I'm writing tonight from the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York where I am staying while I enjoy ThrillerFest, the International Thriller Writers Convention. As I have never been an early morning kinda gal --- and since my son, Greg, who is photographing the event, is not from “the early bird catches the worm” school of life either --- we thought being in the same place as where we need to be at 9AM made a lot of sense. We checked in and both commented on how this room was nicer than the one that we had last year --- and then we ran to the conference and raced back here to work for a few hours, not paying much attention to the surroundings.

Whether you’re planning a trip with family or friends (The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, anyone? Let us know what you think about this newly opened theme park in this month’s poll and question) or setting aside some time for a “stay-cation,” Teenreads.com is at your service to make sure your suitcases, beach bags, nightstands and everything in between are well-stocked with plenty of great reads to last you all summer long.

First things first: Who's ready for Comic-Con? San Diego is just around the corner, and I'm looking forward to it and the chance to catch up with lots of old and new friends. Carol and I will both be attending, and --- assuming I can master the technology (read on to see why I have no faith in technology at this point) --- we will be putting updates on Twitter, so even if you're not there, you can see what's going on at the Con by checking out our Twitter page.