Last night I attended The Writers' House party at Equator Books in Venice. Keep reading for a special surprise Hollywood guest star cameo and photos ...

Above is a photo of my travelling bear Bartlett at the extremely hip and literary Equator Books in Venice, CA where the party was held! It's a beautiful bookstore with a real New York City loft style to it - lots of cool books and a whole area devoted to record albums! (We bought a Bachman Turner Overdrive record before the evening was done! )

If you live in LA, check out Equator Books. They're located at: 1103 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice, CA 90291. Their website is: http://www.equatorbooks.com/index.php They specialize in rare, first edition, out of print and collectible books. The store has been featured in the media quite a bit, including articles in The New York Times and LA Weekly. The Economist described Equator Books as "A big and beautiful store flooded with sunlight on a hip and changing street." Other people have also described the store as a "modern art museum" with its cool book displays and art on the walls.

Lots of people showed up to the party! As always, our agent made sure the food was sugary - there were gourmet donuts dipped in chocolate and caramel, little shot glasses filled with insanely tasty Oreo chocolate milkshakes, and Rice Krispie treats slathered with white chocolate. On the savoury tip, we had potato empanadas (we kidnapped the caterer walking around with the tray of empanadas and forced her to give us the entire tray, MMMWHAHAHAHA!), tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, artichoke dip, and a whole bunch of other yummy little things.

Here's me and YA novelist SALLY NEMETH ("The Heights, The Depths, and Everything In Between"/Knopf '06) and YA/middle grade novelist LISA YEE ("Absolutely Maybe"/Scholastic '09). Check out Sally's website at: http://sallynemeth.com/ and Lisa's website at: http://lisayee.com/

I met new Writers' House client and cute-as-a-button (but with a subtle sarcastic edge) middle grade author EMILY ECTON, whose debut novel "Boots and Pieces" (Aladdin '08) comes out this month! Check out her myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/emilyecton

Here is the annual Steve Malk and his Michigan Writer Babes photo. Every year, my bestest writer friends from Michigan and Illinoi and Texas attend the conference and we always have our photo taken with our agent at his party. This year, however, only three of us could make it due to our schedules. LISA WHEELER ("Boogie Knights," Simon & Schuster '09) and KELLY DIPUCCHIO ("Grace for President," Hyperion '08) are from Michigan, and I used to live in Detroit when I wrote for The Detroit News, so I like to call us the Michigan Writer Babes. Check out Lisa's website at: http://lisawheelerbooks.com/ and Kelly's website at: http://kellydipucchio.com/

And finally... drum roll... the moment you've all been waiting for... our CELEBRITY MOMENT IN THE SUN! On the drive over, Kelly and Lisa and I realized we hadn't seen any celebrities this year. In past years at the SCBWI conference, we have spotted everyone from Peter Falk to Pamela Lee Anderson to Rev. Jesse Jackson! We were a little bummed, wondering if we would meet any Hollywood stars at all this year.

Well, not only did we bump into a Hollywood star at last night's party, but he was also OUR FAVORITE CHARACTER ON OUR FAVORITE TV SHOW!!!!!!! Lisa and I are HUGE "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fanatics. And guess who was at the store? NICHOLAS BRENDON, the actor who played "Xander" on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"!!!!! Lisa FLIPPED OUT when she learned "Xander" was in the store. We talked with him and learned that he is involved with the creation of Equator Books. He is just as handsome and funny in real life as he was on the show. He was also SUPER NICE and posed for photos with all of us. How cool is that? Here's me and Nicholas Brendon...

Thank you "Xander" for making our SCBWI conference the Best. Conference. Ever!!!!

Now I have to get ready for the final day of the SCBWI conference. Going to attend a couple last afternoon panels and then attend the SCBWI faculty dinner! Stay tuned for tomorrow's final live blog!