Wanda's Book World

As an author promoting my new book for kids, Good News Bad News, I recently had the pleasure to attend the 2012 SIBA conference in Naples, FL.  At first I had a little bad news: My flight was rescheduled, and I got to the Waldorf late.  But it was actually good news, because I arrived just in time to meet a very friendly group of booksellers standing out in front who invited me to dinner.  As our bus drove away, we realized no one knew where it was going.  Was that bad news?  No.  It was more good news, because we ended up at the delicious DaVinci restaurant on luxurious Marco Island just as the sun was setting.

The next day was pretty much all good news.  I was on a panel with four very funny children’s book authors.  They each told an hilarious story about the history of their writing and then discussed the many possible future formats for books.  The program was extremely well organized and attended by an enthusiastic and informed audience.

My favorite part of the event was the book signing. It was a great opportunity to talk with more store owners, manages and buyers, and get to know a little about their families and personalities.  Meanwhile, I conducted a small psychology experiment by offering them the choice of personalized drawings in their book (either an upbeat rabbit, or a downtrodden mouse.)  I’ve since compiled all of my findings into a data base, and am currently generating a map of Southern States to see where the greatest population densities of pessimists vs. optimists occur and the powerful effect this seems to have on the migratory patterns of the eastern bluebird, Sialia sialis.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience for me!  Great people, beautiful setting, live alligators!  Thank you so much for inviting me, SIBA.  My only comment for next year: make sure the water slide is open 24 hours!

Best wishes for a great fall!
Jeff Mack