Hope everyone had a good weekend! I was pleasantly surprised that our midnight book release for Christopher Paolini’s Brisingr went so well. What we lacked in attendance we made up for in sheer enthusiasm! Though I knew next to nothing about the series before the evening began, I definitely got a formal education in all things Eragon, Brom and Sapphira. It was actually pretty interesting, and I think everyone had fun. Nothing could compare to our Harry Potter 7 release in July 2007 — and Breaking Dawn in August was certainly entertaining — but I’ve had a really good time at each event. As long as the customers are having fun, I’m having fun.

As always, I was absolutely floored by the kids’ depth of knowledge about the book series. To hear completely articulate, interested and engaged 10-year-olds explaining to me all of the metaphors and imagery in the Inheritance series, I know I’m sitting on the floor with little future English majors in the making! I really enjoyed talking to the boys and their parents, looking at the Paolini maps and sharing what was clearly a very exciting evening for them. And since we had plenty of cool prizes to give away to everyone who attended, I loved seeing the ecstatic looks on their faces when they answered trivia questions correctly and got their freebie swag!

Working at a bookstore certainly keeps my life interesting. Working both at a bookstore and a newspaper keeps me continuously surrounded by words. And as everything else in my life begins to shift, rotate and move away, I still hold tight to words . . . To books, to writing, to the act of writing. I bury myself in them. They keep me moving — even when I’m standing still . . . I love losing myself in a great story, holding a new book in my hands and running a finger along the cracked spines. There’s something magical about a great novel, isn’t there?

And those are the sort of books I want to write. The books that draw people from all over the county late at night to stand in line with a horde of other people, everyone waiting to see the crisp cover of your latest work and talk about the world of your creation for hours. Getting lost in a story — getting lost in your story.

And that’s why I have to keep writing! And why I can’t wait to lose myself in NaNo again. That’s sheer writing magic if ever I’ve seen it . . . in some ways, November can’t come fast enough for me.