Sometimes I procrastinate blogging on a topic because I know I can’t do it justice. Plus, all present brain power is being sucked into the revision vortex. Still, here’s a list of the top six awesome NY moments, in random awesome order…
1.Old Friends
Three of my good friends from PA came up for a day to eat, see a Broadway show (Mama Mia–their choice, but cute), split a cab, and eat some more. It’s easy to forget how much I miss the friendships forged in our little student commune until I see someone who I used to see nearly every day, who knows me so well, and it brings it all back. I went through moving mourning all over again when we said goodbye. I’m very lucky to have such friends.

(PS–friend/pirate with glasses on does have an eyebrow, it’s just covered up by her flesh-colored eye patch.)

2.Research at the Met
Something I hear again and again about the Metropolitan Museum of Art is "You have to spend the whole day there." Which sounds good in theory, but not when you only have 2 1/2 days. So I condensed it into four short hours, most of which was spent in the Egyptian wing. An entire Princess Series plotline breathed within these two works of art…

Hard to tell in this picture, but there are two princesses. The little wall plaque explaining the story behind the art was helpful, but wrong. See, I now know the real story behind the story. And it’s a good one 🙂

What does a hippo have to do with princesses? I’m not sure yet, but I have had three hippo nightmares since I took this picture. They’re haunting me, demanding I expose their hippo secrets.

3. Meeting Agent
The thing about phone and internet relationships is no matter how tight you are with someone, there’s bound to be an awkward moment when you meet. Will I know her if I see her? Do we hug or shake hands or air kiss? Will she like my shoes? Does it matter if she likes my shoes? Why am I even wearing these shoes–they hurt my feet.
So I obsessed over this moment, when I met Sarah and when I met my editor, Emily. Which is very silly, yes, but the details were something I could control. I bought three potential outfits and settled on this one.

But then I was walking to our appointment and saw my reflection in a store window and thought, "What am I, a secretary? I’m an artist! Where’s the creativity?" So I stopped in H & M and bought a slightly less secretarial skirt. But only slightly.
Sarah was/is great. I still marvel that someone so experienced in this business sees talent in me. Me! We met up in a coffee shop and went over my contract before heading over to the Hyperion office, at which time I…
4. Signed Contract
This isn’t why I went to New York, but the timing worked out that I got to sign my contract with my editor and agent smiling benevolently down on me.

I’m trying very hard not to smile here as they hand me the first copy but obviously can’t play it cool. I’M SIGNING MY OWN BOOK CONTRACT!!! See, still working on it. Chill, Lindsey.

Did I feel stupid asking my editor to snap the pics? No! I’m not cool, remember? I was too busy focusing on my shaking hands. So many clauses. Deadlines. Royalties. References of me as "The Author". Eek!

OK, the deed is done. And I can’t keep it in anymore. Sarah, however, is eternally cool and collected. And British. And awesome.

5.Editorial Discussion
After dining on fish I can’t even pronounce at the Union Square Cafe, Emily and I went back to the office to spend the rest of the afternoon discussing books. My books, as it were. Emily is most excellent–she remembered more about the book than I did. We went over some ideas for book one and roughly outlined the next two. Revisions are so much easier now that I have that big picture (although I did not get a picture of Emily, sadly). The most surreal moment was sitting in a conference room, with a bookcase that will someday hold my book on the right, and a perfect NY view on the left. Emily kept asking if we should close the blinds and I said, "Can we keep them open? How many times do I get to discuss European monarchies while staring at skyscrapers?"

(View from window may have been slightly different than one from top of Empire State Building)

6.Canceled Flight
Thanks to Delta, I revised  two chapters after my connecting flight to Raleigh was canceled and I was rebooked on the late night red-eye to Birmingham. Which would have been disastrous with children, but without them I was blessed with seven straight hours with nothing to do but write. When my computer ran our of juice, I waited by an outlet plug. The Guy using it was on his cell, and I was starting to get annoyed with his hogging until I realized it was GUY Fieri from Food Network.

(Wasn’t he nice to pose for this picture?)
I had a fangirl moment as his show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives is most likely the reason I gained eight pounds this summer. I mean, I saw Heidi Klum at Bloomingdales and still didn’t get as excited. I eavesdropped on his conversation and when he left got to use the now-holy outlet plug. My writing has since been blessed with killer food descriptions.

So that’s it. Was it worth it? Yes a million times. There is so much value to face time, I think, not to mention GUY time. Already counting down the days/months/years until I can do it again.