brrr…

It is COLD in NYC today!  And I had to leave the house before 8am in order to make it up to the Bronx for my morning workshop…extreme delays, construction, and four transfers later…I arrived fifteen minutes late.  I *hate* being late.  The school doors were closed, and a big crowd of students was waiting to be let in; one girl said, “If you’re a parent, just push to the front.”  Easier said than done, but I was among the first to go through the metal detectors and I found my way to the office; while waiting for the assistant principal, I was asked by the secretary when the sequel to Wish is coming out…that’s becoming a Frequently Asked Question for me…but I’m glad, b/c it means people have read the first book and can’t wait to read more about Genna and Judah.  The secretary said she read it in a couple of days, and loved the new cover.  The AP took me to the library, we connected my laptop but couldn’t get the projector to work…a few more tech guys got involved, and we were up and running by 10am.  This was the first time I gave this presentation…it’s partly on Bird, and partly on Wish, but I think it needs a little tweaking.  When I got to the part where I show my high school photos, the kids were great—some even said, “You still look nice, Miss,” even though my hair was totally jacked up.  Afterward a young man came up and said, “Since you didn’t get to go to your prom, you could come to ours!”  By the time we got to the end, the kids had figured out how much of Genna’s story is MY story…I’m sending the few ARCs I have left up to that school; in one huge building there are 6 different schools, and no budget for author visits and books…I know that’s not the fault of professional athletes, but as I cracked a joke about Tiger Woods during my presentation, I couldn’t help but wish he’d redeem himself by donating half his gabillion dollars to our needy schools…