King's English

Tonight my adorable little sister (who happens to be three inches taller and drop dead gorgeous) and I drove to Sugar House to meet some incredibly talented authors. Can I just say that it's so refreshing to meet people in the writing world. I love seeing these gifted writers who have tasted the triumph of publication. It proves A) That good things do happen to good people, and B) That local writers are finding success in this tough industry. As an aspiring author, I thrive off of other people's successes.

Among others, I got to talk to James Dashner, who is officially a good friend of mine now, no matter what Dean Hale says. I've been anxious to pick up The 13th Reality so that I would be prepared when the second comes out in February. When James (What? I can call him "James". We're friends now remember?) discovered that I drove from Spanish Fork to come to the signing, he whipped out one of his advanced copies of the sequel and signed it for me as a gift. What a cool, down to earth guy.

Ann Cannon (you might know her as A. E. Cannon) signed a copy of her newest work, Loser's Guild to Life and Love. I enjoyed seeing her again. She gave me some constructive critique during the "Writing for Charity" event back in July. She is all grace and goodness, not to mention, a stellar author.

Shannon Hale thinks I'm a stocker, which for the record, goes against everything I stand for. I don't know why I couldn't just go up to her table, ask her to sign my books, and move on with my life. I HAD to tell her that I check her blog everyday. I HAD to run my mouth. So to Shannon, who I'm sure will be desperately scanning the web to find my blog, I would like to say that I was just a tinsy bit star struck tonight. It's embarrassing. I am normally a mellow, level-headed person. Honestly, if Brad Pit walked in to the King's English tonight, I wouldn't have batted an eye. But I meet these great authors and my knees become rapidly liquefying jello. Go figure.

Anyway, thank you James for the words of encouragement, thank you Ann for the good humor, and thank you Shannon and Dean for waiting until I left to laugh at the fool I made of myself.