fantasy art, folks.

Thanks, anonymous Batman, for the very strange prompt. Anyone else out there want to leave a prompt in the comments? You, too, could receive a very strange blog post in response. Or possibly a serious one. It depends what you ask for.

A friend pointed out to me that...

a) this blog hasn't been updated lately. As she put it, "Your fan blog updates more regularly than you do!" To which I replied, "That's why I link to them! They're better at this than I am!"

and...

b) this blog would be a great place to post about the event tomorrow at The Book Cellar in Wilmington, VT. At 3pm on Saturday, August 11, Lisa Papademetriou and I will be at The Book Cellar for a reading and signing. Hope to see you all there!

I recently made a resolution to have more of an online "presence," including using my Facebook more to post updates and events. I've succeeded in the Facebook attempt for at least two consecutive weeks, which is impressive for me, but I haven't yet mastered updating *this* blog frequently. I think I need prompts. Someone leave me a prompt in the comments, and I'll do my best to write a blog about it! How's that?

In other news, the message board has been nice and chatty lately. If you haven't stopped by, said hello, and started and/or participated in a thread lately, please log in and get chatty! I chime in when a topic interests me, but it's a message board, not a Q&A, and it's more fun when other people post- lots!

This is cross-posted with a message board thread here, because I am trying to encourage people to come to the message board and chat. I have about a dozen readers who have been ordered to post in exchange for my signing their books, so I thought I would start a thread to make it easy on them - and for anyone else who wants to join, here or on the message board.

I you were at SDCC, what were some of the cool things you did and saw? (besides me, I mean, though you're welcome to mention that too) Did anyone get into the Supernatural Q&A, or meet Mira Grant aka Seanan Mcguire? Those were the two events I was saddest to miss. Did you see any awesome costumes? What was the best part? the worst?

Those of you who weren't at SDCC, feel free to share your own con experiences. If you have video of me and the rest of organization 13 doing the kitty cat dance, I even give you permission to post it (I know that video is out there, but I can't remember who has it). Many of the moderators and members of this board are active cosplayers and/or have experience selling at conventions, so there are some fun stories out there.

Outside the awesome people in my own panel, I had a great time getting to know my new publicist better. We finally had time to just chat, outside a boardroom, which I really enjoyed. I also had a chance to meet and talk briefly with Christopher Paolini. We have both heard so much about each other since he published (the other "young" author), and get lumped together a lot despite our writing, philosophies and backgrounds being so different. It was fun to put a face to the name and say "hi."

My favorite costume of the weekend: a little girl dressed up as a stone angel from Dr. Who. Though I did stumble across the same Roxas-and-Axel pair several times. I embarissed myself by calling Roxas "Sora" because I saw the key and the hair before I could see the jacket.

I won't talk much about the panel, because I'm hoping to lure others to do so (hint hint), except to say it was a lot of fun. Even though each author gets to say less in a shared panel, I really enjoy them because I get to hear from other writers.

That's my story. What's yours?

T-minus 20 minutes until I need to go take the shuttle from my hotel to the convention, so it seemed like a good time to write a blog post.

Those of you who read this blog already know my feelings about airports, so I will refrain from waxing poetic about them once more.

I will also only summarize the incredibly long plane ride. Jet Blue is the best way to fly, but there is simply no way to make six hours in the air tolerable, especially when you have managed to hurt yourself before flying and need to stand up regularly or your leg locks up and you fall down the next time you try to stand (embarrassing). I was in a middle seat, and the flight was too booked for me to change. Thankfully, the marketing executive next to me was a kind gentleman, and understood my need to make him move a couple times an hour.

The best part of the flight? I did some pre-con research. You see, I've never been to San Diego (I've never been to California), much less Comic Con, so I consulted a recently released guide book by Mira Grant.

Yes, I'm being facetious. If you haven't read Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy, you should. She just released a novella about the early days of the Rising (read: zombie apocalypse) that takes place at the San Diego Comic Con, which was perfect reading material for my way over. I love the zombies, but it is her description of the crowds that is really harrowing, for someone preparing to attend for the first time.

As the plane begins to descend into San Diego, the ground I can see through the window looks like the surface of the moon. This is what the moon will look like, if we colonize it. I suddenly feel inspired to write a space adventure, or I would if I hadn't just lost the feeling in my toes.

Instead, I keep watching Animal Planet (Cat from Hell) and getting glimpses of the world outside the window, whenever the man next to me leans back and the plane's tilt is such that I can see past the wing. The world under me disappears into what we on the east coast call "clouds" but which my driver later calls "marine fog," so I don't see what San Diego looks like from the air.

Outside, it is cool and dry, 60 degrees with maybe 50% humidity, which might not be the best weather for swimming, but is paradise if you have just come from 95 degrees and so humid you can practically swim in it. My wonderful driver happily describes the area for me, discussing the types of trees, the naval base, and pointing out a practice ship the navy uses for training (it's made out of plywood, surrounded by parking lot).

Let me say this: I can drive 8 hours to the north from my home and be in another country, but Montreal looks a lot like Boston to me. I have been to Seattle and Chicago and New York, and while each is a little different, I don't feel the need to visit to soak up the exotic atmosphere. They look like cities.

San Diego could never be mistaken for home. The architecture is distinctly different, even as I pass the same stores we have at home - Starbucks, Walgreens, Chilis. It reminds me of my visit to San Antonio to visit the Alamo. Is this a Spanish influence, a southern reaction to the heat, or (my anxiety wonders) a different building style required in an area prone to earthquakes? I didn't think to look up how close to any fault lines San Diego is. In my New Englander brain, I just assume California is never still.

In other news, the plants are equally exotic. Palms and Sequoias, imported in large numbers from Australia (another fun fact from my driver) line the roads, along with flowering bushes I don't have names for. Apparenly landscaping and gardening are big here, since almost every day is beautiful. The area gets less than 10 inches of rain a year, and rainstorms only happen every six months or so. (I do that math in my head, but don't challenge my driver-guide. Maybe twice a year they have a colossal downpour.)

I check into my hotel, and then instantly feel lost. The hallway I was told to go down to find my room isn't a hallway at all - I'm outside, which is an unexpected and confusing transition for my jet-lagged, over-caffeinated brain. I remind myself: it only rains here twice a year. This is the "hallway." After minimal wandering, I find my room. Time to sleep.

And now? It's time to get to the convention. Talk to you later.

I've been meaning to post this for ages - I think I did once, but I never posted a permanent link. Much as I would love to be THE PLACE to go, the best Atwater-Rhodes site on the net is the Amelia Atwater-Rhodes Haven, found at:

http://aarhaven.wordpress.com/

I don't know where they find their information half the time, but I can honestly say that I have referred to their site more than once for reminders (or discovered, accidentally, something I didn't know yet, like the release date for Promises to Keep).

While I will continue to keep this blog and the message board, I should just admit that I will never be able to maintain a site as up-to-date, nicely laid out, and just frankly USEFUL as they do. So go there! Come here to chat or get in touch (I always love to hear from you all), but if you're looking for information about books and events, go there first.

In other news, did y'all know I'm going to be at the San Diego Comic-Con? I'm looking forward to it. I've never been to California.

Though much-delayed, "Inbox" will be completed in the next week or so, just in time for the July 10 release of Poison Tree. Stay tuned!

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