Bookish Fun in Phoenix at Metro Barnes & Noble

Go west, young (at heart) authors!

MARC train, then free shuttle to BWI? Check.

Easy bag drop-off at Frontier Airlines? Check.

Enthusiastic pat down from a dedicated TSA agent makes me think maybe we're engaged--or at least dating!

Smooth boarding process. New, clean cabin interior. Window seat. Restful snooze until arrival. (Many thanks to the adorable toddler who waited until we were deplaning to melt down in spectacular fashion.)

Metro Valley mass transit from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to Authorpalooza for good times with booklovers, talented authors, and a team of phenomenal booksellers led by a visionary store manager who supports creatives and the arts in dynamic ways.

It was a pleasurable privilege to participate with panelists on the Saturday 5/4 group at 6 p.m.: Virgil Alexander, Ellsworth James, Timothy Moore, and Keith Mueller. Fellow Black Opal Books author John Beyer was in the 2 p.m. session.

Lively book chat, a couple of rounds of Tic Tac Trope (with a community's dangerous secrets, ripped from the headlines, and genetic engineering themes added in honor of The Devil's Rifle, Mirandized Nation, Third Messenger, and Murder in Copper)

"I <3 Books" t-shirts, bookmarks, business cards, candy, and novelty canvas totes with vintage comics characters given to Tic Tac Trope winners and participants.

Fun, fun, fun!

(My government name was accidentally listed on the post instead of Cardyn Brooks or C. X Brooks. No biggie.:-)

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