And now...normal life

Yes, the austenland tour is over. I have one more event this Saturday in Provo, but no more airports or taxis until the book of a thousand days tour starts in October. It was fantastic. So wonderful to meet such fun, intelligent people everywhere, so great to tuck myself into all those wonderful bookstores. Truly the best way to travel is to hop from bookstore to bookstore.

Fun news keeps coming in...austenland mentioned in Newsweek, princess academy paperback on its third week on the NYT bestseller list, 9th (I think) on the Booksense list, Max brilliantly sweet and uber-active despite a fractured foot, Maggie winning all baby contests hands down. And someday here soon, I'm really going to tackle that Bayern 4 first draft. Seriously.

I have my camera at last! Thanks to Nikki for tracking it down. Here are a couple of photos from the King's English party:

My sister and I pose with the guest of honor. Yes, that is Colin Firth there in two-dimensional perfection. My friend Laura Middleton (of limerick fame) made him especially for the party. He now lives in my bedroom. Except when he's staring out the sliding glass door into the backyard. It's pure joy. I've taught Max to say "Hello Mr. Darcy" politely whenever he passes. Max has found nothing odd in this new housemate, has never asked a question about it. Makes me wonder just how normally odd our home is. And doesn't my sister look fantastic? She pulled off the Regency lady much better than I did.

Here's a scene from the karaoke fun. Jessica and Mark headed up the show. The only outfit we could find for Mark was a George Washington gig, but it included the essential breeches and gave him the appearance of a noble Regency servant. Which we then exploited all night. Such a good sport. See another gorgeous Regency lady on the left? She won a costume prize. It was quite a swingin' party, if I do say so.