Buongiorno!

I cannot believe it is May already. Spring has been a whirlwind.

Last week was my first sales conference for work, an exhausting but exhilarating experience. Have I told you how much I love the publishing biz? For sales conference, all the sales reps come to town, and along with publishers, editorial staff, marketing and publicity, we talk about the fall titles for a whole week. Holy shit, are there a lot of titles. I had a stack of spreadsheets, and I circled each book I want to make sure I read--I must have a hundred by now. A couple of highlights for me: David Bergen’s new novel and Broken, by Daniel Clay (this is being comped to Lullabies for Little Criminals). So I’m busily working on the Bronte’s now, for my summer course, to clear the plate for fall.

Sales conference also brings parties. I had a great time, and got to know people better, but I was wiped after two nights out in a row. I had to have a quiet weekend to detox before we leave for Italy.

Have I mentioned Italy lately? We leave tomorrow! I still haven’t listened to my CD that is supposed to teach me Italian in an hour. But I know the most important words: vino rosso, per favore! Grazie!

I’m going to try to give you updates on the trip like I did last year. But you know how McHotty feels about that. But I’m stealthy.

In case you don’t hear from me for a little while, be well everyone. I will take lots of pics to post on my return.

Arrivederci!