Bologna!!

I'M AT THE BOLOGNA BOOK FAIR!!!

Okay, well, not yet...right now I'm actually in my adorable hotel room, and I haven't actually attended the fair yet...but I'll be there soon! (Very soon, actually...I should probably hop in the shower and get ready before my agent calls to yell at me!)

Yesterday I flew from Paris to Bologna. As soon as I landed, I ran into not one, not two, but THREE people I know: my fabulous foreign agent, Hannah Gordon, her boss, Peter McGuigan, and one of my very bestest friends Pam, who works for the publisher Zest in San Francisco. Okay, okay, so they're all here for the Book Fair, but I still felt extremely popular.

My hotel, the Alloro, is absolutely adorable, and my room comes complete with a GIGANTIC bed, a huge whirlpool tub, and the added European feature of a BIDET (!), just in case I should feel that the places where the sun don't shine need a good scrubbing. (In case you've never seen a bidet before, helpful visual aid below.)

In the evening I met up with Stephen Barbara, my agent, and Hannah again--looking beautiful and much-refreshed from our post-airport-encounter nap--and we headed to the glitzy Random House party, where we sipped delicious red wine (Italian, of course) and prosecco, and circulated chatting with incredibly brilliant foreign scouts and publishers.

Then it was off for my favorite portion of the evening: meeting up with the fabulous Lenore of Presenting Lenore Blogspot (a must-read for everyone interested in books, especially YA), her talented illustrator hubby Daniel, and her friend, the children's book writer Ann Bonwill. It was QUITE the bookish crowd! We met at the cozy SCBWI party at a fabulous little indie bookstore, which was so packed it had extended into the street (block party style!). [Below: Lenore and me; my foreign agent, Hanna, and Ann Bonwill]

We then went to chow down at a local hotspot, where I proceeded to embark very seriously on my mission to gain five pounds in a week. On that front: polenta with truffle cream, potato and artichoke gratin, proscuitto and salumi and at least one meat I could not identify, linguine verde with sausage ragout, chocolate cake with chocolate sauce. Oh, yes, my friends, oh yes. [Below: My agent, Stephen Barbara, in his natural habitat; Lenore and her husband Daniel]

We had dinner until about 11:30...we had so much to talk about I'm sure we could have stayed longer, but by then we were all in somewhat of a food coma, so we all bid each other buona notte (sp???) and said ciao for the evening.

Now I'm off to the Fair! More updates later in the week.

Ciao, mi amores.