My Book is now in Orbit... And how a Bookstore is making me Cry

Hey y'all.


My editor informed me that yesterday Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins launched their 2012 winter list. (And for those of you who don't know, Everneath is on that list!)


This is very exciting, although I don't know exactly what it means. The word "launch" has certain connotations, so I can only assume it means the Balzer+Bray team gathered in the parking lot (because it's Manhattan, and every building has an outdoor parking lot), carrying their little rockets made of balsa wood, each rocket with the name of a book on it.  


Then they all count to three and light the fuses, and the rockets are sent into orbit around the earth. 
My book is somewhere over Nantucket. Watch for it in the skies!


Or the launch might mean my editor presented my book to sales and marketing teams, a bunch of whom I met on my trip to New York. (Hi, Sales and Marketing team! *waves frantically*) They were such an enthusiastic group, I know my book is in good hands. 


In other news, my Borders is on the list of stores that will close. I call it my Borders, because it's where my critique group meets most Thursdays to write, chat, vent, gossip, and write some more. And eat. 


The cafe had outlets, the wi-fi came fast and easy (just like the dames), and everyone there really did know our names. Sure, it was annoying during the holiday season, when the Christmas songs drenched the place in syrup, but mostly it was a little corner of heaven. 


Okay, maybe I'm a tad emotional these days. But why do things have to change? Why can't everything just stay put? Where's Mammi when I need someone to rub buttermilk on my shoulders and say it jes ain't fittin'? Please tell me someone knows somethin' about birthin' babies!


Well, I think I've blogged myself into a corner. I don't know where to go from here. Is anyone else shedding tears over a Borders? 


This weekend, I'm going to the LTUE writer's conference, which stands for Life, the Universe, and Everything conference, where a bunch of writers who are geeks get together and discuss the latest geeky things. (I think they describe it as a conference about Fantasy and Speculative Fiction, but we all know what it really is). 


I don't want to stick out, so I'm going dressed as Frodo dressed as a storm trooper.