two days, one bubble bath

"The Only Photographic Record I have of the evening." (See below.)

Let's see.... on Saturday I did an enjoyable panel on graphic novels with Nicki Greenberg and Queenie Chan (run by Zoe), which ended too soon, and attended a banquet in a museum, sitting between Nicki G and Elizabeth Honey, during the course of which I bought a Shaun Tan painting in a silent auction for a good cause (it's on this page and is called The Sweet Hereafter).

Sunday morning was the Keynote Speech for the CBCA conference, a mixture of thoughts on children's literature and poems about children's literature. Then I signed books, with a slightly desperate edge because I only had about a hundred minutes before I was due on the next panel -- a fun one about influences, with Garth Nix and Isobelle Carmody. Finished the line with about three minutes to spare. Did the panel. Then signed more books.

Then Eddie and Anne Campbell and Garth Nix and I went to have a drink with the lovely Chloe, who was, as usual, not wearing anything.

Walked back to hotel. Walked past a Lush, thought hah! and nipped in and bought one of the blackberry comforter bars. Got back to hotel. Had bubble bath (with normal sized, non-lovecraftian bubbles). Rejoiced as I stretched out in the bath in how there was lots and lots of time before I had to get back on the road...

The bathroom phone rang. Anne and Eddie were in the lobby. I had somehow zoned and lost half an hour. Hasty shower-off and threw on clothes and ran downstairs...

Dinner with my old friends Peter Nicholls and Clare Coney and their son Jack, along with Anne and Eddie, which meant I got to introduce the Campbells to the Nichollses (and their marvellous, book-lined home). Not to mention their dogs, who took a shine to Eddie. For some reason, the only photographic record I have of the evening is of Eddie Campbell and two dogs.

This morning was interviews, then a reading and Q&A at the Melbourne library, then a signing which went on for a while... soon I will leave in a taxi for a literary dinner and signing. Tomorrow I fly to Sidney and read and Q&A and sign some more. And now I'm going to hit post then do absolutely nothing for twelve minutes.


Nothing at all.


It'll be wonderful.

Labels: bathbubbles, Chloe, Eddie Campbell and Two Dogs

Teabreak over, back on my head

The ladies from LUSH in Bristol gave me a gift box (back when I signed in Bristol, a couple of weeks and a hundred years ago) filled with things that make baths more interesting, and at the point where I couldn't write any more last night I had a bath, and decided to add a crumbly bubble blackberry something from the Lush box. Wandered off as the bath ran, wandered back to find a seven-foot high tower of bubble.



It was sort of like having a bath in a fluffy blackberry-scented igloo. Or a meringue.

Also made -- accidentally -- the world's best rice pudding, last night, good enough that I now have to try and repeat it and figure out exactly what I did and if it can really be that simple.

Am not posting about the Return of Princess (hurrah), or Cabal's digestive problems (ew).

I'm still writing the argh book. I think I know what Odd's carving, too... I think it's going to be a long night.

If you sign up at http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/commercial/article2623706.ece you will apparently get a love letter from me in your email. Also one from Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Five in all, I think, over five days. It's to promote this:

Labels: bathbubbles, can you say displacement activities?, Four Letter Word, rice pudding