Gearing up for KidLitCon 2013.

Still undecided about KidLitCon 2013?

If so, I understand: believe me, I do. It took me YEARS to get up the courage to go.

Because, to be embarrassingly honest, I was kind of SCARED. I'm somewhat shy, and I've (sadly) never really grown out of that OH GOD I'M GOING TO MEET ALL SORTS OF NEW PEOPLE AND WHAT IF THEY ALL HATE ME AND NO ONE TALKS TO ME AND I END UP ALONE ON THE DANCE FLOOR??

Not that there's a dance floor, necessarily, but you know what I mean.

Yeah, it wasn't anything like that. I had so many moments—and I know I'm not alone in this—in which I'd recognize a name on a nametag, and then realize that the wearer of said nametag was having that same moment with my nametag, and then we'd make eye contact and get big dumb grins on our faces and give each other hugs and it was all just so GENUINELY NICE that I don't know how to talk about it without devolving into a big puddle of treacle.

It was like... the internet allowed me to Find My People and to get to know them, but it was at KidLitCon that they really became MY FRIENDS. There's just something about meeting face-to-face that makes the relationships more REAL, somehow. Now, when I read what they've written on Twitter or Facebook or Tumblr or their various blogs or even in their books, I hear their actual voices in my head.

And that's not even taking into account all of the panel discussions and the networking and the presentations and the food and drinks and so on.

It's SUCH a great time, and I'm sad that I missed out on it for so many years.

You only have a few more days to make up your mind, and I'm very much hoping that you'll take the plunge. It's so, so worth it.