Dish on the Swish

It's a dingy day here in Trishland this morning, so I've decided to focus on happy things...happy things...happy things...

Which brings me to the unexpected highlight of my Midwest Extravaganza, the secret blogger meeting I've hinted at all week:

It all began at 3:30 Thursday morning, when the alarm catapulted me out of my cozy bed and I struggled to ingest enough caffeine to get to my 7:30 flight. (Two hours for airport security - whose idea was that???) I decided to check my email one last time before leaving, and there, in my in-box, was a message from Swishygirl (who looks just like this, don't let her tell you otherwise), saying that she resides in the Great Midwest, would be in the St. Louis area on Saturday, and asking if I wanted to hang out?

My first thought: How cool!
My second thought: Wait, what if she's actually a bizarre man stalking us all through the blog sphere???
My third thought: Nah - she was vetted by Manic Mom at the RWA Chicago, so she must be okay!

And may I say, hanging out with Swishy was far better than okay. She's adorable, fun, and kept me laughing for four hours. And yes, I aspire to have her teeth. I think she might aspire to my knives, so I guess that makes us even. I will return to the land of the airborne train simply to hang out with her again so we can tell each other how wonderful we are (I wonder if she'd pick me up at the airport???)

We talked about the crazy world of writing (love it; should both be more disciplined), blogging (the most fun you can have wasting time while convincing yourself you're doing something VERY IMPORTANT for your career), men (secret stuff - can't put that in cyberspace) , and how cruising the multicolored aisles of certain stores can pull you out of a funk in no time flat. Swishy and her very cool friend (who I'll call Secret Agent Girl) are now my official BFMWIEM - Best Friends Met While In Eastern Missouri! (You wouldn't think that would be a hotly contested title, but let me tell you, I bonded with the latte-making woman at Starbucks while I was out there!)

Okay, here's what I know you're waiting for: at bit of secret dish on Swishy! Here's what I'm free to reveal:

If you're looking for a birthday present for her (and of course, I completely forgot to ask when her birthday was, so feel free to randomly send her a gift at anytime) she would love an orchestral version of that "Gloria" song from the 1980s (or really anything where a saxophone has taken over where the lyrics should be).

And here's what I learned about Swishy that shall remain forever secret:
1. The genesis of the name "Swishy"
2. Where you're most likely to find her at midnight
3. The plotline of her (amazing, very cool) novel

For the first two, you'll have to go to her to find out. As for the third, please feel free to contact her here - hourly - to ask if she's finished it and sent it off. My new secret dream is that if her book comes out around the same time as mine, we could do some joint book signings - cause my guess is, Swishy can dance :)