Queen of the Bondo

"Jane! Stop this crazy thing!"

So when we last spoke, I was getting ready to be a Millionaire. Although I passed the test, they did not pick me to be on the show. If you want to read about what it’s like to get up at 4 AM to go to a game show audition, I suggest you read Bridget Callahan’s excellent recap of our experience.

Anyway, here’s a smattering of what I’ve been up to lately:

• On July 3 I wrapped up months of planning for the annual Local Author Book Fair at Loganberry Books. I met some interesting new people, including Susan Petrone, J.T. Dutton, Mara Purnhagen, and James Renner.

• I’ve also been heading up the monthly book club at Loganberry. Officially, the theme is Classics; unofficially it’s Reread Those Books That Confounded or Eluded You in High School. We’ve read Evelina, To Kill a Mockingbird (my first time!) and A Tale of Two Cities so far. Next up is Cannery Row (details here).

• I’ve processed numerous archival collections of varying size, scope, and arrangement at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library & Archives. There’s plenty more to be done in the next 9 months.

• I finally succumbed to Twitter.

• Next week I’ll be attending the Society of American Archivists national conference in Washington, D.C. I have not been to D.C. since our 8th grade field trip. This is the first major professional event I’ve attended since 2005, and is also probably the closest thing I’ve had to a vacation since Jim and I spent a weekend in Buffalo two years ago.

And of course, I’m still working on numerous fiction projects, which are all extremely secret.