I’ve been meaning to post about my first conference of the American Library Association for a while now.  I had an amazing time.

Scholastic brought me in to promote The Clockwork Three.  It was the first real publicity for the book, with a reading and signing, and ARCs handed out.  But the weekend was also a chance to hang out with lots of great people who are involved with and passionate about children’s literature.

The reading took place at the Scholastic Literary Brunch, along with several other wonderful authors.  I enjoyed hearing passages from Lucy Christopher’s Stolen, Cynthia Lord’s Touch Blue, Erin Bow’s Plain Kate, Blue Balliett’s The Danger Box, and Deborah Wiles’ Countdown. All were engaging and made me want to read their books.  Which fortunately, I’m able to do because everyone attending the brunch left with a copy of each in a gift-bag.  Free books are a perk of this job I could definitely get used to!

After the reading, my editor, Lisa, showed me around the conference show-floor.  We walked through most of the publisher’s booths, and I met lots of people and saw lots of great books.  Friends’ titles were well-represented, including Mette Harrison’s The Princess and the Snowbird, Jessica Day George’s Princess of Glass, Rebecca Barnhouse’s The Coming of the Dragon, Lindsey Leavitt’s Princess for Hire, Carol Lynch Williams’ Glimpse, and Bree Despain’s The Dark Divine (Have you seen Bree’s book trailer yet?  Check it out here).  I was excited and grateful to see that The Clockwork Three was present as well.

Me and Blue Balliett

My signing that afternoon went great.  I’d never done a big signing like that before, and it was wonderful to meet librarians and readers from all over the country.  I signed for about an hour, but I was having so much fun I felt like I could’ve kept going forever.

After that, we went back to the hotel and changed into fancier clothes for the Newbery & Caldecott banquet, which was also amazing.  The energy and the shared love of children’s literature were palpable.  The speeches given by Rebecca Stead and Jerry Pinkney were eloquent and inspiring.  And I got to meet and thank M.T. Anderson, whose advice to “write what you think you can’t” led very directly to my second novel.

The next day, Lisa and I went to the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum.  When I was growing up in Maryland, it was my favorite museum, and I even had dreams of running away and living there, a la From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.  I hadn’t been back in years, so it was pretty neat to see it again, although a lot of things have changed.  I don’t know if I like it as well as I used to.  Lisa noted how the displays don’t seem to follow any easy sense of order or sequence, and I agree.  It’s rather chaotic.  Everywhere you look, there’s something to see, but nothing to tell you what order to look in.  Perhaps this reflects a shift in the way we take in information in this modern internet age, that is, everything-from-everywhere-all-the-time.

After the museum I still had a couple of hours before I had to catch my plane, so I walked back over the convention center.  This turned out to be a mistake, because it was pouring rain by the time I had to leave.  There was a huge line for taxis outside the center, and I still had to get back to the hotel for my luggage.  So I decided to make a run for it through the rain, and while I was waiting a little too close to the curb at a cross-walk, I got splashed by a car.  I mean, really drenched.  Like in the movies.  The poor guy next to me was wearing an expensive-looking suit, and we just looked at each other, dripping, and he used an expletive I won’t repeat here (though I silently agreed with him).  I made it back to the hotel, got my things, took a cab to the airport, and changed into dry clothes while waiting for my flight.

The airport was extra fun, because there were two flights with very similar numbers, but going to very different locations, using the same gate.  My gate.  They kept announcing the wrong flights, causing everyone to get in line, even though half of them wanted to go to Atlanta, and the other half to Salt Lake City.  Fortunately, Jessica Day George was on the same flight as me, so we were able to commiserate and laugh about the whole thing.  (Did you enjoy your “crispy rice,” Jessica?)

All in all, it was a wonderful trip, full of great experiences and great people.  Many thanks to the wonderful folks at Scholastic for making the trip so enjoyable and memorable for me.  I hope I get to go to ALA again in 2011.  New Orleans or bust!

Just a little update about where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing this summer, writer-wise.

First, next week is the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop. I’ve written about it before, about what a great event this conference has been for me, and will continue to be for other writers. I’ll be speaking there in the afternoon on Tuesday, June 15th, as a part of a First Books Panel with Heather Dixon. It should be a lot of fun. If you’re attending the workshop, stop in. If you’re not attending the workshop, how come? Registration is still open for a few more days.

The next day, June 16th at 3:00 PM, I’ll be doing a book talk with a group of kids at The King’s English. The staff there are amazing, and they went out of their way to get a bunch of Clockwork Three ARCs to share with some of their younger customers and set up this event. I’m not sure if it’s open to everyone, but anyway, that’s where I’ll be.

At the end of the month, from June 26-28, I’ll be in Washington D.C. for the American Library Association’s annual conference. I’m really excited about this, as it marks the official publicity launch of The Clockwork Three. I’m scheduled to give a reading at Scholastic’s Literary Brunch, and then I’ll be signing books at the Scholastic booth. Then, I get to attend the Newbery & Caldecott banquet, something I am very much looking forward to. Back in January, I got up early, drove through the snow to an elementary school library, and gathered with some friends around a computer screen to watch them announce the medalists and honor books. Now, I get to see the authors and illustrators receive their awards. Awesome.

From July 30th to August 2nd I’ll be in Los Angeles at the annual summer conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. I love this event, and this will be my third year. I’m taking a class on writing graphic novels. I’ve always loved comics, and I’ve written and illustrated them before. I’ve always planned, or at least hoped, that graphic novels would be a part of my writing career, so I’m looking forward to the SCBWI class.

In October, I’ll be flying back to L.A. for the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association annual trade show. Along with Ally Condie, author of the forthcoming and much-buzzed Matched, I’ll be speaking at the Author Feast on the 23rd.

Between these trips, I’ll still be working on a new website, and starting on my next book. I’ll be busy, but it’s a good kind of busy.

For part 1, click here, and for part 2, click here.

After putting in a day-and-a-half of sightseeing, it was time to get down to the business that brought me to NYC in the first place.  So Thursday morning the Scholastic Book Fairs film crew came to pick us up at our hotel.  The members of the crew were great.  We had Larry (director), Jeff (the camera man), Glenn (the sound man), and Lara (who did a little bit of everything).  We all sat down and had breakfast together, and then set off into the city.

The Book Fairs brought me to NYC to film me for some promotional material related to The Clockwork Three.  As we get closer to the book’s release date, and when people might be able to watch the promotional video, I’ll tell you more about it.  (That still feels like a long way off.)  But briefly, the idea was for the Fairs to film me talking a bit about my book and its characters. 

The Clockwork Three takes place in an unnamed fictional city that’s not quite New York, not quite Boston, but inspired  a little by both.  So Larry had scouted out some locations around NYC that evoked certain settings and moods from my novel.  The city in The Clockwork Three has a park, an important place in the story for a number of reasons I don’t want to spoil.  So naturally, Central Park seemed like an ideal place to film some of the shots.

Left to right: Larry, Glenn, Jeff, Me, and Lara

First, we filmed in front of The Dairy.  Giuseppe, one of the characters in the The Clockwork Three, was inspired by a real 19th century boy who once found food and shelter there (and who I’ll probably write about in more detail in a future post).  This was, incidentally, my first time in front of a camera.  I felt very… awkward.  It wasn’t that I was nervous.  And I did pretty well remembering the lines they gave me.  But I just couldn’t seem to make those lines sound natural.  I wish I could have been more excited and animated, like LeVar Burton from Reading Rainbow, but instead I sounded like Dan Rather reporting the nightly news.  Nothing against Dan Rather, but I don’t think most kids find him very compelling.  I think I might have done better if I were in conversation or interview with someone else, talking with a person instead of a dead-eyed camera.

But I muddled through the first shot, and we moved on to the next location, the Delacorte Music Clock near the Children’s Zoo.  At this point, I started loosening up.  Just a bit.  The director and crew had timed the filming so the clock chimed while we were there.  The animals started moving around the clock in a circle, and the bells played a slightly creepy song that sounded a bit more like a Tim Burton soundtrack than a nursery rhyme.

Camera Man Jeff and me

I should mention here that during all this time, Jeff was sick from food poisoning.  Like, really sick.  But he was a trooper and a professional, and he kept working to get the job done.  He wouldn’t even let me help him haul his gear around because he didn’t want me to get sweaty for the filming.  So hats off to Jeff, who continued to film whilst vomiting.

It didn’t help that it was a pretty warm day, unexpectedly warm considering the season.  But in spite of the heat, I enjoyed walking through Central Park.  The foresight and commitment it took to set aside such a large piece of land in the middle of the city still amazes me.  I mean, that’s some extremely valuable real estate, but the planners knew how important it was and would be to have a green space, first amidst the rising brick and mortar, later the towering glass and steel.  An open, public place of refuge and natural beauty.  I could have spent more time there, if I’d had it to spend.

Lara in front of the Dakota

After stopping at a few more locations around the park, we ended up in front of The Dakota, another NYC landmark, chosen for its similarities to a grand hotel described in The Clockwork Three.  I have to admit I hadn’t heard of it before, and didn’t know how famous it was.  Nor that it was the location of the murder of John Lennon.  But we did stop for a moment at his memorial.

We took a break at that point to have lunch.  Jeff was really not doing well, so after we finished eating he went back to his hotel, and the crew shifted responsibilities around.  Glenn took over filming, and Lara took over sound.  We hopped on the subway (which was a bit tricky with all the equipment, but we managed) and rode down to the Lower East Side.

97 Orchard Street - Tenement Museum

Some of The Clockwork Three takes place in the city’s tenements.  So Larry found some old tenement buildings in NYC that have been there since the early part of the 20th century.  The NYC  Tenement Museum, a restored building constructed in 1863, was very near the spot where we were filming.  Over the years it was home to over 7000 immigrants, and today offers a glimpse into the lives of those who came to this country hoping for a new and better life.  I wish we could have filmed inside the museum, but we weren’t able to make the arrangements.

By this time we had been moving and filming for about eight hours, and everyone was exhausted.  It was also that time of day when shop owners were closing up their storefronts.  And those metal gates they pull down and lock up are loud.  We went through a lot of takes there, waiting for a moment of relative silence.  But in the end, I think we got everything they’ll need for the video.

We all shook hands and parted ways.  It was a long day, but I had a great time.  What might have been a difficult experience was made enjoyable by the people I got to meet and work with.  Thanks again to Larry, Glenn, Jeff and Lara.  (And I meant it, Jeff.  The next time you’re on a ski trip to Utah, give me a ring and we’ll hit the slopes).

For dinner that night we rode the subway up to the Gray’s Papaya at 2090 Broadway.  I’ve heard about the place from people, seen it in movies like Fools Rush In and You’ve Got Mail, and watched Anthony Bourdain extol the wonders of its hot-dogs.  So naturally I had to try them for myself.  I have to say, they were good, but my favorite part of the restaurant was actually the fruity drinks.  Papaya, Piña Colada, orange, coconut, and more.  I ordered a couple of those on top of the drink that came with my “recession special.”

We rode the subway back to our hotel, and after a day like that I slept like a rock.

Next up, my day at the Scholastic offices.