Yesterday in the midst of cleaning the Fortress of Solitude I decided that after nearly fourteen years in hiding that my Sweet Valley High books should come of the dark and take their rightful place on a bookcase. It’s so deliciously nerdy. Every time I catch a glimpse of that shelf out of the corner of my eye I get a little shock of delight seeing them all there.

It’s hard to tell from the picture but those first twenty or so books are dingy and creased, well-worn from my utter devotion. The back of #1 Double Love is dotted with neon pink hair spray a victim of the Halloween I dressed up as Jem.

While cleaning I also found a random collection of concert tickets dating back to 2001 and a ticket to ride the El in Chicago. I am not generally a concert ticket keeper. Most of them end up going through the wash because I shove them in my back pocket and forget about them. I have no idea how these survived or what to do with them now.

It wasn’t all fun and games though. I did do some actual work, and put all my short stories in the Mail Cart for easy access whenever I need a reminder of . . . well I am not sure what they remind me of. I thought about tossing a few of them that are beyond any hope of redemption but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. Eleven stories. That’s almost a collection. Too bad so many of them suck.