Hi, y’all! Most of you know I’m a native Texan – but you may not know I’ve lived my whole life right around Austin. (I would say “in Austin,” but I’ve been a resident of Manchaca, Austin, Round Rock, San Marcos, Wimberley, and kinda sorta Dripping Springs. But close enough.) So I know a lot about this town.
Like where to go country dancing: the Broken Spoke and/or Gruene Hall.

Where to eat barbecue: The Salt Lick.

Where to eat sushi: Uchi.

And where, hands down, to shop for books?

That would be Bookpeople, the indie bookstore where I met my husband. The very same bookstore that hosted Cynthia Leitich Smith and Mari Mancusi’s book launches this weekend, that hosts the monthly SCBWI meetings, that has the most amazing staff… I could go on. Indie bookstores rock.

But the trick is, they don’t rock for long, if we don’t support them with our money. So, doing my part to show my indie love, I bought a few nice new titles at Bookpeople* this weekend. (BLESSED by Cyn, naturally, and — I tried but OMG I could not believe  it they didn’t have it so I ordered one! — Allison Pang’s A BRUSH OF DARKNESS which looks oh-so-juicy and good.)

I have a manuscript to finish, however, and another to critique, and children who insist on being fed, etc. So I will resist the temptation to read all these lovelies. I will resist…

What are you reading, Friends? And do you have a lovely indie bookstore that you support? Tell me which one!

*Of course, I’m such a book junkie that I then bought Beth Revis’ ACROSS THE UNIVERSE at Costco. But only because it was the last copy they had. And I JUST could not resist – the cheesecake samples had some sort of mind-control thing in them, I swear.)