Rabbit Hill #1

Went to the Rabbit Hill Literature Festival Author Dinner tonight at the Red Barn restaurant. The travel was nasty -- dark, rainy, horrendous traffic (took me an hour and ten minutes to get there instead of a half hour). However, upon arrival, I sat down with the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts, and had a lovely bit of conversation before Eeyore showed up. Our table was graced for the evening by none other than Neal Shusterman, author of my fave twisted fairy tales/myth series (Red Rider's Hood, Dreadlocks), The Schwa, and Everlost. He lives in southern California, so we discussed the fires there (his house is fine, the ones I lived in in Poway and Escondido are gone), families, life of an author, his newest book that is just out. I think we are going to try to get him to come for a visit late this year -- there is someone from NY (around Rye) working on doing that, so if we can dovetail into that we're golden. We might be able to split him for a day with Central, and get Just Books in on it also.
His new book, Unwind, sounds incredible. I can't wait to read it! A second civil war has happened (over the issue of abortion among things). The civilization that has survived has decreed that there are to be no abortions -- life at conception IS. However, between the ages of 13-17, children can legally be terminated by their parents. What a dilemma -- the Drama Queen is three and frankly I am dreading 13 like it's going to be the start of an incarceration for me. I can see why this would be a question an author would want to write about!
Neal said that he wanted to address the issue of abortion, but do it in a way that had not been done before, and do it in a way that would present both sides with an opportunity to discuss. What a thought -- delve into a violently divisive issue and give both sides a piece to argue for and against using fiction as the vehicle. His intended audience is high school, so I will be interested to read it. He said he expects it to be on the Banned Books list!
I didn't get around to the other tables to schmooze with the other authors, but hopefully I will see a couple tomorrow. Met the director of the Westport public library, and an editor for Simon and Schuster also -- will revise post tomorrow later with their names which are on a card with the book on CD that we got as a dinner gift tonight (Gail Carson Levine). :)
Lovely, lovely time. I should have gotten my favorite princess and Wonder Woman to come... maybe next year!