What's TLA? It's the TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, of course!
I was invited to speak and sign my books at the mothership of Texas librarians held in Fort Worth, Texas. It's a place where librarians from all over the great state o' Texas gather to meet, greet and what else- TALK BOOKS!
It's also a place where authors and illustrators are invited to do the same. I knew it was going to be an incredible weekend, so I needed all the strength I could muster to keep up with the activities (I didn't want to miss a thing).
I started with a big breakfast (also known as the most important meal of the day- next to lunch and dinner- oh, yes, and several snacks). I needed my breakfast in a hurry! No need to put it on a plate, buddy. I'll eat it right out of the skillet! Yee-hah!
It's a who's who of children's book authors and illustrators at TLA. I ran into new chum Bob Shea and old chum Tony DiTerlizzi.
Of course Doug was there!
I also got a chance to chat with my friend Jarrett Krosoczka, who suddenly put on a set of headphones and pushed me into a chair.
Why was he doing this?
Ah! Now I know why. He wanted to interview me for his podcast Book Report on SiriusXM's Kid's Place Live!
I had a lovely dinner hosted by my publisher Random House with Tabatha Perry, Shelly Lane, me, Marianne Follis, Betty Carter, JK, Julie Duetzel-Glair, Susi Grissom.
Hey! Look who I ran into! Michael Buckley, Tom Angleberger (what? again?) and Tony DiTerlizzi. We were thinking about starting our own boy band, but decided we're probably a little too old.
Whew! What a swell time I had!
Time to saddle up and head on into the sunset to the next Screen Free Stop.
Adios, amigos!
One of the best things about TLA, aside from all the talented authors/illustrators we get to meet, is the location, which alternates by year.
ReplyDeleteTLA 2014, which is all but planned? It's in San Antonio!