BEA Party Girl: GalleyCat

Outside the GalleyCat party: Susan Henderson, Bethanne Kelly Patrick, me (yes, I'm that tall!), Patry Francis & MJ Rose.

My original plan was to take a nap on Thursday afternoon, as I had a 3-hour break. (I bailed on going to MJ Rose's interview of Booktour.com founder and THE LONG TALE author Chris Anderson.) Instead I had a long, very late lunch with workshop alum Barbara Oakley (see our pic here), whose book, EVIL GENES: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother's Boyfriend, is coming out in October. (Love that title!)

I got back to the hotel just in time to change into an all-black outfit (hey, I'm a native New Yorker) and cushy shoes before heading over to the Algonquin for drinks at 5pm.

Funny how these things metastasize...Originally it was going to be just me and MJ Rose. Then I heard from Kevin Smokler, now "chief evangelizer" for Booktour.com, whom we both know, so I asked him to join us. Then agents Kristin Nelson and Janet Reid wanted to meet for drinks, so I asked them to come along too, as that was the only time we all had free.

When I got to the Algonquin, the joint was hopping with overflow from the Backspace writers' conference. Our group of five was joined by Kim Reid (no relation to Janet), whose memoir NO PLACE SAFE is coming from Kensington in September; Joshua Henkin, whose 2nd novel, MATRIMONY also comes out this fall; and a passel of other writers whose names I can't remember thanks to the noise, dim lighting and powerful mojito I'd imbibed. I'm embarrassed to say that it took me days to get Kevin's joke that we were the Algonquin Square Table; I blame the mojito (my new favorite drink).

Kevin Smokler and Joshua Henkin at the GalleyCat party.

MJ, Kevin, Josh and I shared a cab downtown to the GalleyCat party at Lolita Bar way east on Broome Street. The place was crowded, hot and very loud. I'd forgotten to wear a protective sparkly pin, but happily no one clapped me on my sore right shoulder. I saw lots of people I know and lost my voice within an hour.

(Celebrity sighting: Miss Snark in scary stilettos, with Killer Yapp riding shotgun in a waiting limo.)

GalleyCat Ron Hogan (center) at his fab soiree.

I joined up with workshop alum Tish Cohen (TOWN HOUSE), Patry Francis (THE LIAR'S DIARY) and Susan Henderson of LitPark, and led the group to Les Enfants Terribles for another great dinner washed down with more mojitos--which, if they didn't restore my voice, made me not care about it.

Left, Soft Skull publisher Richard Nash & author Leora Skolkin-Smith. Right, Susan Henderson, Tish Cohen & Jason Pinter, The Man in Black.