Thursday, June 9, 2011

where I've been

Hi. Remember me?

It shocked me to see that I've not posted anything in over two months. I've been busy, I swear. First there was the end of the semester. I felt like I was grading non-stop for four weeks, at least. The semester's end always makes me crazy. I eat a lot of junk food, clutter my living space, and mutter quietly to myself.

Following the end of the semester came the BookExpo America. I was invited and attended courtesy of AmazonEncore.

In a word, friggin awesome. Ok, so that's two words, but I kept saying it as one.

As if I wasn't already proud to be an AmazonEncore author, this trip clinched it. Everyone I met who is affiliated with Amazon Publishing fits the friggin-awesome description. Friendly, funny, committed, smart, encouraging, supportive... shall I go on? As if that wasn't good enough, I finally got to meet, in person, my good friends and fellow AE authors Rob Kroese, RJ Keller, and Karen McQuestion, as well as some others who had previously been names that kept appearing on the Kindle boards and blogs, like Craig Lancaster and Greg Smith, and the charming Maria Murnane. I got a little spoiled with the rock star treatment for the three days in Manhattan--nice hotel, limo pick-up, and people saying "You're Elisa Lorello? So cool to meet you in person!"

But perhaps the best part was seeing my Why I Love Singlehood co-author, Sarah Girrell. We haven't seen each other since spending a week in December, 2009 on our then-manuscript. Sarah and I were a bit like conjoined twins--we were rarely seen separately. We had a great time explaining to people how we met, how we collaborated, how we feel about being AmazonEncore authors (I'm tellin' ya, it was a love fest), etc.

Following the three days in Manhattan, I took an extended vacation on the East End of Long Island. Being on the beach--namely, the ocean-- was nothing short of life-affirming. As I wrote in a tweet, "I re-charged the battery of my soul. I also got sand in my ear." It was pretty tough having limited internet access (the folks at the public library were starting to set their watches by me showing up, I think), and I could do without the asshole drivers, but I'd suffer through both all over again if just to have one more day on the sand, with that big, blue, vast stretch of water and horizon, and my oldest, bestest buddy, who also happened to come to town.

Oh yeah, and my New York accent returned. Big time. Couldn't help it.

Meanwhile, lots of good things happening for Faking It. In addition to hitting the Kindle Bestseller list (again!) for 18 days straight, Harcourt Houghton-Mifflin will be taking over the print distribution in August of this year. That means a snazzy new cover (again!) and a lot more exposure in bookstores.

So then, after all this, What's next?

Back to writing, of course. The novel ideas are coming to me faster than I can get them on the page. Here's hopin' for a long, productive summer.

12 comments:

Elspeth Futcher said...

I echo your sentiments, my friend. I wish you nothing but success - and maybe a little less sand in your ear!

Anonymous said...

I can't begin to express how proud I am for you!

Great things happen to great people.

I now know, personally (sorta, lol), two published authors...you & my daughter.

Now that I have an iPad (thanks to Dear Hubby for my birthday), I can download instead of waiting.

Pam Purtle

Anne R. Allen said...

So that's where you've been! What a fantastic, magical time. So wonderful to watch you climb that old success ladder! Welcome back.

Elisa said...

Thank you so much, friends! It's nice to see I still have followers!

Beth, I think I *finally* got the sand out of my ear. And my hair. And my Kindle case.

Meg said...

Do you, or are you planning to do, any guest lecturing or workshops at UNC Charlotte? Or do you have any weekend type things in Raleigh? I just can't get the thoughts out of my head!
Electronic books are a great invention. My friend downloaded Faking It and was just starting it when she suggested it to me, so I promptly dl'd it and read it in an evening.

Elisa said...

Birdie, if someone invites me to UNC-C, I'll be there. :)

I do have an event with the Wake County Public Libraries coming up in August, and some speaking engagements with a panel of authors later this year.

Thanks for the encouragement and the kind words!

Lenasledgeblog.com said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip to the BEA, congrats on reaching the bestsellers list. Hope you get some rest, I'm sure you need.

Jon Rector, editor of The Piglet Parade said...

My bride, the Belle of Ballast Point, said she just finished your book "Faking It" and she said it was really excellent.

She said she didn't figure out the end (until the end I guess), which she normally does.

I haven't read anything you have written (I am too busy annoying people with my blog), but as a fellow blogger,com blog person I thought you would appreciate a good shouting at, or shout, shout out - whatever.

She really enjoyed your book.

Elisa said...

Thank you, Jon -- I do indeed appreciate it. Glad she liked it!

I'll be sure to check out your blog. :)

Elisa said...

Thanks, Lena (although I'm up rather late right now, I'll be sure to sleep in tomorrow, hahaha)!

:)

Jon Rector, editor of The Piglet Parade said...

If you do check out my blog, you might be interested to know that you are the target...oops, I mean subject of my post on 6/20.

Love your blog.

Elisa said...

Well now I'm *definitely* gonna check it out, Jon... ;)

Thanks for the heads up, and the kind words!