garbed and demystified

Got back from Book Expo America very, very late last night, then stayed up later finishing up a couple of projects, and my brain still feels like it's slowly dripping out through my elbows. A couple of highlights, though:

Best celebrity sighting: Dr. Ruth, who is very, very short, and was scampering through the hallways. A friend mentioned that at her signing she was sitting on two copies of her book.

Best promo item: Verso's new edition of Valerie Solanis' "SCUM Manifesto" was being promoted with SCUM box-cutters. Nice.

Most ornate promotion: A self-published-I-think novel called "Wild Animus," which was being handed out along with pretty spectacular shoulder bags: multiple compartments filled with notebooks, pens, bottles of water, Red Hots, survival gear, and (depending on your answers to an "are you predator or prey?" quizlet) a little stuffed wolf or sheep. Plus they'd hired a couple of "protesters" to picket the book downstairs.

Best unpublished book: Sean Stewart, the genius behind the AI game, showed me a mockup of a book he's put together, a Dennis Wheatley-style diary-with-packet-of-evidence mystery that looks like it'll be hugely fun, and possibly rather difficult to find a publisher for. I hope he does.

Best new pal: the fabulous Heidi, who wins this award for introducing me to the joy of Diesel Sweeties. How did it take me so long? I know I've seen this one before...

And, to top off the weekend, waiting for me in the mail this afternoon: the advance proof of Live at the Apollo. My eyes will be drooping today, but I will be smiling.