This Day in History: The Space Shuttle Came to Town

So, Space Shuttle Endeavor came to town recently.  Friday afternoon, a friend and I headed down to Inglewood to see it for ourselves.  It was like a street fair, tons of families hanging out, taking pictures and making incredibly bad jokes about the shuttle and the giant donut in the picture.  (How would you caption the photo above?  I know you've got a pun in you somewhere...!)

That's Randy's Donuts, if you're wondering (you can just read it on the side there).  A throwback from the days when every other building in LA looked like what it was:  The hat-shaped Derby, the bowl shaped Chili Bowl, the list goes on.  It probably has something to do with this being Hollywood.  We like our altered reality here.



The Brown Derby Restaurant, Los Angeles.  Courtesy of Wikipedia.

This is a town that loves mixing reality with fantasy, and rubbing elbows with the stars.  So it was interesting to see such a crowd gathered at four o'clock in the afternoon on a work day, and nary a celebrity in sight.  Scarred and weathered from years of rubbing elbows with the real stars, Endeavor passed by to share a little of her glory with the rest of clayfoots.

Even the Goodyear Blimp made an appearance in the sky overhead to pay her respects. (It's that little fish-shaped thing just to the left of the light stand and donut.  And yes, all vessels are ladies in my book, if you must know.)  Endeavor's new home will be the California Science Center.  For more pictures, check out this fantastic photo gallery from the Los Angeles Times.  Amazing.

Welcome home, you beauty.  You'll fit in just fine.  

How to Kiss A Wolf - A Beauty and the Beast Book Review Extravaganza!

The crazily talented Miss Cecil Castellucci has done something wonderful-- as editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books Young Adult/Children's Literature section, she has launched a series of reviews and ruminations on classic fairy tales. 


 

 
Are you a fairy tale buff?  Do you long to read every version of Beauty and the Beast that's out there?  Are you getting ready to watch the remake of the awesome 80s tv series and just want to wet your whistle a little?  (Side note:  I think the Beast should be A BEAST! Not a dude with contacts and a bad attitude. Ron Perlman rocked that lion-face like an Egyptian god!)  Then click on over and see what the likes of Aimee Bender, Merrie Haskell, Heather Tomlinson and a few others have to say on the subject.  Check out my review of Mercedes Lackey's THE FIRE ROSE-- note the cool cover art by my beloved Darrell K. Sweet!  I confess I did choose to review this book because of it's cover.  I've read half a dozen books for Sweet's cover art alone.  It's an interesting way to pick a book, since you never know what you're going to get! 

No matter which side you come down on, which versions you love, or love to hate, let's all tip our hats to seeing beauty in the mostly beastly of places (or faces), and love conquering all.

Noo Yawk Comic Con!!!

For all you lucky devils out there in Manhattan standing in line to get into this year's NYCC, I have a treat for you!  My wonderful publisher, G. P. Putnam and Sons will be at the Penguin Books booth handing out advanced reader copies of ORLEANS for your reading pleasure!  Just head over to booth #921 and say "Hey Mister, throw me something!"  And when they stare at you blankly, just ask for the book.  Not everyone has been to Mardi Gras.

Have fun my fellow comic book geeks.  EXCELSIOR!

Because I am a nerd

And because it's the 46th anniversary of Star Trek!  Check out the Google doodle in honor of the auspicious occasion.  It's more than a drawing-- it's an adventure!  Move your mouse around the screen and click on the highlights.  If you stay on the bridge, you're not being adventurous.

Thank you, Google!  And thank you, Mr. Rodenberry.  Trek Rules!

My brain is on fire!

I usually do not post links to items for purchase.  If anything, I'll show you dreamy locations, usually full of books.  This is because I am not necessarily endorsing anything.

And yet...

I saw this map on etsy.com, and it set my brain on fire!

Courtesy of BlueWillowFox

It's a map of Never Never Land!  With directions!

Burned into a sheet of leather, it folds up to become a journal cover.  The impossibly clever artist behind BlueFoxWillow has just exploded my mind. 

As a little girl, I was obsessed with Peter Pan.  I owned a beautiful, midnight blue leather bound copy of the book and carried it around with me.  I was Tinkerbell for three Halloweens in a row (unheard of these days-- the minute Halloween passes, I'm onto the next costume idea)!  I named my dog, and a pony after characters from the books!  Obsessed!

And now, this map.  Thank you, BlueFoxWillow, for making the sort of magic I only dreamed of come to life.

I'm off to dig up my copy of Peter Pan.

At long last...

First came the storms.

Then came the Fever.

And the Wall.

After a string of devastating hurricanes and a severe outbreak of Delta Fever, the Gulf Coast has been quarantined. Years later, residents of the Outer States are under the assumption that life in the Delta is all but extinct . . . but in reality, a new, primitive society has been born.

Fen de la Guerre is living with the O-Positive blood tribe in the Delta when they are ambushed. Left with her tribe leader’s newborn, Fen is determined to get the baby to a better life over the wall before her blood becomes tainted. 

Fen meets Daniel, a scientist from the Outer States who has snuck into the Delta illegally. Brought together by chance, kept together by danger, Fen and Daniel navigate the wasteland of Orleans. In the end, they are each other’s last hope for survival.


In stores March 7, 2013.  Are you ready?  I am!   Three years in the making.  I hope you will think it was worth the wait!

Rest in Peace: Ray Bradbury

Couresy of Yahoo/AP 

Sad news this morning.  Wonderful, pioneering science fiction writer Ray Bradbury passed away yesterday at the age of 91.  Not too shabby, really.  Ninety-one years!  It's almost like being a time traveler, seeing the world change over the course of a century.

We've entered that time when the greats from my youth are passing.  Maurice Sendak, and now Mr. Bradbury.  It makes me want to take up the torch and write something astonishing in fiery letters fifty stories high.  High enough that they can be read from Mars, or Venus.

Everyone, go out and read yourself a copy of "All Summer in a Day."  That's Bradbury.  It stays with you.

Thank you, Mr. Bradbury, for the insight, entertainment, and education.  You will be missed.