I'm Back! And in LA!

Hi everyone,

Long time no see! A lot has happened since my last blog entry. I defended my dissertation in mid-September, and after that, promptly jumped into a car with my husband for a cross-country drive to our new home in Los Angeles. So now we're settling down -- him at his new job, and me in my new life as a freelance science writer/novelist. In the next few weeks, I'll be working on getting the blog back up to speed. In the meantime, how are you? And for those of you familiar with the Los Angeles area/writing community, any tips for things to do, places to see?

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21 comments:

  1. Welcome to LA! We've got a wonderful writing community here. Us children's book folk are a particularly social and organized crew, but we're far from the only game in town. There are lots o' bookstore readings and events, great talks at UCLA and elsewhere, and a whole society of folk in coffee shops. A lot of what's easy to do depends on where in LA you've settled, too. Feel free to shoot me an email any time (it's in my profile) if you'd like. I've been living here long enough I think I get native status :-)

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    1. Thanks, Greg. I just might take you up on that. Are you in SCBWI?

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    2. Is Greg in SCBWI - teehee Greg WAS SCBWI. Livia, seconded, I can meet up with you for dinner/lunch.

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  2. Cross-country driving to settle in your new home sounds like an adventure! All the best for your new life in LA :)

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    1. Thanks, Damyanti! The driving was an adventure, but thankfully uneventful.

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  3. Congratulations on finishing the dissertation! And welcome to Southern California (we can welcome you from here in the Philippines, right?) I don't know the writing community there (but we plan to get into the San Diego writing scene once we're there). But I do know there's lot of good food and fun in LA. What part of the city did you wind up in?

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  4. Nice to have you back, Livia, and huge congratulations on both the dissertation and the new home! Can't help you with the LA area as I've never been, but now I know who to ask if I ever get there... ;)

    Happy settling in! :)

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  5. Glad to have you back. I've missed your blog. Congratulations on the dissertation and the big move. Best wishes for a succesful new phase of life!

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  6. Congratulations and welcome to this coast.

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    1. Thanks, Jan. It's strange being in Pacific time zone after being on east coast time for so long.

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  7. The Taschen bookstore (in Beverly Hills, I think) is a wonderful place to spend a couple hours. Stuff you'll never see anywhere else.

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  8. Welcome to LA! As far as the writing community goes, it's pretty lively and SCBWI is a great place to start, as well as the local signings and conferences. I've been living here for almost a decade--feel free to email me directly if you have any specific questions!

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    1. Thanks Rachel. I plan to hook up with SCBWI, so maybe we'll run into each other :-)

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  9. And don't miss lunch at MUSSO & FRANKs restaurant on Hollywood Blvd. , where Raymaond Chandler and many other great writers hung out (and drank!).
    SKYLGHT BOOKS is an interesting and active bookstore with signings and a great website. So is CHEVALIER'S bookstore on Larchmont Blvd. with very knowledgable people to ask questions of.

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    1. Ha, Nora. Gotta keep up the writerly drinking tradition :-) Thanks for the bookstore recs also.

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  10. Congrats Livia, I know your Phd would have been crazy. Well done for finishing! That's crazy you're in LA, I hope to visit you someday :) and if you're ever in London (Book Fair perhaps?) then drop in!

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    1. Joanna,
      Yes, come visit LA! Maybe for that movie deal ;-) And I do hope to go to London at some point. We'll see...

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  11. Yay, you're back! I only visited LA once but I loved it! Can't wait for more blog posts!

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