Your Own Autographed Copy!

By Kirsten (Inara) Scott

I know, I've already spent a whole blog talking about my cover and now I've got to blab all about something new -- my first experience signing books!

It happened last week at BEA. For those who haven’t heard of it, BEA is short for BookExpo America -- an enormous, fabulous conference dedicated to all things book-related. Though the conference always includes big headline acts (Barbara Streisand! Jon Stewart!) and conference sessions, the best part is I’ve found is simply walking the floor, where thousands of square feet are dedicated to publisher exhibits with books from their summer and fall catalogs, book trinkets, ARCs (advance reader copies) and lots and lots of authors signing books.

And yes, this year one of those authors was ME! For thirty minutes (which FLEW by -- I think I was probably in a time-space warp) I sat behind a table and wrote my name in books for people who said they were excited to read Delcroix Academy.


Excited. To read my book.

I grinned like a fool the whole time.

After I was done signing, I got to turn around and meet the guy in the booth next to me. You may have heard of him (if you have a 4th grade boy, you've definitely heard of him!): Rick Riordin. Then I did my own fan girl thing. I fawned, I squeed, and I generally made a fool of myself. This is what we do when we meet an author we really like. We make fools of ourselves.

So tell me -- when's the last time you waited in line to meet an author? What did you do when you met them? Ever embarrassed yourself in front of your hero? (I almost did -- turned out I've been pronouncing Rick's last name wrong all this time -- thank goodness my editor caught that one before I met him!).

And you writers -- tell us about your first book signing. Did you grin like a fool? Float on air for hours afterwards? Are you still a little amazed that there are people out there who will wait in line to meet YOU?