PJs Forever! -- Jay

If I could, I would wake up everyday and stay in my pajamas till I swap (in a move reminiscint of Mr. Rogers) one pair of pajamas for another just in time to crawl back into bed. My days would consist of waking up, brewing some coffee, sitting down to write, and not getting up (other than for refills and bathroom breaks) till I can't write anymore.

And now...I'll have the chance to do that.

In an extremely bittersweet move, I recently gave notice that I will be leaving my full-time job at the public library to become a full-time writer. I absolutely love my job at the library. Everyday, I feel like I'm contributing something worthwhile to the community. And my co-workers have all become friends. But it's every author's dream (at least, every author I've spoken with) to have the chance to devote as much time as possible to their stories.

And now...I'll have the chance to do that!

This definitely was not an easy decision. My agent, the fine folks at Penguin, my family, and the Mermaids have all been pushing me in this direction for quite a while. But I'm a worrier, so just the idea of leaving the stability of a full-time job (with benefits!) was agonizing. So my agent and the fabulous folks at Penguin basically pushed me out of the nest (can Penguins fly?) and now I'm happy to announce that I'm putting all of my eggs into one basket. [If you check out the third photo in this post, that's what we were toasting. Sometimes it takes a while to finalize these things.]

On top of writing, I'll be able to do a lot more promoting, which is almost as fun as writing. (Actually, it's more fun than writing...but don't tell the fantastic folks at Penguin I said that!) For example, last weekend I signed books at the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association tradeshow.

Take a looksie...

Do any of you recognize this woman? She's a V.I.P. in the history of my book signings. Click here to find out who she is. And yes, I realize I have a problem thinking I need to hold my book every time my photo is taken. Call it author-insecurity.

Okay, now this is ridiculous! I must really have author-insecurity issues. On the left is Allison Verost, my publicist at Penguin. According to Allison, publicists should never be photographed. They should remain behind-the-scenes. So, everyone...this is Allison! And on the right you will find Penguins Sales Rep. Extraordinaires, Steve Kent and Colleen Conway.

Problem solved! I can hold someone else's book while they hold my book. Before my autographing session, I had coffee with fellow Razorbillian, Richelle Mead. Richelle does a much better job on her blog of showing you what an actual tradeshow looks like.

Now, it's time to buy some comfy new pajamas!

- Jay


Mermaid Meet-Up: Today (Tuesday, October 7th), I'll be speaking at the fourth annual San Luis Obispo Suicide Prevention Forum. It'll be at Laguna Middle School from 6-9pm. If you're in the area, stop by...and take home some valuable information. You can download a flyer here.