Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Amber Gibson for brunch.  Amber is a teen reviewer for Young Adult Books Central and she was kind enough to give my novel, Every Crooked Pot a glowing review. And because she lives in a nearby suburb, we arranged to meet which was a pure delight.  Amber,as I quickly realized, is a most impressive young lady. Not only did she teach herself to read at the ripe old age of four, she's also traveled  extensively and now, she can add the role of filmmaker to her resume.

Amber was selected as one of a handful of students to participate  in a teen film competition sponsored by Fresh Films. Having been a film major myself, as well as having made more than a few TV commercials in my advertising days, I know what goes into a film production--and believe me, it ain't a simple, quick process. And yet, Amber and her team were able to cast, shoot and edit their film in seven days. That's like a blink in a filmmaker's eye. 

Did I mention that this a film competition?  Why yes I did and Amber's film is up for Best Comedy and there's still time to vote, so take a moment to check out Amber's film (and the competition's) and cast your vote.  But hurry--Wednesday the polls close. 

Good luck, Amber--keeping fingers and toes crossed for you!

P.S.  If these links aren't clicking through--please go to www.fresh-films.com or to vote, text "chicago" to 36888 

Despite the fact that just a few days ago, I announced on live radio that I'm eagerly awaiting an Engelbert Humperdinck revival, I went Down to the Crossroads last Saturday for an all day--all night concert with Eric Clapton and a stage of rock icons unlike anything I've ever seen before.

This was a completely unexpected treat and one that I almost let pass me by. The phone rang early Saturday morning--It was my friend, Dennis saying, "Ren, get up. Get dressed. We're going to see Clapton." Maybe it was because I was still half asleep, maybe it was all the writing I had promised myself to do that day, but for whatever reason, I said "Gee, thanks but no thanks."  No sooner had I hung up the phone that I came to my senses. Eric Clapton is one of my all time favorites (Side Note: I met Eric Clapton years ago outside of Northwestern Memorial Hospital's rehab center. This was not for drug or alcohol abuse, this was about the hand. Slow Hand was in for physical therapy and I was in rock 'n roll heaven. Layla and Other Assorted Songs of Love from his Derek and the Dominos days is one of my most cherished possessions.

Plus, when's the next time I'll get to see B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Jeff Beck, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Robert Cray, Alison Krauss, Susan Tedeschi, Steve Winwood, Robbie Robertson, Sonny Landreth and thousands of drunk fans all at the same time?! So I called Dennis back and threatened his life if he gave away that ticket.

Soon enough, we were within spitting distance of the stage for ten hours of non-stop blues and rock 'n roll and fantabulous people-watching. And did I mention the fine cuisine such as the two jumbo pretzels and beers for the bargain price of $26.

At the end of the day, my shoulders were sunburned, my ears were ringing, my feet were sore and I couldn't have been happier. This was a spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime concert and thank you,Dennis for waking me up early and taking me. But people,I gotta tell you, even though I love Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, I must confess that I'm still holding out for that Engelbert Humperdinck comeback.

Just how far would you go for a slice of cake?  Well, if you're Tasha, Karen and Renee, you'd go 12.5 miles.  That's right!  We walked from River North up to Andersonville, all in the name of enormous, gooey, slabs of cake waiting for us at Sweet Occasions, a wonderful dessert place on the 5400 block of North Clark Street.

We walked just 3 miles shy of Evanston--for those of you not familiar with Chicago--that's a suburb.  They have commuter trains that will take you there, but we were on a mission.  We made it up to Lincoln Park and Wrigleyville--making a minor detour for band-aids. It's was a blistering hot day and we had miles to go before we'd eat.

Boutiques and shoe shops called to us, but other than taking a quick look around, we were back on the dusty trail.  When we reached Andersonville, we were weak and in need of sustenance so we ducked inside the Hopleaf  for a nosh just to keep our strength up so we could make it the rest of the way. 

And finally, there, in the near distance was Sweet Occasions!  Only once inside we realized, something was missing!  Where was the carrot cake Tasha had been craving?  And what about the chocolate peanut butter cake that kept Karen going the last mile?  And it's not saying much when the best looking cake in the case is white on white.  Karen and Tasha opted for cupcakes, but I had walked for cake--a big gooey slab of cake--big enough to feed a family of five. So I went with the white on white and if I'd wanted to, I could have eaten the entire piece and it wasn't because I had worked up this enormous appetite--it was because I had been robbed. They skimped on my slice and gave me something that looked almost normal as opposed to the brontosaurus size slices I'd gotten in the past. 

About halfway through our cake and cupcakes Tasha joked about turning around and walking back home. Oh, that had us laughing until we realized she wasn't kidding. No my friends, this was a challenge and Karen and I were up for it.  We marched out of Sweet Occasions and headed back from where we came. 

The sun was setting and the city was becoming interesting to say the least.  Outside of Graceland Cemetery we stumbled upon some curious artifacts including a pair of men's shoes and some other items (which I, being too much of lady, will not mention here).  Seems as though Sunday evening is a big night for drinking up on Clark Street.  We saw a couple--with a couple of cops--doing nothing to try and get themselves out of the trouble they were in.  This could be because they were about vomit up the keg of beer they'd already consumed. Next stop ladies and gentlemen, we have the woman doing what Karen called "the David Hasselhoff"with her hamburger. For God's sake woman, use a napkin! Oh the things this city will show you!

We finally made it home that night with throbbing feet, shin splints and all.  But we did it!  And guess--this weekend Tasha and I are gonna do it again. In retrospect, it wasn't all that grueling, it was a cake walk.  

 P.S.  My grandfather always said, there's three sides to every story. Yours, mine and the truth.  So check out Tasha Alexander's blog and get her take on our adventure.

Okay, so it was a weird Friday night. I had just said goodbye to my best friend who was leaving Chicago the next morning and moving to Atlanta when my other dear friend, Karen Abbott walked in my front door (she's staying with me while  in town promoting her NYT Bestseller SIN In the Second City) and convinces me that we should not stay in and mope.  No, what we need to do is go out and have some fun. So within minutes, I'm on the horn tracking down Tasha Alexander (another fabulous writer, owner of the not quite as fabulous IPhone and author of And Only To Deceive & A Poisoned Season) who's out catching a drink with Laura Caldwell (yet another fantastic writer and author of  many novels including The Rome  Affair , Look Closely and The Year Of Living Famously).

A few gin and tonics and a round of  kamikaze shots later, we leave the bar and are loose on the streets of Chicago when we realize, ah-ha--It's Harry Potter night! What better activity for a group of authors to engage in than a little Harry Potter Party Crashing.

While in route from Barnes & Noble to Borders, Karen, Tasha and I stumble upon something in the middle of State Street that is not your typical road kill. No, this is black and white and somewhat furry and being the intelligent women that we are, we deduce that it can only be one thing: A skunk. Makes perfect sense because we often see skunks roaming the streets of downtown Chicago.  Karen is keeping her distance but Tasha and I feel the need to get a better look, so ever so carefully, we inch our way closer and closer to the unfortunate beast, only to discover that it is not a run over skunk, but a plume that was once part of  someone's Harry Potter wizard hat.

A few weeks back I threw a swanky soiree to celebrate the launch of Every Crooked Pot.  It was a great bash, held at my friend's art gallery, Rosenthal Fine Art and in a space that comfortably holds 75 people, we had nearly twice that many people. Friends and family flew in from all over the place--Akron, DC, Nashville, Detroit, Columbus, Cincinnati. I was so feeling the love and thank God none of my guests were feeling the art work. We had a few close calls--like a glass of red wine that went soaring through the air, just missing a very, very, very expensive painting.

After weeks of party planning and anticipating my novel coming out, I had fully expected a big post-party letdown, but instead, the party goes on.  Seems like every day there are new developments with the book, new people appearing out of nowhere to help get the word out.  I'm feeling like a very lucky girl right about now.  I'll circle back and fill in with details soon! 

Until then... 

Nina & Co.

P.S. Sorry we haven't been blogging--slowed down by some technical glitches--hopefully all is well now so stop by soon!