I still have so much tour stuff to catch up on and dozens of photos to share but at this point I suspect it will be easier to do a recap when I’m home for a decent amount of time.

I went on the shortest trip to London ever on Friday (got in Friday morning, left Saturday morning) to go to the Galaxy Book Awards and wear a sparkly dress and lose the International Author of the Year award to Jennifer Egan (I was rooting for Murakami, myself) and I am still rather baffled and honored that I was included in such esteemed company.

I had an all too brief stay at the St. Pancras Rennaissance Hotel, where the UK launch party I have not yet had time to blog about was held in October. (It’s also the former Midland Grand Hotel, which is featured in The Night Circus.) My room overlooked the adjoining train station. I took the rubber duck from my bathroom home with me. Apologies if I was not supposed to steal him, but how could I not?

He has stars! I love him. And for some reason I did not have a rubber duck, which seems like something everyone should have.

In other news, I hear tell my NaNoWriMo pep talk went out to all you daring NaNo-ers, hurrah! I hope you are properly pepped and inspired and not hitting that week-in “why am I doing this again?” stage now that the initial rush is starting to wear off. I am waving little black & white striped flags of encouragement for you! (The full pep talk is over here if anyone who didn’t get the email or simply isn’t NaNo-ing would like to read it.)

Tomorrow I am off to D.C. for an event at Politics & Prose! Also, I am behind on replying to pretty much anything that requires replying to, but relatively soon I will be off the touring carousel and hopefully I’ll be able to catch back up with my life.

Categories: miscellany

12 Comments

Amy · November 6, 2011 at 5:18 pm

I loved the pep talk. Really inspring. I spent a weekend away, so my Nano has fallen short or a few thousand words, but your talk has inspired me to keep going. I may just add in that random character after all. Not quite a ninja, but the thought’s there. 🙂
Oh and I love that duck. I would have taken it. 😉
x

Joanna · November 6, 2011 at 8:31 pm

Best rubber duck ever. (says the astronomer) 🙂

Mandy · November 6, 2011 at 10:47 pm

The duck is, indeed, awesome. Excellent souvenir. Can’t wait for more tales and photos of your tour!

Jess & Kat · November 7, 2011 at 12:02 am

The rubber duck is so cute, I would take it too !

We will see you in D.C tomorrow, can’t wait !

ahad · November 7, 2011 at 2:07 am

why do i feel like going out and “borrowing” a star-spangled duckie myself? you are an irresistibly bad influence, erin morgenstern…hehe

Marcheline · November 7, 2011 at 8:51 am

Hey, fellow skeleton key lover (I wear an ancient one I found on ebay on a chain around my neck). Just wanted to say I’ve got your book on request at my local library and can’t wait to dive in. You feel like a familiar old soul to me, glad to have stumbled across your site, your art, your flax-golden tales, and your writing. Would love to buy a set of your tarot cards, if and when they get published.

I’ve added your site to my blog list so others can discover you. Feel free to wander around in my head sometime over at my blog if you ever want to get away. Cheers!

Arlene · November 7, 2011 at 12:00 pm

This is my first time doing Nanowrimo. I’m amazed at the support. This has been so helpful for me and I’m already up to over 17,000 words! Thank you for your inspiration and pep!

Nabila · November 8, 2011 at 10:54 am

I came here from NaNo to tell you that your Pep Talk is the best one I’ve ever read (This is my 4th NaNo, btw)! I also love adverbs, and your -ly tattoo must become a reality! You’re truly an inspiration to the serious NaNoer, and have given me hope that out of this strange pile-up of characters, plot-twists, and re-written outlines, a real gem will emerge.

Is it weird to be so proud of someone I’ve never met? But I am truly proud of what you accomplished via the challenge of NaNoWriMo. And I’m super bummed – I live in D.C. and never has someone been at Politics and Prose that I actually wanted to meet, but there you will be, and here I will be in Jamaica. I guess I can’t complain too much about being on vacation, can I?

Good luck with everything!

flightless · November 8, 2011 at 2:08 pm

Loved your talk in DC, thanks for sharing so much about the revision process for your “taped-together Frankenstein cat”! And those are some fabulous spats.

Annie · November 8, 2011 at 6:43 pm

how can it be stealing if the duck practically begs you to take him home…

I hope I can find one of that sort and I hope he’ll call me too.

Elisabetta · November 17, 2011 at 4:28 pm

I am now on a quest to find an enchanting duck with magical stars for my amazing 10 month old son… Thank you Erin 🙂

Amanda Martin · November 27, 2011 at 1:57 pm

Thank you for your NanoWriMo pep talk. It propelled me in my first week and I have just gone back to it now that I am 2,000 words from the end and am literally crawling to the finish line, my inner critic grabbing my ankles and telling me (probably accurately) how bad what I have written is. Listen I tell him, there is rewriting beyond November, and I point to your pep talk and say “see, The Night Circus came out of this, there is hope”. So thank you again. I am looking forward to reading “The Night Circus” in December.

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