RT Day 3

So:

Since I didn’t have any panels today – and since I did have a meeting scheduled today in Beverly Hills with my agents – I decided to take most of the day off from RT and explore downtown. My explorations quickly ended, though, when I found, only a few blocks from the hotel, the central branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.

The central branch of the Los Angeles Public Library is a cathedral to books. A lovely park occupies the front of the library and alongside the edges of the park are rows of steps and each step is etched with words. The interior of the building could not be lovelier. There are four voluminous stories reaching up and just about as many stories stretching underground and oh the rows and rows and rows of shelves, each absolutely packed with every book one could imagine in that particular digit of the Dewey Decimel System. I could have spent days, weeks, months just exploring that library – and I hope to return to it someday – but as I mentioned, I did have an afternoon appointment to keep, and so I hopped on a city bus and enjoyed a 55-minute drive across Wilshire Blvd.

Perhaps “enjoyed” is the wrong word. I experienced a 55-minute drive across Wilshire Blvd. For much of the journey, I was the only white person on the bus. For much of the journey, the dominant language on the bus – both from the passengers and from the broadcast commercials – was Spanish…although there was a five-minute infomercial in English about the difference between “your” and “you’re” which I found absolutely fascinating – if only for the fact that it was being broadcast at all. Talk about catering to a targeted demographic.

My meeting with my agent went well. During it, I asked for a water and was given Perrier. This was my first Perrier. I think it might be my last. I think I may not have the proper palate for sparkling water. Every time I’ve had it, I’ve yearned for the water to sparkle less and quench more. Ah well. I’m just difficult like that.

Tonight’s party was the Vampire Ball. To describe it…well…ok. Take The Rocky Horror Show. Make it dinner theatre. That’s the Vampire Ball. But the food was delicious – prime rib and chocolate mousse.

Tomorrow is the crazy-big book signing. 300+ authors in one room.

I will be needing a drink. The drink will not be Perrier.