Day in the Life of an Idiot

Mason and I just can't seem to figure this timing thing out. Because we podcasted on Wednesday afternoon, I swear all my monthly manga decided to up-date at once. I wrote up Blue Exorcist yesterday, and this morning I have a review for you of Chapter #61 of Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan.

In other news, I tried to sign both Mason and I up for Japanese, but the class through Community Ed. had an age restriction--you had to be 16 or older.  I considered faking Mason's age, but then decided that while he might pass for 13, no way he looked 16.  I'm very bummed about this as you can imagine, because Mason is my big otaku colleague.  He's also WAY better at languages than I am--at least he is quick to remember names and pronunciations of our favorite characters.  However, I told him that I was still counting on him to be my study buddy, so hopefully he can learn along with me.  

That starts up in October.

Speaking of things coming-up, you can now register your teen for the "Teen Writing Conference" at the Loft, where I will be teaching "Capturing Kudos: Pro Tips for Improving Your Fan Fic." https://www.loft.org/programs__awards/educational_programs/writing_conferences/  I should note that the conference is actually FREE.  So, if you have someone who is 13 - 17 years old in your life, who normally doesn't have the money or the time for a Loft class, this is a spectacular opportunity.  I won't even be offended if they're not interested in my class!  

If you're a local adult looking to learn more about fan fic writing from some grizzled pros, Rachel and I will be teaching a class for adults in the winter season.  As soon as you can register for that, I'll post info here.  (The problem there, of course, is that those classes are NOT free, though it should be noted that he Loft does provide scholarships for reduced class fees.)

I will also, should enough students sign-up, be teaching science fiction to adults at the Loft again in the winter.  

Also, if you just miss seeing me about town, remember I'm going to be at Common Good Books doing this discussion of the Hobbit Book v. Movie: http://www.commongoodbooks.com/event/“‘-wasn’t-book’-discussion-hobbit-page-and-screen” here in September, on the 22nd!  

... because a very famous agent/author totally schmoozed *me* last night.

Okay, honestly, he was very nice. He was in town doing his "How to Sell a Billion Books" shtick at the Midwest Fiction Writers "Harvest Festival" last night, and as part of that we had a sort of "mass autographing session" with me and a bunch of other MFW published authors (I only put that in quotes because a) everyone was really there to buy that certain somebody's book, and b) there were really only about four of us other authors who could make it, which does not really qualify as "mass" in most people's opinion.) Anyway, though like a lot of people I enjoy meeting famous people, I was really kind of hoping he'd sit somewhere else other than right next to me. I've had the experience being the *other* author at a number of signings (one with Lois McMaster Bujold, another with Neil Gaiman,) and it's always so... depressing to see the other guy's ENORMOUS line, watch his/her books disappearing at a phenomenonal rate, while you sit there and reorganize your books and listen to the sound of crickets. Of course, he sat right next to me.

I was totally bummed, and very quitely muttered about the indignity of it all to a colleague.

But then, when the line thinned, he turned to me and told me how he'd seen my books EVERYWHERE and how much he loved the "packaging" (a publishing term for how your book looks -- it's cover, the interior font, etc.) We chatted for a little, and finally he asked, "So who's your agent?" and I thought, "Whoa? Seriously? Are you asking or are you *asking*?" Of course, I told him, and then he rather disappointedly said, "Well, you're in good hands then."

Damn straight.

Still, I felt pretty flattered, even if he was just being nice and not really trying to woo me away from my current agent. It makes a girl's heart flutter to think a Midwestern nobody like me can capture the attention of a big New York superstar, you know?

In other news, I'm still ridiculously overbooked -- oh, and add to that get ready for class on Wednesday. Ugh. I had to turn down hanging out with a friend just now so that I can try to get this damn short story done by deadline.