dancinghorse | Life in a Glamour Profession

Sometimes we get to do cool things because we're writers. So this weekend I did a quick trip to California to join the Winter WonderRead mass signing at The Book Ladies in Norco. Lots of cool people were there, including longtime netbud and Usual Suspect Nancy Holder, and old GEnie RomEx hand Lynne Kerston, and a nicely eclectic collection of writers I hadn't met before. We had a very nice signing, sold out nearly all of our books, and made some new friends.

It really was a quick trip--up, feed horses, run to airport, make it to California an hour before the signing. Everything went well, except that the weather forecast was for 65 and dry on Saturday though there was rain forecast for Sunday. I pulled blankets off horses and ran. By the time I got to the airport it was raining. It was pouring by the time the flight left. It rained all weekend. Poor Tina the farmsitter was stuck with nonstop Blanket Brigade. It's still raining. We need it, but oy.

After the signing, I spent the night with Miriam, one of the owners of the bookstore, who happens to be an old GEnie buddy--she writes romances and romantic suspense with her partner Jackie, as J.M. Jeffries. Miriam had a black-tie do for her husband that night, so Jackie and I joined the other bookstore owner, Sherrie, for dinner at Pomodoro--amazing Italian restaurant. I don't much care for the spaghetti-and-lasagna continuum, but give me calamaretti with garlic and zuchini in a light tomato sauce and I'm a happy pooka. (Did I mention there was garlic in it?) Then Jackie insisted on chocolate souffle, which was maaaahhhhvelous. It was a perfect match of mood, occasion, and company. Delightful. After dinner, I fell over and slept for ten whole hours. That's more sleep than I've had in one place in a long, long time.

The next morning, Miriam and I went to visit lynnesite and her Tall Slim White Ponies (and the divine Miss Twix). Ember was really glad to see me--she lived here for three months last year and we're good buddies. Twix was not so sure--she never met a Lipizzan-speaker before. She's grown up around gentle Arabians. I was the first person she met who projected Lipizzan Alpha Mare. She got a little scared, and then got really worried because Mom wasn't upset at all. Mom was begging for hugs and lovin' up on. I had to reassure the baby that I hadn't come to take her away to the Mother Ship, she wasn't going to ever leave her human mommy ever, and I gave good scritchies. Then life was good.

She's beautiful. Dead spittin' image of daddy Pooka, with mom's beautiful long straight legs and pretty Arabian face.

The weather was Arful--I was prepared so had Seattle clothes instead of SoCal clothes, but even so. Still, it was great to sit in the Fifth Wheel with the big windows and watch the horses play on all the acreage, and have a nice, long visit. Tori, aka Pooklet Victim Prime, arrived bearing the world's best chocolate chip cookies ever, and we had a great lunch and lots of good talk. Miriam had to leave for a family thing, and I stayed on until evening, when Tori kindly ran me down to the airport. It was a bit of a slalom coming down off those hills in the cold rain, but all went well and I made my flight.

The trip back wasn't awful, all things considered. My flight from Phoenix was seriously delayed, the flight I got moved to was also seriously delayed, and my bag (which was full of cookies so I checked it) arrived on a different flight, and it was raining lions and tigers and bears, but I made it back around 1:30 a.m. Horses were snug in blankies and glad to see me, cats and dogs were clingy. I was Wide Awake--extra-large latte from the Evil Empire kept me awake through the flight and the drive...and for another two hours after I arrived. I'm a tired puppy today. And it is still raining. But We Need The Rain.

And I'm definitely going back to Norco to visit all my old and new friends. That's one of the really cool parts of what I do--meeting people through the books.