Meeting Richelle Mead

I'm back!  Sort of.

My internet at home is still acting highly sketchy. The cable man confirmed yesterday that it was a problem on their end (thank you for telling me what I already knew, Mr. Cable Man).  That being said, when I tried to get on this morning I still couldn't. Thank goodness for work internet!

Anyway, on to the good stuff. 

My mood and outlook, on the week, took a drastic turn for the better when Misty Waters (yes, that's her real name) and I made a road trip to Pennsylvania to meet one of our favorite authors, Richelle Mead for the Last Sacrifice tour. (LOVED the book, btw)

I won't bore you with gushing about how much I love Richelle's books. That would just make me sound like a teenybopper wannabe . . . and just because I am one, doesn't mean I have to go making it uber obvious. Though Misty did occasionally throw the "stalker" term my way when I mentioned fun and interesting little tidbits about Richelle, I swear I know nothing she hasn't volunteered on her blog or twitter. Promise. I never went through with my plan to hire a private investigator. . . he was too expensive. ;o)

Last night turned out to be wicked cool on two levels.

First we got to meet and talk with Richelle. Who, by the way, despite her success is surprisingly down-to-earth and personable. You can tell she genuinely enjoys interacting with her fans. . .  sadly, I've heard horror stories about other authors. So, I'm highly relieved to like one of the Good Guys, er, gals.

Secondly, as future hopefuls ourselves, it was a lot of fun to see how an actual book signing is done. It was so much fun and a lot less intimidating than I thought it would be. I've decided I totally want to do one now.

Yeah, that's right. I want to do a book signing. As if trying to perfect a query letter, land an agent, secure a book deal and publish with a debut on the NYT Bestseller's list isn't enough to put on my plate of dreams. I now want to add a book signing tour to that list. 

Anyway, all of that to say. If you've never been to a book signing before and you get the chance to see a writer whose work you enjoy, do it! We drove more than 5 hours round-trip yesterday, and it was worth every minute!! Not only did I meet one of the writers I look up to, but Misty and I totally bonded. We're major BFF's now.

Also, Shannon McMahon has another Anonymous Critique up on her blog today. So if you have time, please stop by, read the brief writing sample and feel free to give your critique, words of encouragement, etc.