NEIBA

Yesterday we trekked from Boston to Hartford to help set up the Sisters in Crime/ Mystery Writer's of America booth for the New England Chapters at NEIBA.

Leaving Boston on the NYC route on a Friday afternoon is always frenzied, and once we turned off onto I-84 South, there were the truckers from hell and the lane darters from hell, making for a stressful ride. Instructions to the convention center were so-so, and we made one wrong turn.

NEIBA stands for New England Independent Booksellers Association, and they have a trade show in the fall every year. This must be m 8th or 9th year in attendance.

It's hard to beat a room full of books. Although the show looked small this year, and small wonder with the beating publishing and esp. independent bookstores are taking, many big publishers were on site with huge displays of books.

One starts to drool.

So we set up our booth and made it look nice, chatted up a few folks who stopped by early, and left for a dinner at Rein's Deli in Vernon. Well, you just can't go to Hartford from here without a stop at Rein's Deli.

Except there was a booksigning outside the main exhibition room, and hors d-oeuvres to die for, and we had to use extreme discretion so as not to trash appetites. Avoided the wine, but not the book signings and arrived home with three new books.

Rein's was the same as always. Lots of old folks eating there at 6:30 on a Friday. Lots of fat old folks. Everyone with a bit of heft doesn't die young. We had matzo ball/kreplach soup and potato pancakes, not exactly a pig out, but let me tell you the hot turkey sandwiches looked like they hung over both sides of a PLATTER. For some reason, served with fries not mashed, and everyone knows a hot sandwich with gravy screams for mashed potatoes.

Successfully avoided the bread pudding for dessert. Bought a loaf of rye bread for six dollars. Must weigh a pound and a half. I froze 2/3. It will be good with the saurkraut/sparerib soup later this week. We're still on our soup/salad routine and it's working well. Made a taco salad Thursday that was really yummy, with plenty of lettuce, tomato, onion, navy beans and avocado. Lean ground beef, but not too much. A mixture of two cheeses left over.
Dressing of green peppers, (canned Mexican), sour cream and mayo. Well, ya gotta go easy on the dressing.

I made cranberry squares for an "event" this week. I'll put the recipe in the blog when I get a chance. It's the easiest thing you'll ever make and mucho delicious. I had to find something with ingredients on hand. Challenge yourself.

Off to plan the weekly menus and make a shopping list. It's good to be semi-organized.

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NEIBA photos

The car is unpacked and the booth needs to be stashed on the garage shelves, a two-person job.

I'm drooling over all the books we picked up, including War and Peace, Christmas presents, and plenty of good airplane reading.

Toni Kelner and Dana Cameron are blogging NEIBA, as well as many other Sisters in Crime and MWA members. Isn't the blogosphere cool?

I'm going on one of my semi-annual pilgrimages to my tiny place Northern Nevada tomorrow, so postings may be scanty. On the other hand, I may write volumes. Photos will be fab. And the books come with. That's a Chicago expression that pains S.O., but I still like it.

Next post will be recipes, so come back soon.

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Feet Up, Brain in Neutral

We spent the last three days at NEIBA at the Hynes Convention Center. I discovered I have no comfortable shoes that are good for 8 hours of standing, at least none of the non-sneaker variety.

Being around books and writers and booksellers and publishers is heady stuff, and free books are totally awesome, esp. if signed by the author. We worked hard and had a good time, and am I ever glad it's over.

After I finish my Red Zinger tea, I'm going to soak my feet and slather on some of the Body Shop's Peppermint Foot Balm.

Then I find some totally mindless TV, or maybe I pull out one of the cool new books I've got and curl up. What could be finer? SinC into a good mystery. Yeah.

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New England Independent Booksellers = NEIBA

This weekend, you'll find me at NEIBA in the Hynes Convention Center in Downtown Boston. If there's anything a writer loves more than writing it's reading and books, books, books.

We are representing Mystery Writer's of America and Sisters in Crime in the New York-New England areas. So, last year we used one of S.O.'s old pop up booths from aeons ago, something still in our garage along with other sundry items. This year, with yet a bigger floor space we brought two more sections. Now a few years ago, we had put up one in the driveway/garage area to make sure all the pieces were present, because we were going to put it on Craig's List.

Actually we did put it on Craig's List, and it didn't sell, no inquiries even, and that was the end of that. Until today. We got everything into our smallist car and tooled into town. We put the easy part together first and then tackled the unfamiliar.

Yikes! Put it together wrong not twice but thrice, and that was only the first section. Second section was missing a few pieces. We made do, hoping no one leans against it and sends it crashing down. Got all the signage up. Stuffed some "goody bags." Busy, busy with no time to cruise around and scope out all the really cool books. The University of Chicago always has a wonderful booth, but then I am an academic at heart.

Left everything looking a-ok. Up to P.K. Chang's for a Chinese Bistro meal that can't be beat. Home again, home again, jiggety jig to a mailbox full of crap and some stupid phone messages that made no sense at all.

Put the towels in the dryer and gave the cat and pill and hear we are. Exciting day, no? Tomorrow the show opens and we promote our organizations like crazy. Saturday, too.

I really need to work on this book, but duty calls. Seems like duty calls a lot. Is duty another name for procrastination? Someone tell me, quick.

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NEIBA

NEIBA is the New England Independent Booksellers Association. The photos are the New England Mystery Writers Booth, sponsored by the New England associations of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. We had a booth this year for the first time, and our we got lots of visitors and handed out promo literature. The second photo is the convention floor. What is more tempting than a huge room full of books, writers, publishers, booksellers? All the booths had temptations--not just books but puzzles, maps, charts, ah, the wonder of it all. Felt like a kid in a candy store. Back again tomorrow. The event is at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence.

Pryamid Lake, the Magic Place

Here is a view of Pyramid Lake between Reno and Gerlach, a lake so blue you think it must be a mirage. There are never any boats on the Lake, and campers seem to eschew the lakeside campgrounds. Maybe because they are close to the road. The lake is what remains of a vast inland sea, and it is springfed. Stocked with trout, too, but I'm not sure when fishing season is. Clark Gable fished here, in case you want to know.

One needs a permit to camp, picnic, boat, whatever, but it's only $5.00.

The lake is so beautiful you think you must have stepped into a dream. There's a wildlife viewing area just off the high to Gerlach. The nearest town is Nixon, an Indian village with a museum and a store. Nixon has no casino but looks fairly prosperous. Don't speed through town, by the way, or you will help make the community even more prosperous. The pryamids sticking up in mid-lake are truly incredible. And how many people have even heard of Pryamid Lake? A well kept secret.

UPDATE: Dear Lovers of Pyramid Lake,The Paiute Tribal Council has decided to close Pyramid Lake to overnight camping effective Oct. 1st due to graffiti and other disrespectful actions that have occurred there. The Council is open to receiving letters about this decision. If you have been touched by this sacred sanctuary and wish to share your love for it,thankfulness for being able to spend time there, ideas for protecting the lake/ guardianship actions, requests for reconsideration of the decision to prohibit camping in the future, or any other comments about your experiences there or otherwise, please send your comments to: Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Council, 208 Capitol Hill, PO Box 256, Nixon, NV 89424. Please forward this to Captain Robert and all others who love the lake!Namaste,Deborah Dove

S.O. and I set up the Mystery Writers booth at the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) today in Providence. A book show with a whole convention floor full of books is another dream. Zowie! One could go crazy. We have books spilling all over the house, but that is a good thing.

Last night I liked Kerouac better until Dean acted weird again. They are just across the border in Mexico, and clueless as usual.

Onward, onward,

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