by hatfield13

Author Visits, Books, & Research Geeks

  • First of all, if you are a teacher or librarian interested in a possible author visit for the 2009-2010  school year, please drop me an email. (kmessner at katemessner dot com with no spaces or anything)  Several people had asked about this before I was ready to start thinking about  next year, and I promised to get in touch when I was feeling more organized.  I have next year’s calendar out, and I think I touched base with all of those folks tonight.  But if not – or if you’re a new person just now thinking "Hey! Author visit!!" – by all means, please drop me a note.
  • I have read a whole bunch of great MG and YA novels lately and promise to blog about them soon.
  • I’m leaving Friday for a research trip to Washington, D.C.  Without getting into too many details about my MG mystery (because I am superstitious that way), I can share that I’ll be spending some time behind-the-scenes at the Smithsonian for this project.  This, my friends, is research-geek heaven. 
Growing up, I was always that girl sitting on the floor in the library stacks. You know the one?  She’d breathe in the smell of books and read through half of recess, always hoping to check out just one more book than she was allowed,  making up reports to assign herself. 

"Gorillas!"  She’d decide.  "I need to research gorillas." 

I’d love to go back in time just long enough to whisper in her ear, "Some day, you’ll get to do research at the biggest museum complex in the whole world."  She’d think that was the coolest thing ever. 

And so do I.

13 Replies on “Author Visits, Books, & Research Geeks”

  2. Ooo, have fun on your research trip! It sounds wonderful. I already want to read your book, just knowing that it’s a mystery and that it involves doing research at the Smithsonian!

  6. Sounds like heaven to me, too! (Come to think of it, I was always happily camped out in the library stacks as well.) Have a wonderful time!

  10. Yes…it took about a month to get the right person on the phone, but once I found him, he was friendly and helpful and wonderful (also excited about my project).