You all know I love the Betsy-Tacy books…just look at the background of my website. So the other day, I was chatting with Meg Cabot, okay, okay…I wasn’t “chatting” with her, but I had emailed her and she did email me back…anyway, the gist of our exchange was that Meg is going to be the guest speaker at the Betsy-Tacy Convention this summer in Mankato, MN. They have this every three years (I think) and I’ve wanted to go since the last one, but I hadn’t really considered it. I mean, to fly from here is expensive, and there’s the conference fees and the hotel…but then I thought, “I just sold a book!” What better way to celebrate selling a book than to go back and learn about, and explore the books, character, and author that made me want to write in the first place? Plus, it’s not until next summer, so by then I should have my advance, right? Publishing is slow, but probably not that slow!

I’m very excited. If you’re a fan of Betsy, you should join me! And if you’re not a fan, that means you just haven’t read them, so get thee to a library. They are most unfortunately out of print, which is what started my chat…er…exchange with Meg in the first place…I was hoping she’d use her undeniable clout to force Harpercollins to bring them back. She said she’d see what she could do, but knew they’d site “bottom line” and all that…Still there are the libraries and I bet yours has the Besty books.

I made a reservation at The Butler House B&B because I thought that would be more atmospheric than the hotel. And if you know Betsy, it’s all about creating the right setting. Will I see you there?