Well, we are coming to the end of my first week of a being a Real! Live! Author! with a book out and everything.  It’s been fun and odd and exciting and tiring and a little surreal (especially seeing my book in a bookstore) and I’ve talked a lot about Shadow Kin and other people have talked about Shadow Kin and said nice things and I’m not sure I can say anything more coherent than that at this point. I’m also wrestling book three into submission and trying to make its plot make sense, so I am officially down to very little brain space for other stuff.

So in order to have something to blog about that isn’t book related for a little bit, I’m returning to New York and the second last set of pics from my trip!

On the 5th of July (and honestly, how is that we are so far from July already?), Keri and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art which was one of my favorite things we did the whole time in New York.  Accompanying us was our lovely agent Miriam which turned out to be a very good thing because the Met is HUGE. And somewhat TARDIS like.  Every time you think you must have walked through the last room, another appears. And they are all filled with very very cool stuff. But Miriam knows her way around and where everything is and saved us from wandering around lost for days trying to find anything.

We went to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit which was amazing but didn’t allow photos.  Luckily most of the rest of the Met does allow photography.  Given that Keri and I both write actiony fantasy, we did spend a bit of time with the arms and armor collection but we also saw all sorts of things.  I won’t inflict too many pics on you but here’s a few of the things that caught my interest.

This is what the Met looks like from the outside (okay, not quite a police box but still deceptive….)

Oh, I miss those blue skies

The great god Bes

Watch out, he's all smitey

Egyptian cat

I've always loved the lines of egyptian cat art

Sarcophagus carvings

Can't decide if it's a jackal or a hunting hound

The original Angry Bird

Watch out....

Sekhmets

Four lion headed goddesses are better than one

Graffiti on the walls of an Egyptian tomb

Proof that human nature does not change...

Tiffany window

Pretty!

Knights

I wear armor now...armor is cool!

And armor comes with handles!

Who knew? But I guess you have to get in and out somehow!

Knights also had patterned mail

This looks even cooler in person

And in Japan, some very odd hats (this is only one of many)

Chewbacca wants his hair back

This looks like a steampunk gun but it’s the real thing

Where are the matching goggles? And my air pirate?

Another Angry Bird!

Egg stealing pigs need to avoid the Met

Cycladic mask

These were mesmerising. So simple but beautiful.

Okay, back soon when I regain some brain power.  One more lot of New York pics to come at some point.