What A Day at TLA!

Ahh....San Antonio, Texas....home to the Riverwalk, chips, salsa, and great margaritas. Oh,it's also home to the Alamo and other historic sites, but it's the chips, salsa, and margaritas that called my name earlier this month. For a few days in mid April, San Antonio was also home to the Texas Library Association conference. My wonderful co author, Ellen Rothberg and I were lucky enough to be there, and it was definitely an experience we won't forget.

According to librarians we spoke with, there were amazing workshops, lots of time to meet and greet, and of course, opportunities to hang out with famous children's authors like Gary Paulson and Rick Riordan. And there we were, among the greats! Rick Riordan may have Percy Jackson, but we have Sue Ellen the cow! Hmm...not really the same, huh? But still we were there.....very close to the creator of The Lightning Thief . So close that when we were in the authors' area, we were surrounded by him. Literally. His "people" began to load all his books around us while we were still there signing our books (and pointing people in the direction of his line). A young woman in high heels and a tight skirt who seemed to be physically attached to her BlackBerry was busy pointing her manicured fingers in our direction. We knew she wasn't waving at us, but we were a bit confused. Before we knew it, boxes upon boxes of Percy Jackson books appeared, making a fortress around us and our little cow books. Getting out of there was not a pretty sight. But although I still have a few bruises from the fall, I must admit that I was a little starstruck myself. After all, it's Percy Jackson and the Olympians!

So no, we're not one of the famous ones, and we usually carry our own books around, but it still was a great conference. We met new people, hung out with old friends, and took some lady's picture while she smiled with one of the famous ones. Can't wait 'till next year!