So! Nothing new here. Same ol', same ol'. I barely can think of anything to type.It's difficult to know how to begin this post. It's been a couple of weeks and, although I do remember my own name now, not much else has settled in. On the other hand, I have a lot of people to write ballads for, but I suppose the beauty of a blog is that I can write multiple posts. The largest thank yous and the sincerest moments of humility still need to be expressed. But I want to to do them right. I hope their absence here can be excused for the time being.
So! Allow me to tell you a little about the week of Jan. 10th (January 10th was the day I received the phone call). Monday morning, Phil and I were getting a pretty slow start because we had worked late the night before. We had very glamourous plans to take the dog for a little walk and buy some milk. It's winter, though, so it takes a while to get out the door with all of the hats and mittens and wool.
Then the phone rang.
And suddenly, we were in New York.
I've had to speak to some reporters who have asked me if this whole award was made sweeter since I won it with a book Phil wrote. I said yes, which is an understatement of gigantic proportions. But what not everyone knows is that I have an extended family at Roaring Brook Press. Without Neal Porter, editor, I wouldn't be an illustrator. And he publishes many of my friends who I met working in a bookstore. Neal was asking me what I wanted to do for lunch the next day after flying in to the city. Phil and I said we wanted to do something very low key, so we went to the Chinese place around the corner from Neal's apartment. But one of the nicest parts about having the extended family at Roaring Brook is that he invited my dear friend George (who I met working at a bookstore) to lunch as well. And actually, without George O'Connor, author/illustrator, I wouldn't be an illustrator either.
That's George. And me. Eating Chinese food.
The next day the publisher took me out to the Gramercy Tavern. At this point Phil had to fly back to Michigan early because of the impending Nor'easter. So I was alone, but I think I got through it okay. It was difficult not having him speak for me (sorry Phil). But! We ate at the Gramercy Tavern in a private little room.
Truly one of the most, if not the most, delicious meals of my life. From what I can remember. Which is not much. At this point, I was still dizzy from the week, nervous, and pretty overwhelmed. So I took the pictures to make sure this was really happening.
I think I'm going to have to continue this story in another post. So please stay tuned!
In the meantime Phil and I have some events scheduled. If you're in the New York City area, we will be at the Powerhouse Arena Bookstore in Dumbo on February 12th from 4-5pm. For more information, please follow this link.
If you live in the Ann Arbor area, Nicola's Books has generously offered to throw us a party! We will be there March 8th at 6pm. More details to follow!
There will be some more events planned and I'll post them here.
A sincere thank you and apology to those who have written me emails and comments. I am desperately behind on emails but I'm working on it. And I might get some help.
That's it for now! Back to work!
ps. I think traffic to this blog may have picked up a bit in the last couple of weeks and I might have more readers than just my father-in-law. Hello, new stoppers-by. I'm Erin. I love books and work very hard at being an illustrator. My husband is a writer and illustrator-Philip. Mostly, I try to keep up with the work he makes.
