After getting up early yesterday, I made it to the airport in a timely manner. After clearing security, I made my way to my gate, where they were announcing that, due to a lack of tailwinds, we’d be leaving 10 minutes early, if we could get everyone aboard. Apparently everyone heard the message because we left about 10 minutes early and the pilot announced he’d fly a little faster than planned to help the people on board who had tight connections. I love flying Alaska Airlines!
I had an aisle seat, which gave me the opportunity to get up, stretch or take a walk. I managed to finish the last reread before we landed, on time, in Boston. My research turned out to be true: free transportation on the Silver Line from the airport. I caught the bus and was in my hotel room by 4:30. I unpacked and had a shower to refresh myself before venturing out.
It is a 5 minute walk from my hotel to the convention center. I walked over there to get my badge before heading over to my first event. The weather in Boston is uncharacteristically warm, and is forecast to be so until Monday, when it will dip closer to freezing again.
My first event was cocktails with Holiday House Publishing. It was a nice event where they were featuring some of their new books, but that also had picture book art on display. They had delicious creamy tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches to eat. After flying all day, I was feeling a little dehydrated and hungry, so I really enjoyed this meal! I also ran into a couple of my committee members.
I swung back to my hotel, the Boston Seaport, which is quite nice. I have a king size bed in my room and the bathrobes are really fluffy. I dropped off my conference bag and the arcs I’d collected and regrouped for a while before heading off to downtown Boston to a restaurant called The Top of the Hub for dessert reception with Cassandra Clare to promote her newest Shadowhunter book, Lady Midnight, which kicks off a new Shadowhunter series.
The Top of the Hub, 50 floors up, has amazing views of Boston. As we got off the elevator, we were greeted by a waiter bearing blue drinks. They were pretty, but a little strong for my taste. As I wandered through the room, I stopped first at the cheese table. But everyone in line wondered where the desserts were. As we rounded the corner in the L-shaped room, looking for a table we realized there were lots of dessert tables. I sat and chatted for a bit while I ate my cheese, then decided to peruse the other options. There was a sundae table, donut & cookie tables, a cotton candy table. I thought I’d reached the end, but then, the crowd at the end of the room parted and I saw the crepe table. Delightful!
I got my crepe, then sat and chatted with a committee member and a few other people we knew joined us. Shortly afterwards, a Simon & Schuster rep let us know Cassandra was going to speak shortly, so we finished up and moved closer to where that would occur.
I left shortly after that, tired but content, and with a full stomach. Here’s what I collected over the course of a few hours yesterday.
My committee meets at 1:00 this afternoon. We have to narrow our 5 books down to one winner. Wish us luck!
booksandbassets 