Good Times in the Big Apple

So March Break is upon us and Son and I are in New York for six nights. It is mostly pleasure and a little bit of business, but in this case the business is also pleasurable, because it has meant getting to meet my new US publisher for the first time, the wonderful Wendy Lamb. Tundra and Wendy will publish my new novel, “We Are All Made of Molecules” (yes, you heard the title here first) in Spring 2015.

But first things first. We had a fun celebrity sighting the moment we got out of our cab in front of our hotel. A CANADIAN celebrity sighting – it was Michael Ondaatje. Being me, I dashed right up to him and said, “Michael!” (I almost said, “Michael Ondaatje!” Thank god I stopped). I reminded him that we’d met at the 2012 Governor General’s Literary awards, because his lovely wife Linda Spalding had won for best fiction that year (“The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen” won best children’s text). He not only remembered me, he said I’d “had a flirtation with a politician.” I said, “Yes, Bob Rae, it wasn’t a flirtation, I said I had a crush on him and you forced him to sit beside me and started snapping photos.” So, while I have no photos of Michael from that night, I do have this photo, which has appeared on this blog before.

That’s me with Bob Rae, who was mildly uncomfortable, and his wife Arlene Perly-Rae wondering what the heck their friend Michael O. is up to.

But back to NYC – after checking in to our gorgeous hotel, Oskar and I met Wendy Lamb for dinner at Bond 45. Big beautiful space, Italian food. It was great to meet Wendy. Kind of nervous-making; this is, after all, the woman who publishes and edits one of my all time favorite middle grade/YA writers, Christopher Paul Curtis. I still pinch myself at my good fortune; to have the truly fantastic and top-notch team at Tundra and now this. But we had a lovely time, and she was very inclusive of Son. More on that tomorrow, perhaps, as I will visit their offices then.

Today (Thursday) Son and I took the subway down to the Lower East Side and had a late breakfast/early lunch at Katz’s deli. Not perhaps the most nutritious way to start the day, but delicious.

 Where we really wanted to buy some herring to bring home to my Swedish husband, but it’s all made fresh daily. So instead we bought a fat slab of chocolate babka to share, because that’s really what we needed after Katz’s. Then we walked by this place ..

We didn’t stop for a knish, but for the record they have fantastic knishes, we have eaten them from this place before. Then we shopped in Soho for a few hours, before heading back to our hotel for a very quick turnaround. Oh, by the way – this is the view from our room. That’s the New York Public Library.

We then met my literary agent for a very early pre-theatre dinner at a Cuban restaurant.  This is me, with Hilary. Isn’t she a knock-out?

 We had a great dinner, then the three of us went next door to see “All the Way,” a play about LBJ starring Bryan Cranston. Yes. THAT Bryan Cranston. It was a terrific play.

Here is my beautiful agent with my beautiful son at intermission. And below, well, that’s Bryan Cranston in the middle. And next to him, on the left, is Michael McKean. Well, click on his name – you will definitely know him!