I work on our deck on my introduction speech before the awards ceremony - I did not know Michael was taking a picture.

Rick says hello to Library Friends president Barbara Isner.

Professor Emeritus Aaron Konstam talks with Rick before the presentation. Dr. Konstam is my colleague in the Trinity Computer Science Department.

Rick's display looks great - one of the best parts was the stack of rejection letters from his first novel, Big Red Tequila.

Lee LaCaff, immediate Past President of the Friends, give a history of the Arts and Letters Award, now almost 30 years old.

Now it's my turn to introduce Rick - there is so much to say and so little time, but I manage to show a drawing and a book that give clues to his early interest in literature.

Rick is great, as usual - he thanks the Friends of the Library and gives great insights on what it means to be a full time writer.

Please visit Rick's website and learn more about his new book, The Lightning Thief, starring Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It will be published next summer by Miramax/Hyperion Books and is under development for a motion picture with 20th Century Fox.