Okay, I'm Back...

Wow...what a great five days I've had...

First it was off to Charlottesville for the Virginia Festival of the Book, which was a blast. (Thanks to Nancy Damon and her dedicated staff for making it run so well).

Not only did I get to hang out with my buddy Bob Morris, I also met a bunch of new friends, including:

*The fascinated and fascinating Tess Gerritsen, a lady with enough curiosity for a truckload of cats and enough energy to light a city.

*Bestselling novelist Lisa Unger, her husband Jeff, and their utterly adorable baby daughter. I can't wait to read Lisa's book Beautiful Lies, which I picked up at the Festival.

*Dana Cameron, writer of the Emma Fielding series of archaeological mysteries, who became my new ally in geekdom when we agreed that, yes, the cancellation of Firefly was a major tragedy and may have killed the best show ever on TV.

And many more...but perhaps the coolest person I met all weekend was the amazing Molly Weston. Molly not only skilfully moderated our panel on Saturday, she also set up a little one day mini-tour for Bob and me, from the Eva Perry library in Apex, NC to my hometown bookstore in Southern Pines, then back up to McIntyre's in Pittsboro. Not only that, she drove us to the gigs. Not only that, she fed us lunch. And I'm not talking Subway. I'm talking homemade chicken salad, homemade pimento cheese, and many other goodies.

Molly loves books, loves authors, and is just plain fun to hang out with. She's one of those people who makes this business so great to be part of. Thank you, Molly!