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Living up on the tundra, conversation often turns to the fantasy of having a second house in the South where one can live during the winter. I have always been baffled by this because a) I love snow, and b) while I’ve enjoyed my trips to the South, I’ve never visited a place where I could imagine living in for a few months.

That has changed now. I could live in New Orleans.

I have had only the briefest of visits here, driving from school to school (my nose pressed against the window of the car), a ten minute walk through the neighborhood of Octavia Books, and lots of conversations with hurrican survivors, but this I know to be true: New Orleans is unique. Must. Come. Back!

So… details of the next to last day of this leg of the Book Tour:

The NPR affiliate of New Orleans, WWNO, has a brief interview with me about the writing of CHAINS. Many thanks to journalist Diane Mack for asking some of the best questions yet.

The trees of the city spoke to me.

More New Orleans pics

Yesterday was the quietest day of the tour – I gave a writing workshop to teens through the Miami Book Fair then headed for the airport and the plane to New Orleans.

Note to self: no more prepackaged sushi at airports. Eat sushi only where you can watch it made!

The good thing I consumed at the airport?

Cuban coffee. Café cubano con espumita deliciosa!

I’ll be visiting four schools today, then I have the store event, and dinner with some professors. I don’t know how much of the actual city I will be able to see while being driven from one place to another. While I was riding in from the airport last night, the full moon rose – a jubilant, charming moon – and shone down on the streets of this special place.

TODAY’S EVENT: Friday, November 14 at 4:30 pm: Octavia Books 504-899-7323

It’s hard to believe that the official part of the CHAINS tour is almost over. It has been a remarkable four weeks; I know I’ll be thinking about all the readers and booksellers I met for months to come.

In a little while I’ll check out of this hotel and give a writing workshop to teens courtesy of the Miami Book Fair. After that, I head to New Orleans. And after THAT, I head home and prepare for all the National Book Award hoopla and the NCTE/ALAN conference.

When Thanksgiving arrives, I will have so much to be thankful for, the food will be stone-cold by the time I finish saying grace.

One of the things I am thankful for today…..

Cuban coffee. Dark, sweet, thick and heavenly.

It is served in thimble-sized cups after a meal. It is elegant and yummy. If I can find a way to make it at home, I may never touch another Red Bull.

I was introduced to Cuban coffee by Michelle, a Miami-Dade County administrator and second generation Cuban immigrant who graciously drove me around yesterday. In between two school presentations, she found a little corner deli (properly called paneria y dulceria) so we could eat lunch. She explained to the woman who ran the business that I wanted to try some Cuban food.

Yummy food and other adventures

The post about yesterday will come later this afternoon, but I must say this right now:

FRESH MANGO FOR BREAKFAST!!!

Miami is awesome.

Happy Veteran’s Day who all who have served our country, especially my nephew Ryan!

One of the best things about coming to the South is the food.

Breakfast just isn’t a meal here unless you eat grits. I’ve avoided the sausage and biscuits, and fried everything, but I cannot resist a bowl of grits with pepper. Heavenly.

Here is the best photo from yesterday, two kids diving into CHAINS. I visited three middle schools: a public school, a private school, and a parochial school. They were all fantastic.

My Author Nanny here is Ed, and he braved the Atlanta traffic to get me to five stock signings and he snuck in a quick visit for us to the Decature Farmer’s Market, which is not your average farmer’s market. It emphasizes foods from around the world, like Indian eggplant and durian.

After the market we headed to the Little Shop of Stories, a visit arranged by Terra McVoy seen here. She has a book coming out in the Spring that I suspect we’ll all be talking about, but I promised her I’d wait before I went into details.

No public events for me until Friday! Gah! But don’t fear, I have plenty to do. More Atlanta schools and stock signings today, a flight to Miami tonight, and then two days of school visits down there as part of the Miami Book Festival.