Finally, here is my catch-up blog! Keep reading to find out about my final day at the Texas Book Festival on Nov. 1st along with some LAYA updates (Los Angeles-based YA authors group) and whether or not I've been writing or procrastinating...

First of all, let's wrap up my live blogging from the Texas Book Festival (Nov. 1-2) in Austin, shall we? My last live Austin blog was on the day I flew back to LA when I met a good friend who gave me a music tour of Austin and introduced me to a fantastic gospel music brunch.  Then I was obsessed with QUESO and tried to make some queso with disastrous results. Stay tuned for a future blog where I try to make QUESO again. Until then, I bought a jar of pre-made queso that's pretty good!

Above is a picture of the store-bought queso along with a shot of the YA panel I participated in on my last night in Austin. After doing the "How Not to Be Popular" YA panel with YA ladies Melissa de la Cruz, Lauren Myracle, and Jennifer Ziegler, we attended this amazing cocktail party where I met the following cool authors...

Pictured above: This is me and SANDRA TSING LOH, the famous NPR commentator/essayist/novelist who is one of my favorite writers. She's hilarious! Her writing is both witty and insightful. I loved her memoir, "A YEAR IN VAN NUYS." Her latest book is "MOTHER ON FIRE: A TRUE MOTHER %#$@ STORY ABOUT PARENTING!" It's a great book about her quest for the perfect school for her child, and how she discovered we should support our public school system. YEAH! For more info, check out her website at: http://www.sandratsingloh.com/

Above is a picture of authors TOM CORWIN and JEFFREY GUSKY - we are all taking photos of each other on our iPhones!

Tom Corwin is a musician, producer, and also author of the bestselling Mostly Bob, a tribute to his beloved golden retriever. His latest is an illustrated book called "MR. FOOSTER: TRAVELING ON A WHIM" (illustrated by Craig Frazier) about a man who still does what came naturally to all of us as children: wonder and wander. For more info, check out his website at: http://www.mrfooster.com/

Jeffrey Gusky is an emergency physician, fine art photographer, and documentary film producer. He is also the author of a previous art photography book, Silent Places: Landscapes of Jewish Life & Loss in Eastern Europe. He lives in Dallas. For more info, check out his website here: http://www.bordertownodyssey.com/Site/Blog/Blog.html

And then I spotted George Duran of FOODTV! I flipped out because I loved his show "Ham on the Street." I was a little shy to approach him but he was soooo nice and took this photo with me (pictured above). He is an amazing fancy chef but he's not snobby at all! He's very funny and down to earth and it's clear he is very passionate about food. His latest book is "TAKE THIS DISH AND TWIST IT." For info, visit his website here: http://www.georgeduran.com/

Below is Melissa de la Cruz being silly with Bartlett, my travel bear, and a pic of me with amazingly talented children's book illustrator DON TATE:

And here is me with YA author HEATHER VOGEL FREDERICK ofthe "Mother Daughter Book Club" series:

After the party, several YA authors joined up to participate in a "Not for Required Reading" panel at the Austin Bat Cave, a non-profit organization that provides children and teens (ages 6-18) with opportunities to develop their creative and expository writing. The emcees were Lauren Lane and Rosalind Faire. I was wondering why Lauren looked so familiar (and BTW, she is GORGEOUS and so is her daughter!) Turns out she played C.C. Babcock on the TV series, The Nanny! They asked really fun questions and the teens in the audience were awesome. One fun event included all a silly game where we all had one minute to draw a cartoon depicting our novels' plots. Then we had to trade sketchbooks and describe the other author's plot. I received Martin Wilson's drawing and I guessed that it was about two boys arguing about something! Turns out his novel "WHAT THEY ALWAYS TELL US" is a poignant coming-of-age tale that follows two brothers through their high school experiences. James, an attractive young man and popular athlete, encompasses the traditional definitions of masculinity. His brother Alex, on the other hand, is desperately struggling to reconcile his homosexuality with his social enviornment, which is less than receptive. While these two brothers could not be any more opposite, as the school year progresses, they develop an understanding and appreciation for each other that will leave a lasting impression on the reader. 

Here's a photo of Martin and his beautiful drawing that renders the book plot so perfectly:

Below are photos and info on all the authors at this event. For more  info on the Austin Bat Cave, please visit their website here: http://austinbatcave.org/Home.html

Below (L-R) is me with Varian Johnson and Shannon Hale:

And here are some of the panel pics!

(Below, L-R: Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Shannon Hale, Varian Johnson, Sheila P. Moses, Martin Wilson, Michael Harmon, Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, Jennifer Ziegler)

Here's info on all the authors! They are so cool! Definitely check out their books!!!

Melissa de la Cruz
Blue Bloods 3: Revelations
Angels on Sunset Boulevard
De la Cruz, the author of several critically acclaimed young adult novels, was also a fashion and beauty editor, writing for publications including The New York Times and Teen Vogue. She lives in New York and Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. Website: http://www.melissa-delacruz.com/

Shannon Hale
Rapunzel’s Revenge
Hale is the author of the Newbery Honor winning and New York Times bestselling Princess Academy. Rapunzel's Revenge is her first graphic novel. She lives with her husband and their two children in Utah. Website: http://www.shannonhale.com/
 
Michael Harmon
The Last Exit to Normal
Harmon, also the author of Skate, writes contemporary and edgy young adult literature that addresses the oftentimes misunderstood struggles and issues teenagers are confronted with today. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and two teenagers. Website: http://www.booksbyharmon.com/

Varian Johnson
My Life as a Rhombus
My Life as a Rhombus is Johnson’s first young adult book. His first novel, A Red Polka Dot in a World Full of Plaid, made the Essence Magazine bestseller list. He lives in Austin with his wife and their two cocker spaniels. Website: http://www.varianjohnson.com/
 
Bill Konigsberg
Out of the Pocket
Konigsberg is an award-winning sports journalist who has written for television, newspapers, wire services, and the Internet. He currently writes and edits for The Associated Press. He lives in Brooklyn Heights with his partner, Chuck Cahoy. Website: http://www.billkonigsberg.com/

Claudia Guadalupe Martinez
The Smell of Old Lady Perfume
Martinez grew up in El Paso where her father encouraged her to dream big and write a book one day. Although he passed away when Claudia was 11, her family continued to encourage her. She went on to receive a degree in literature and later moved to Chicago to work for a non-profit. Website: http://www.myspace.com/cmtz50
 
Shelia P. Moses
Joseph
A poet, author, playwright, and producer, Moses also wrote I, Dred Scott; The Return of Buddy Bush; and The Legend of Buddy Bush, a National Book Award finalist. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Website: http://www.sheliapmoses.com/
 
Lauren Myracle
Bliss
A graduate of the Vermont College MFA program in writing for young people Myracle is the author of the New York Times bestselling Internet Girls trilogy (ttyl, among others) and Rhymes with Witches. She lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with her husband and their children. Website: http://www.laurenmyracle.com/
 
Travis Nichols
Punk Rock Etiquette: The Ultimate How-to-Guide for DIY, Punk, Indie, and Underground Bands
Nichols is a cartoonist whose comics appear in Nickelodeon Magazine and his Web site ILikeAppleJuice.com. He's also an activist, artist, musician, and former elementary school teacher. A lifelong Texan, he now lives in San Francisco. Website: http://www.ilikeapplejuice.com/

Margo Rabb
Cures for Heartbreak
Rabb grew up in Queens, New York and now lives in Austin. Her stories have been broadcast on National Public Radio and have been published in the Atlantic Monthly, Zoetrope, Seventeen, Best New American Voices, New England Review, and elsewhere. Website: http://www.margorabb.com/
 
Benjamin Alire Sáenz
A Perfect Season for Dreaming/Una temporada perfecta para sonar
He Forgot to Say Goodbye
Sáenz is a former Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University and has won several awards including a Lannan Poetry Fellowship, an American Book Award, and an award from the Texas Institute of Letters. He currently teaches creative writing at the University of Texas at El Paso. Website: http://www.benjaminaliresaenz.com/

Martin Wilson
What They Always Tell Us
Raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Wilson has also published several short stories, one of which won a Henfield Foundation/Transatlantic Review Award. What They Always Tell Us is his first novel. He lives in New York City. Website: http://www.martinwilsonwrites.com/
 
Paula Yoo
Good Enough
Yoo is an acclaimed children’s book author; TV drama screenwriter, including for NBC’s The West Wing; and freelance violinist. Her non-fiction picture book, Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds won the Lee & Low 2003 New Voices Award. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband. Website: http://paulayoo.com/

Jennifer Ziegler
How Not to Be Popular
Also the author of Alpha Dog, Ziegler was born in Temple, Texas, spent her childhood in Alaska, and then returned to her birth state when she was eight years old. She now lives with her family in Austin. Website: http://www.jenniferziegler.net/

Now that I'm back in LA, I really miss the Texas YA authors. They were just featured here in a Publishers Weekly article about how a group of Delacorte YA authors have formed the Delacorte Dames and Dudes group: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6611855.html

How cool is that? I wished I could be a Dame! Heck, they said I could be the official Los Angeles ambassador. :)

But for now I am very happy being a LAYA - this is the Los Angeles Young Adult Authors group formed by Cecil Castellucci. Our myspace page is here: http://www.myspace.com/loslayas

So what are the updates?

1. Melissa de la Cruz's vampire saga Blue Bloods debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List at #4 this past week!

2. Amy Goldman Koss' novel POISON IVY is out in paperback! Go here for more info: http://www.amygoldmankoss.net/poisonivy.html

3. Sally Nemeth's novel "THE HEIGHTS, THE DEPTHS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN" will be out in paperback in December! Go here for more info: http://sallynemeth.com/index.php

4. Sasha Watson's YA debut novel from Viking came out this month. I attended her awesome book party. Here are some photos from the party:

(L-R):  Leigh Purtill, me, Sasha, and Michael Reisman

Go to Sasha's website for more info at: www.sashawatson.com

Finally, the wonderful Tarie posted an interview with me at the link below - she asked really fun questions! Thank you Tarie!

http://peteredmundlucy7.blogspot.com/2008/11/author-interview-paula-yoo.html

Well, it's back to my writing batcave. I'm writing buddies with fellow LAYAS Jordanna Fraiberg and Iva Marie as we struggle to write an entire novel (50,000 word minimum limit) for the month of November in the annual National Novel Writing Month at http://www.nanowrimo.org/

You can keep up with my word count here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/170463

My word count so far?  14,468

Which means I have 35,352 words left to go! Better get back to my writing batcave!