A peaceful Sunday

Sundays should indeed be peaceful days of rest and mine was, though the good Lord knows I needed it after last night's adventure with Jacob. My night with Jacob didn't end with finding him under the dining table and getting him to bed. He had to get up to pee, he had to get up to bring me the model horse he'd told me to take back to the office (I do NOT take orders from a four-year-old well). Finally, he was asleep, and I was just drifting off--when he fell out of bed. He cried, I loved on him and hoisted back into bed, by which time he was sound asleep. In fact, I don't think he ever really woke up, because this morning he vehementaly--and with some anger--said he dreamt he fell out of bed, but he really didn't--I love the way he says didn't, drawing it out into an emphatic three-syllable word.. We made our way through fruit yogurt and two waffles, he played, I read the paper, and all was well. When his mom arrived, we took a batch of muffins and a rubber duckie to welcome the new neighbors next door (they have a two-year-old). Nice people, and I'm so glad to have neighbors again. Then I gave Jordan and Jacob lunch and shooed them out. Read, had a good long nap, and went to friends' for dinner. We talked about the dangers of religious extremism, but for the three of us to have that conversation is truly preaching to the choir. It was a Sunday to be savored.
Just finished Mint Julep Murder by Carolyn Hart in her Death on Demand bookstore mystery series. It's one of the earlier ones but one that I apparently missed. As always it was excellent, and I for one didn't suspect the solution until the very end. But even beyond the mystery is the fact that Hart creates a group of characters you like and care about, and if you read several of her books, they become old friends.
Now I'm going to start a new book, Holy Guacamole, recommended by author Marcia Daudistel of El Paso. Nancy Fairbanks is an El Paso author who writes, among other things, culinary mysteries--my favorite kind. I read the free sample that Kindle offers--I love that service because it's saved me from paying for some mysteries I wouldn't read--but this time I was intrigued by the opening. So I'm looking forward to it.
Back to work tomorrow.

Texas Book Festival

Spent all day yesterday at the book festival. Wanted a picture in me of my toque because I was hawking Cooking My Way Through Life, but I didn't sell a one, although some sold when I left the A&M tent to go to programs. But sales of books are the least of the festival. I saw old friends--had a wonderful catch-up visit with Jean Flynn, chatted with James Magnuson and Charles Rodenberger, met Sylvia Dickey-Smith with whom I'd been corresponding about a manuscript. TCU Press sold lots of Elmer Kelton novels--his unexpected death in August accelerated interest, I think, though I'd sure rather have him back in person. We had two featured authors, and Melinda, her friend KK, and I went to both sessions, chauffered between the sites in a golf cart! Made us feel like celebrities. Bob Ray Sanders talked about the Calvin Littlejohn book at the Austin Museum of Art and Marcia Daudistel talked about Literary El Paso at the Capitol extension. Their sessions overlapped, so we left one early and came late to the other, but heard the work of TCU Press generously praised at both. Our authors did us proud too. But it's always a long day, and, even though I sat at a signing table most of the morning, my feet were tired last night.
I am staying with Megan and her family, and 5-year-old Sawyer has been talking to me about "book people." He asked if I had to "go to work" today since Halloween is over.I guess Halloween and book festival are forever linkede in his mind.
Apparently an executive from Random House spoke yesterday (I heard this third-hand) predicting that in the future pubishing will be all print-to-order, so that you go into a store, ask for a book, and it's printed for you or, worse, you order it at home and print or download it. What happened to browsing? And the beauty of a well made book with good paper and great design? TCU Press has many older titles in a PTO program and we plan to do the first run of two reprints that way in the spring, but I am uncertain about initial runs of new books. I'm just not sure from a marketing standpoint. I think and hope the speaker from Random House was mistaken, especially since Calvin Littlejohn: Portrait of a Community in Black and White is one of the most beautiful photography books we've ever done--and one of the most interesting. It would never be the same PTO. Today I am not going to be one of the "book people"--I'm going to watch my grandsons ride their bikes and, as Sawyer asked, "do fun things" with them.