In spite of the fact that it's a beautiful last day of summer (as opposed to pouring down rain, which it did much of yesterday), there are two pots of vegetable soup on the stove, simmering away. Since I'm heading down to Salem tomorrow, that should keep Russ fed for a few nights, plus leave plenty to put in the freezer.

Last Tuesday evening, I had a fantabulous time at a signing/reading given by Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi at the Redmond Borders. I've been wanting to meet Holly in particular for ages and nearly tried to figure out how to get myself to Vancouver, B.C. a number of months ago to go see her (and Cassandra Clare) at a signing there. But this was great. Both she and Tony are such warm, funny people. For some reason, it always surprises me when I discover that writers I have admired for years are, in fact, people, as opposed to untouchable gods. I had the same experience with Charles deLint last Fall at Hugo House. Holly and Tony chatted about the Spiderwick books and how they collaborated on them, including their sources of inspiration (old bestieries, fairytales, etc.), then Tony drew some pictures, which was great fun. They also talked about their involvement with and opinions of the Spiderwick movie, which was interesting. Then they signed books, as many as one had. I bought two there and brought two with me, and had a pleasant chat with Holly while she cheerfully signed them. It was truly a delightful evening and I left there glowing.

The next day, I read the final "Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles" book, a little sad that it was the last, but satisfied that it ended how it did. If you haven't read the series yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. You don't have to be a kid to enjoy them (as evidenced by yours truly). Now I'm reading "Tithe," which I credit as the book that got me started down the Urban Fantasy path. (Followed closely by Charles deLint's "The Onion Girl.") I also just finished reading "City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare and am eager to start the second of her Mortal Instruments books, "City of Ashes," which I read a couple years ago. "City of Glass," her third in the series, came out this year and I am very keen to read it before I accidentally find out anything that happens in it from Cassandra's tweets.

So that's my book/author news for the day. Oh, one final thing: I'm going to Wordstock in Portland on the weekend of Oct. 10-11th. http://www.wordstockfestival.com/#/page_id=110/ It sounds like a ridiculous amount of fun!

Well, time to check the soup and clean up the house a bit before I head down to Salem tomorrow. The biggest challenge will be getting some writing done while I'm there, but I'm determined to make it happen. I've been going strong all weekend and although I've hit a sticky patch in Ch. 5, I shall wrestle my way through it on the train tomorrow and all will be well.