RT recap, Day 3

Okay, on to Saturday, the third day of the RT convention. Among other things, that was also the RT Giant Book Fair day. I can’t remember what made me run a little late (as I said in my prior post, everything starts to become a blur), but I got there only ten minutes before the doors opened. I’d brought a bunch of swag with me so I was still setting up when the first readers found me. If you were there, you know that I had book marks as well as these:

          

Yep, bracelets with a slogan on the back for each character are what I decided to get in lieu of the too-expensive-and-illegal-to-mail match books. I brought 400 to the book fair. By the time it was over, I had not one left. The author to my right, Shana Galen (who writes great historical romances, so check them out!) even helped me pass them out to readers, so big thanks to her for that. Thanks also to everyone who came to see me. It’s wonderful to get a chance to chat in person!

After the signing, I had exactly forty minutes to each lunch, run to the bathroom and brush my teeth before leaving for the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, also known as C2E2. It took almost an hour to get to C2E2 because our driver got a little lost. To make up time, he sped as though he’d watched The Transporter too many times. I was in the back row of the van, and if the ride had been about ten minutes longer, I might have arrived covered in my own vomit. Thankfully, though, I got there without any upchucking.

All of us (authors Karina Cooper, Charlaine Harris, Christina Henry, Chloe Neill, Kerrelyn Sparks, Pamela Palmer and me, plus our intrepid escort and some Harper folks) converged in the tented waiting area outside where we were going to sign. Two men were already in that waiting area, but when we arrived, they got up, offered us their seats, wouldn’t take no for an answer and joked that they’d been keeping them warm for us. It was only after they left that I heard one of the authors say, “I can’t believe I spoke to Sean Astin!”

*facepalm* Yes, I was right next to Samwise from The Lord of the Rings – one of my favorite movies! – and I didn’t even know it. This is probably a good thing. If I’d blurted out, “I can’t carry the ring, but I can carry you!” that would have been embarrassing for everyone.

Next was the signing. We were all arranged in a line so readers passed by each of us before getting to the end where Charlaine was. We quickly ran out of books so then we all signed book marks for anyone who wanted one. Some readers brought my books with them to be signed, which was so flattering. By the time we had to leave for the panel, there were still a lot of readers in line. So sorry to everyone who waited but didn’t get anything!

On my way to the panel is where The Barrowman Incident happened. See, we were walking behind the curtains that served as a backdrop to the authors/actors/other personalities that were signing. The person next to me said, “Did you know John Barrowman is right behind that curtain over there?” Now, I am a big Captain Jack fan and part of me was still in Crazy Fangirl Mode after my Sean Astin encounter, so when said person (who shall remain nameless lest anyone think I’m blaming the following actions on him) continued with, “I snapped a pic of him through the curtain on my cell phone earlier,” I jumped into Full Fan Frenzy and thought, “I MUST get a picture, too!”

Here’s where my lack of technical skills come into play. See, it was only two years ago that a friend, out of sheer frustration, forced me to learn how to text. Even still, I don’t know how to use 80% of the features on my iPhone. Add all of that to me having the stealth of a drunken hippopotamus, and you can understand why, after I poked through the slots in the curtain while gawking at John Barrowman and simultaneously trying to figure out how to bring up the “camera” option on my cell phone, it only took seconds for one of his security guards to haul me back. I received a deserved chiding from said guard and then hurried off to rejoin the others, metaphorical tail tucked between my legs :).

Thankfully, I didn’t do anything to embarrass myself on the panel afterward (at least I think I didn’t). The topics ranged from strong heroines to “Mary Sue’s” to whether immortals could make a relationship work and ended with my favorite question: What will your characters do to fight off the impending zombie apocalypse? I can’t remember which author said that she – and her characters – would go to the nearest Costco because it had steel coverings for its windows plus all the food/drinks you would need. Brilliant! This is now my plan, too, so if the zombies attack, you will find me at Costco. For a write-up on our C2E2 panel, go here: http://thedailyheynow.com/post/21222100582/c2e2-day-2-the-leading-ladies-of-paranormal-urban .

After the panel, I was so quick to jump into the van that had a different driver than the one that brought us to C2E2 that I missed saying goodbye to my editor and a few other people. Oops! Once back at the hotel, I ordered my dinner via room service and watched the latest episode of Game of Thrones. Yes, not very sociable, but by this time I was tired…and mildly worried about what else I might do to embarrass myself if I ventured out in public again, heh. The next morning, I had breakfast with my friend Melissa Marr. Right after I checked out, I got to chat for a minute with friend Debi Murray, who gave me a necklace made of Once Burned’s cover. So cool! Then I began the twelve hour drive back to NC, which, as I said before, I broke into two days. Again, I know I’m leaving a lot of things out in this recap, but let me sum it up by saying I had a great time and I look forward to going back to RT next year.