I'm at Thrillerfest

[Cheryl]

It's that time of year again. The second weekend in July at the Grand Hyatt in NYC. My status on Facebook mentioned that I had arrived and went directly to Grand Central Station for a piece of Junior's strawberry cheesecake.
My second stop was the book room to check in with Patrick, the sales manager for Barnes & Noble. He had been asking everyone I know whether I was coming. He is nice enough to ship the books I buy at a very reasonable rate.
The only other event was the opening reception sponsored by Random House. Lots of free food and booze.
I started Day 2 by going to the coffee bar sponsored by Harper Collins. The first thing I got was an arc of Laura Lippman's newest book which is due out in August.
The first panel was an interview with Robert Crais. I've heard him speak before and didn't really learn anything new, but he's nice to look at for 50 minutes.
Second panel was DO YOU NEED YOUR INNER TEENAGER TO WRITE THE ULTIMATE YA THRILLER? F. Paul Wilson, A.J Hartley, Rober Liparulo, Sophie Littlefield, Aaron Peterson and Wendy Corsi Staub. An interesting look at how YA literature is changing.
Third, CAN A THRILLER BE BOTH EXCITING AND SMART? David Liss, Linwood Barclay, Joseph Finder, Kathleen George, Andrew Gross, Andrew Pyper, and Matt Richtel. Kathleen George did not have a chance with these guys.
Among these panels, I also got to talk to a number of authors I already know. Got some good news from some. Sean Chercover has been among the missing, for example. Although his books have won several major awards, he had been dropped by his publisher. Well, he's back, new publisher, new series!! Same with Karen (K. L.) Dionne who is switching to YA with a lot of success.
I missed one presentation I would have liked. Margaret Atwood did a demonstration of some new products that allow for virtual signings.

[Ann]

Very exciting Cheryl! Enjoy every moment. I was just thinking after finishing The Sentry last night, that I would like to ask Robert Crais a question or two about it.

[Marcy]

Sounds wonderful! Books, free food and drinks and a piece of Junior's cheesecake - heaven!

[Dan in AZ]

Eat,drink and be merry.

[Susie]

Have fun Cheryl!!

[Brakedrum]

You lucky dog!! Sounds like a great time.