Class of 2K11 in New York City: Tattoos, Tater Tots and the Stuff that Legends are Made of.



Because nothing says "let's get frisked" like a Crown Victoria

The shoes and the henna
make the girl...

It was a frisky week (fine, forgive me, I groaned for you, but it went with the photo over there <-----) as the Class of 2K11 hit the streets (bookstores, libraries, and, yes, funky hotspots) of NYC armed with our books, our nerves and our senses of humor (and, okay, some of us, ahem, with a constant change of shoes).  

I started my whirlwind 2 1/2 days in NYC with a late-night pitstop for drink(s) with the infamous (and fantastic) David Macinnis Gill, author of Soul Enchilada and Black Hole Sun who I tweet with on a regular basis but had not yet had the pleasure of meeting in person. In a short visit, we wandered aimlessly up and down escalators (both of us) with my luggage (David, insisting) and got ourselves booted out of a ritzy nightclub for not being well-dressed (if you guessed David, you're wrong -- that one was me, I did offer to do a quick change in the bathroom, but David preferred to continue to wander aimlessly until we lucked into a spot that would have us).

A brief night's sleep, and I was off to meet my fellow Classmates for our first group appearance in the city at the Seward Park Library. There I "moderated" the panel where we did brief readings from our books and were peppered with brilliant questions from our audience: a class of scarily-smart seventh graders from the Spence School in NYC. 


Geoff Herbach and Carole Estby Dagg arriving
at the beautiful park where the library is...

Herbach with the tools of the trade
in hand: coffee, cell phone, backpack with book.

Amy Dominy, Angie Smibert and Kiki Hamilton
(more fabulous shoes. See? I was not alone).

A crazy-decadent lunch was had (can you say coconut fried chicken sandwich with chipotle mayo? omg, yes I did!) and we were off to our next event at the Grand Central branch of the NYPL. Talk about a teen friendly place! There we did a sort of roundtable (sans table) chat with the teen librarian, Anna, and a few rapt listeners (sorry, no photos!) and we were off to event number three at the esteemed Books of Wonder, NYC, where we were joined by some more Class of 2K11'ers and greeted by a fabulous display of our books: 



Amy Fellner Dominy (OyMG)
in front of the great BOW display



Sheila O'Connor (Sparrow Road)
BOW display

Hmmm, aren't they sweet bookends?

(yes, yes, I know two "right" bookends. Sue me).




Some terrific and hard-working YA bloggers who showed up at our BOW event!
we were thrilled and grateful. <3

Out to dinner with my sister and home for some sleep before Day 2 kicked in.

Day Two: First to Le Poisson Rouge on Bleecker Street, where the totally hilarious Sam Osterhout and deliriously delightful Robin Reed of Radio Happy Hour entertained us with "dramatic performances" of excerpts from our books, sometimes joined on stage by the talented Geoff Herbach (Stupid Fast), a/k/a Nacho Dip, playing both male and female roles. If my assistant editor's cell phone suffices as a video recording device in a loud, dark, red room, you might be lucky enough to see The Pull of Gravity performance later this week! ;)

All this, mind you, while we feasted on pizzitas, taquitos, edamame and tater tots served with three different dipping sauces (someone else has those photos, maybe they will follow?!).

Class of 2K11 with Sam Osterhout and Robin Reed of
Radio Happy Hour.
Photo credit, Rick Kopstein

Me, hamming it up
 after a tater tot-Lucky Charms fueled rush
Photo credit: Rick Kopstein

Each mini performance was followed by a rapid-fire style interview of the authors that mostly (refreshingly) had nothing to do with our books. I was "lucky" to get a Lucky Charms question -- a subject on which I am a self-proclaimed expert.

*Much to my better judgment, if it exists, video may follow on this topic as well* 


Finally, we were off to Larchmont, NY via Metro North railroad where the best part was almost, but not, meeting the wonderful Francine and Rose of The Voracious Reader Bookstore who stuffed us with pizza and had multiple displays of the Class of 2K11 books gracing her magnificent bookstore (I can't find my photos, but maybe other Class members will share...). Our henna artist was there, and, so, in a moment of lull, I presented my back and neck and I believe I am now covered in ocean waves. Photos were taken of that too, so hopefully those will surface.

Suffice it to say, it was a parade of an appearance, and we were all exhausted by the time it was over.

So exhausted that one of us (names shall not be mentioned...ahem...) forgot her cell phone at the desk of The Voracious Reader, a fact not realized until 3 blocks and several flights of stairs later, as we arrived on the Metro North platform back to the city with only a few moments to spare.

Which is when the real magic of the week happened, and we learned that Geoff Herbach is not only a mess, but he really is as STUPID FAST as his main character!

I'd show you photos, but he was too fast to snap them, so you'll have to believe in the legend.

That's it for now. Hopefully some more fun stuff to follow. <3

Love to all,

- gae