Los Angeles is sprawling, noisy, eye irritatingly smoggy, and so energy charged it actually sets one's aura humming. I can honestly say that I didn't connect with many of the people I intended, but the thrill of chatting with Faerieworlds and FaerieCon co-producer Emilio Miller-Lopez, authors Ray Bradbury and R.A. Salvatore, and a host of Star Wars enthusiasts pretty much made up for it. Having Damselflies and Quondam represented in the New Title Showcase and International Rights Center, as well as at Synergy Books in the Midpoint Trade Pavilion for my signings, kept me smiling all weekend.

Even with the smaller crowd, there were plenty of booksellers, librarians, educators, and media folks wandering the aisles, all on the lookout for new and upcoming releases.

There was a much greater 'Hollywood' influence than at the New York and Washington, D.C. expos, with Alec Baldwin and Brooke Shields putting in appearances, and a number of film studios, conspicuously tagged, browsing the booths for movie rights.

I can't stress the advantages of BookExpo America's networking possibilites for authors. There is no other event in the U.S. that puts so many book industry people in the one place at one time. Hope to see you next year at BookExpo 2009 in NYC.

Now, rather than load my blogs with photos, I've added them to the photo galleries at the Tales Touched by Magick websites at ancientmirrors.com and jayelgibson.com . Drop by at your leisure and browse, if you're so inclined.