Monday, October 29, 2007

Dancing with the Authors

At this past weekend's Writers' Day in Thousand Oaks, over 200 authors gathered to be inspired, gather tips, win awards, and schmooze. Editors from Henry Holt, Viking, and Boyds Mills Press gave us a glimpse into life on the other side of the slush pile. Susan Patron told us what to expect when we win a Newbery. Heather Tomlinson, Rene Colato Lainez, Barbara Jean Hicks, and Denise Gruska gave inspiring presentations on their unique journeys to The Published Side...and so did Disco Mermaid Jay.

Of course, Jay wasn't about to let his dream of speaking at Writers' Day stand alone. Oh no, he had to make another one of his dreams come true at the same time. At the end of his speech, with Michael Jackson's Billie Jean pumping out over the audience, he proved once and for all that...well...no one can dance quite like Michael Jackson. (Trust us, if you weren't there, there's no way to explain how the dancing tied into his speech.)


Billie Jean...


...is not my lover, either.


Jay autographing the cheek of Barbara Jean Hicks


Robin with up-and-coming
(and multi-award-winning) Emily Jiang


Jay with future speakers
Eve and Robin

10 comments:

Natalie said...

Jay...moonwalking to Billie Jean? Is there no end to your talents?? Wish I could have been there!

Anonymous said...

If only he'd been wearing the pimptastic spangle suit! Will Jay be sharing some of his comments with those of us in the unwashed blogosphere? (Showering is overrated, no?)

I heart Emily Jiang, btw. She rocks.

Stephanie J. Blake said...

Cool beans guys! Sounds like it was tons of fun!

Heather said...

Totally wish I could have been there just for that!

Lisa Yee said...

Not to take credit for Jay's dancing, but . . . last weekend I drove him to the beach to see Julia DeVillers who was in L.A. from Ohio to see Sabrina Bryan who was in Hollywood to be on Dancing With the Stars. So, there is a definite inspiration there, no?

Disco Mermaids said...

For anyone who was there to witness my Billie Jean interpretation, please note that I willingly give full credit to Lisa Yee!

- Jay

Anonymous said...

First it sounds like you had lotsa fun! I have just finished reading the book and I wanted to leave a comment while it’s still fresh in my head and the emotions still hovering. It’s amazing. I don’t really know how to express it, but every word of that book was so heartfelt and emoti
onal. It was hard to put down.
ations on the map…it was almost like I was actually listening to it. The story was told with honesty and such an open voice. It feels so real.

Anonymous said...

Sorry that comment got screwed up. The past part was supposed to say: Reading Hannah’s story and going with Clay while he visited the locations on the map…it was almost like I was actually listening to it. The story was told with honesty and such an open voice. It feels so real.

Laini Taylor said...

Aah, sorry I missed the dancing! I will now forever be curious how it "tied in"!!

Katie said...

Me too Laini! What did the dance have to do with the 12 year journey? Come on, tell us Jay....please!