Catching up...
So, in April and early May, when I hurt my wrist and elbow, I couldn't write much, and I had to do--OTHER THINGS. Things I couldn't type about because my wrist was hurt. For one thing, Melissa Marr and Jennifer Lynn Barnes were at MY Borders! And I do mean mine. It's the Borders in the town where I grew up and I worked at the mall across the street for eight years. There are a lot of Borders in this town, so I'm glad they hit that one.

Some adult UF authors were there too: Mark del Franco, Rachel Vincent and Jeaniene Frost, and I felt bad that I didn't get books for them to sign too because they were all nice. They did a pretty long panel--long enough that my ass ACHED in those lousy Borders chairs--and I was relieved to see a good turn-out. I know people DO read YA in Orlando, because a lot of the good stuff is always checked out of the library, but...I never see these elusive beings called "readers" out and about.

"I'm so glad some people in Orlando read," I said softly to Dade.
"We're from Tampa!" the woman standing next to me said. "We drove two hours to get here."

Well, so maybe they were ALL from Tampa for all I know. But they were, at least, there.

The whole gang:


Me and Melissa:


Me and Jen:


I didn't get to talk to anyone much, since there were a lot of people there, but I can say they were both very sweet and Melissa let me pick which court band I wanted. (Winter Court, if you're curious. I have such an affinity for, well, winter...)

The other thing I did was buy Dade and myself seasonal passes to Disney. I'm not sure why this never occurred to me the second I got my advance. I'm always complaining that there's nothing to do in Orlando. But there is one HUGE thing that people save for years to do, right in my backyard. Ish.

WDW is one of the places you love or hate. I happen to love it. There are, of course, childhood memories involved, and if smell is the sense of nostalgia, the smell of Disney rides hits me like a time machine. (If you've never ridden on one, they have this definite odor, sort of like brackish water, dust, and...magic.)

There is also plenty of kitsch. They're trying their best to ruin Epcot, but there's still glimpses of that fantastic early 80s vision of the future THAT WOULD BE AWESOME. Plus, over in the Magic Kingdom, It's a Small World was originally created for the '64 World's Fair, and while you do have to put up with the song, where else can you pretend you're at the '64 World's Fair? (Well...so maybe this isn't a priority for you.)

So let me know if any of you come to Disney and want to say hi at the parks. Just not from June 6th-August 13th, the week of Christmas/New Years, or whenever the heck Spring Break is. Because I am cheap and bought tickets with blackout dates, but also because I think you have to be crazy to go to Disney then...