Queen Jane

I have a friend who used to call me QJ, or Queen Jane because well, I love to be the boss, and I love being loved, and I love sparkly energy and good as well as beautiful things.

It’s true.  And while I don’t ask, or expect, anyone to call me QJ, I do love days when everything pops and fizzes and just feels like you can do no wrong.

My two days in the Bay Area were Queen Jane days. 

The appearance on View From The Bay was such fun that I’ve already been invited back for late July when I’m in San Francisco for the RWA Conference.  I’m going to talk about the conference and push the big literacy signing on Wednesday night.  For those of you who love books, this is it.  Everyone who is anyone in the romance industry will be there.  Hundreds and hundreds of authors in one ballroom signing books (all donated by their publishers) to raise money for literacy.  And yes, Nora Roberts will be signing. 

And Debbie Macomber. 

And Jayne Ann Krentz. 

And Julia Quinn.

And yes, hundreds more. 

I’ll have a clip from Tuesday’s View From The Bay appearance up on the website soon, but in the mean time I have to confess I have too much fun on television with Spencer and Janelle.  They make it really easy, I’m always very comfortable and when Spencer teasingly said, I ought to be a guest host for when Janelle’s off, I said yes!

In all seriousness, I wouldn’t know how to read a teleprompter but I do like the charge I get that comes from being away from my desk and interacting with others in a high energy environment.  The vroom is like the old acting buzz when you’re doing theater and everyone is on and the atmosphere is electric.  Surfer Ty says I’m a writer and not a tv personality and that’s true, but I don’t think he understands what its like to spend so much of one’s life trapped in a small office.  Having grown up dancing and acting, I miss the camaraderie of being part of a crew, of working together as a team.  It just feels good to talk and laugh with others in person instead of via email or on the phone.

With Tuesday’s appearance over, that just left yesterday’s luncheon at Joan Lambert’s house and that was a great success.  Eighteen or nineteen attended, including former neighbor and pal Kelley Wolf, and every book sold out.  Joan turned the lunch into a fundraiser for a local children’s library in desperate need of new books and by the end of the party she had at least $700 to purchase books for the library.  Joan’s a lawyer, a philanthropist, and the mother of three girls (with a five year old of her own) and she knows what books little people love. 

One of my best friends dating all the way back to high school, Anne Namyst, played media escort for me, picking me up from the airport, driving me to each event, making sure I got fed, making sure I had good hair, loaning me a great lipstick, before driving me back to the airport last night.  After playing host for two days I think she was thrilled to drop me back off at the San Jose airport last night, but it was so good to see her, and wonderful to have tons of girl time, even if it was sitting in traffic between events.

I am lucky.  I am incredibly, unbelievably fortunate.  I love my friends and have so many good people who look out for me.  They are here on my b-board, behind the scenes working on my site, writing at their own desks scattered across the country and even overseas.  When it comes to love, when it comes to friends and family, I couldn’t ask for more.  I wouldn’t dream of asking for more.

Now when it comes to chocolate peanut butter ice cream, or angel food cake, I would ask for more.  In fact, I’d sneak more. But I’d do it when you weren’t looking because I wouldn’t want to share.  Sorry.  Friendship only goes so far.

And oh!  For those who might be looking, the chick lit review roundup in today’s USA Today has been pushed back.  Not sure when it’ll run now, but once I hear, I promise to post an update.  But of course I will.  I’m yours.  Queen Jane.