Thanks TXLA12 !

Oh TXLA12! What a good time was had by all. I am very grateful to my publisher, Sourcebooks, for inviting me to come and arranging for me to sign advanced reading copies of ANASTASIA FOREVER. And the the YART committee for choosing me for the Texas Author's Tea and TT4L. It was all great fun. And getting copies of Anastasia Forever in readers' hands for the first time before it comes out in August was a huge rush of excitement!

But now I think I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

My Austin girl Jessica Lee Anderson, rocking her cowgirl hat while Geoff Herbach and our Sourcebooks Director of Children's Marketing and Publicity, Derry Wilkens is thinking: "Oh Herbach, wait till you see *your* hat."

Yup, nothing says Texas like the special Texas author hats at the YART Texas Author Tea. That's what Chris Mandelski, PJ Hoover and I think!

My YART Tea speed dating partner, author Michael Northrup who said, "Oh yeah. Give us all hats and no mirrors." And who writes amazing books like Trapped!

The YAHOUS (Lynne Kelly Mary Lindsey, Jenny Moss, me, Chris Mandelski, Crystal Allen)

Eating dinner with author/blogger Stephanie Pellegrin, Sourcebooks 'brother' Geoff Herbach, Austin librarian extraordinaire Jen Bigheart, and blogger Stephanie Redwine.

hanging with the girls: Amy Fellner Dominy (OyMG) and blogger and all around super human, Maria Cari Soto

and this is when I got 'ferklempt' at the signing with Maria Cari Soto because she's been there through this whole Dreaming Anastasia series journey.

The Sourcebooks team very full after dinner. And laughing a bunch. Melissa Wood and intern Katie Anderson and head publicity honcho Derry Wilkens and me and Geoff Herbach. Geoff ate a manly steak. With beet sauce.

My first ever Nook cover to sign!

And the line kept coming! Thank you. I was overwhelmed with delight that people stood in line for 90 minutes! Crazy talk. Or as my husband likes to say: "If only they really knew you."

My home girl Katie B of Mundie Moms, who has supported me like a crazy woman.

YAHouston Otherwise Known as the YAHOUS

One thing you learn about a writing career is that it's more than writing. It is also about promotion, establishing relationships with the writing and book communities through whatever suits you best. Me? I like writing workshops, interactive panels and other events. And to some of these events on a larger scale, you need compadres.

Thus, the YAHous, still under construction but gaining form and speed. I'm very excited, actually. We're having fun with this new group and testing the waters of what exactly we'd like it to be. YA Houston. Authors who live in the Houston area who are published in young adult/tween land and who have agreed to this experiment of combining our brains and efforts and maybe do something cool in the name of literacy. It could happen. I hope it does.

We're working it slow so far, deciding what we do and don't want to do as a unit. We've had a couple of signing events such as the one above, which ended up as just Christina Mandelski (The Sweetest Thing, Egmont) and me at Deerbrook Barnes and Noble, chatting with readers and Christmas shoppers and as evidenced by the photo, also supported by our crazy wonderful Houston blogging community, represented that day by Christin Baker (Book Portrait) on the left and the indomitable Maria Cari Soto on the right. (I will be posting about our fab Texas book bloggers in January, so stay tuned)

But I'm pretty sure we're having fun and sticking with this new creature for the long haul. I'm excited about that. Really pretty thrilled. Cause these authors rock! Yup. Made of awesome.

We are: Crystal Allen, Dotti Enderle, CC Hunter, Sophie Jordan, Lynne Kelly, Mary Lindsey, Christina Mandelski, Jenny Moss, Joy Preble.

We have a still forming website: http://yahous.wordpress.com/ that links to our Facebook Page which you really really should go 'Like' so we feel popular. Which of course we are.

We're doing our first 'Big' event with the Barbara Bush Regional Library on 1/7/2012. It's called Whim2Weird and it's going to be a great afternoon with panel and Q&A and signing and swag and fun. Candy, too. It's the brain child of librarian Rebecca Denham and you can find out about that here. And also here. Hope to see you there!

Remember the name: YAHOUS

Look for us.

Support us!

Hang with us when we're out and about.

And yeah, buy and read our books, too.

If you're local to Houston and you're a teacher or librarian or bookseller and you'd like to work with us -- a panel or signing or reading or workshop or book club--- let me know!

More soon.