Book Expo America is on again this coming week at the Javits Center in NYC. I’ll be there as an editor for Stackpole, but I always get a chance to wander so I’ll definitely stop by the Simon and Schuster booth to see what’s going on (I’m verrrry curious about when they are going to release the cover for Ashes!) Actually, there are a lot of cool booths to check out. Amazon have one, too. BEA isn’t like a Con, though. I was going to say there are no costumes, but actually, some enterprising folks promoting books do in fact dress up. I think the, ahem, most interesting in recent memory were the massage girls at Heidi Fleiss’ booth. Presumably she had a book, too. It’s long days and sometimes nights, but it’s a great chance to catch up with people I only see once a year.

No sooner does BEA end than I hop a train or bus (haven’t decided yet) and make for Balticon in Baltimore. Never been to this Con, but I already know several people going so it should be a lot of fun. If you’re attending and see me, please say hi. If you’re really nice (and have either beer or chocolate on you – by the way, when will someone invent chocolate beer already?) I’ll probably be easily persuaded into giving you a sneak peek of the cover. The deeper into the evening you find me correlated with my proximity to a bar will no doubt increase those odds.