Saturday was supposed to be my day off, the day where I did nothing and just hung out.

I decided to go spend some time on the show floor while waiting for a call from my friend Pete. We were going to seeFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Well, Pete and I kept playing phone tag, so I spent the day wandering the exhibit hall. I saw some old friends from the comic book industry in the graphic novel pavillion, but I mainly stuck around the Houghton Mifflin booth, talking to some fellow Houghton authors, the great folks who run the Houghton booth, my editor, and Houghton’s publisher. In addition to seeing plenty of folks I know, I also had the pleasure of meeting Markus Zusak.

I had the very welcome and yet very new experience of random people noticing my name badge and stopping me to tell me that they either loved Fanboy or were looking forward to Boy Toy or both. Not a situation I am used to at all!

Eventually Pete and I connected and saw the movie, which was a lot of goofy, comic booky fun, in the best sense of the term. It felt very much like a Stan Lee/Jack Kirby comic from the sixties, which is appropriate.  Not great Art by any stretch, but a terrific way to spend ninety minutes.

After that, it was off to a hotel bar to hang out with YA writers, editors, agents, etc. The roster of who attended would read like a who’s who of established and up-and-coming pros. I ended up staying there until two in the morning, laughing and telling stories with Holly Black, Holly’s husband Theo (quite possibly the sickest D&D DM I’ve ever met–in a good way), Houghton Sales God Joe Monti, and the Librarian Formerly (and Still) Known as Molly (or, “a young woman whom I hold in high regard”). Didn’t get to sleep until around three, which is why I’m blogging about Day 3 on Day 4.

Today, I have a signing, then a dinner, then more drinks at the bar. Seems like we drink a lot, doesn’t it, but it’s really just a chance to catch up with friends and make new ones.

More tonight…or most likely, tomorrow!