Lunch at Crown

This first shot shows what it's like in downtown Manhattan, 24 hours a day. Constant action.

Here is Christopher Schelling - my literary agent - and me in front of the wall of books in the Random House lobby.

As a child, I read the old Random House books - I can still remember the chill I felt reading The Willows in Bennet Cerf's Ghost Stories. I never dreamed I'd be a Random House author myself one day.

This Rachel Klayman, one of Crown's top editors and the person who did the most (besides me) to make my book what it is today.

I had invited the editorial team to lunch, but they actually took me to lunch, in one of the Random House corporate dining rooms.

There are whole floors in that building devoted to food. Remarkable. It's like a fine restaurant, menus, waiters, and even fresh ice tea.

Here we all are lined up. Steve Ross, Crown's publisher, is holding my book. I gave everyone Free Range Aspergian caps. I had been reserving those caps for the first folks who pre-ordered signed copies of my book, but I made an exception for them.

Now, this is just beyond words. They baked a cake with the cover of my book on the frosting.

And we ate it.