Yesterday afternoon, with my new puppy, Lucy, tucked under my arm, I had the pleasure of signing books at Book Expo America.Attended this year by the likes of Barbra Streisand and Sarah Ferguson, among thousands of others, it’s the largest annual book trade fair in the U.S., a frenetic free for all with publishers showcasing their new books, agents networking for new projects, booksellers scouting out the latest titles–all of it filling the Javits Center featuring authors, librarians, and buyers for book retailers.

My upcoming book, KATIE: Up and Down the Hall, was featured in Hachette’s large Center Street display. What was planned as a 1-hour book signing stretched into 2 hours–as hundreds of dog lovers lined up to shake Lucy’s paw and learn more about the story of how Katie changed my world and the lives of so many people in our Battery Park City neighborhood.

We’ve been so fortunate to have the support of Celebrity testimonials and a review from Publishers Weekly, but this was the first time I actually had the chance to get outside and mingle with retailers, readers, and dog lovers–so many of whom shared their personal stories about how their dogs have changed their lives. “My dog died ten years ago,” one woman told me, “and I’m still thinking of her every single day. I can’t wait to read your book,” and off she went.

I wanted to share with you some of the photos from yesterday, that tell the entire story, from start to finish. I hope you enjoy seeing them. Just to orient you, the blonde young woman in many of these pictures is Hachette Book Group’s new director of publicity, Shanon Stowe, a passionate dog lover, and a wonderfully supportive friend and colleague. There was Hachette’s marketing genius, Martha Otis, also a dog lover with two Labs (neither in attendance.) Also in the pictures you’ll see my incredible publicists–the legendary Lynn Goldberg and Angela Hayes. Behind it all, of course, is the great Harry Helm, Editorial Director and Marketing Director at Center Street, a basset hound lover, and the greatest editor imaginable. Take a look.

Comment on this story »

Today, thanks to the kindness of the great photographers Sheila Williams and Brandon Williams, my new puppy, Lucy, made her Twitter and Facebook and Katiebook.com debut. She’s only 11 weeks old, but already poised and ready for the camera. See what you think…and next week, read my longer blog on the incredibly talented Williams team.

Comment on this story »

Although the adventure with my new puppy started ten days ago, today is the first time I’ve written about Lucy, named after one of my all-time favorites, Lucille Ball.

Why has it taken me so long? Because I was so overwhelmed, and at times panicked, by Lucy’s homecoming and the challenges of taking care of a 10-week-old cocker spaniel puppy–that I admit to seriously contemplating returning her! (Whew, but I didn’t.)

For me, the transition really shook up my world. I guess it’s because I haven’t had a dog for eight years, not since Katie–the star of my upcoming book, KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL. So I was out of shape, but no longer. The dining room has been completely given over to her large play pen and kennel and the house is littered with every kind of chewy and plush toy you can imagine.

After just a few days, Lucy’s puppiness–her contagious energy, those big brown eyes, her astute intelligence, and that puppy smell–completely won me over. She is the most outgoing, confident dog I’ve known, completely comfortable with anyone. You can hang her upside down and she’s happy, extroverted and ready to play with adults, kids, and most importantly, other dogs.

The other night there she was, weighing in at six pounds, wrestling assertively with a 92-pound bushy-haired giant (I don’t even know the breed) who loves puppies. Eating them? I wasn’t sure.

But Lucy didn’t have a care in the world. She grabbed onto his bushy tail and went for a ride–never letting go until she was left with a mouthful of fur. Then she put her entire head into his mouth before biting his ear and chasing him around the lobby of our apartment building.

She also has a Wheaten terrier friend named Norma and a Dachshund named Stanley, both regular play dates.

She also loves kids, and over the weekend, she met a little boy in Greenwich Village, pictured below, his smile telling you the entire story about the joy that a puppy can give, to anybody, anywhere, at anytime.

Lucy is making her debut on May 26th at Book Expo America, where I’ll be signing autographs for KATIE UP AND DOWN THE HALL.

I hope you’ll drop by at 1 pm to say hello. You can ignore me–but you’ll never get away from the Hachette Book Group USA’S booth without getting a lick from Lucy.

And for the first 100 people who come by, there will be special dark chocolate treats shaped into dog bones–bad for dogs, good for people. See you there!

Comment on this story »

Joan Rivers

If you want to know something truly personal and revealing about the Joan Rivers nobody knows, go see the gripping film I saw last night at the Tribeca Film Festival titled Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work.

You can read into that title many things, as Joan—a longtime friend, interview subject (and fellow dog lover)—is wildly irreverent, controversial, hilarious, even offensive to the delicate sensibilities of some—but at the very least, she’s the hardest-working woman in show business. Her work ethic is without peer.

Comment on this story »