Romantic Times and the Latino Lover
So my sister, our 'adopted sister', her husband, and another friend all made shirts for our friend and author Linda Robertson (I've done review on her books Vicious Circle and Hallowed Circle). We got into the book fair and beelined (as best you can with hundreds of women and tables jam packed into a room) for her table and surprised her b/c apparently her man can keep a secret. :) Shannon and Beth were smart enough (the tees were all them) to make one for Linda who stripped right there (she had a tank on under another shirt) and put it on to wear for the signing. It was awesome. We had tons of people ask about them.
Then I found the sensual and sexual Mark Henry. I gave him a little make-up gift since I have not been all a Plaguecarrier should be for the past many moons. So we 'kissed and made up' (no real kissing - my husband would kill us!). He graciously vandalized all my copies of his books and invited my and the gang to the League of Reluctant Adults party that night.
From there I dashed about to get signatures for the books I'd brought with me. Dakota Cassidy had to sign ALL of hers b/c I hadn't bought them til after I met her two RT's ago in Pittsburgh. And just as I predicted, she sold out of books! :) B/c she's a sexy bitch. Then I found Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittridge only to find that girl in front of me bought the last copy of Black & White!! I was sooooooo disappointed. Guess I'll just have to order it online. I picked up the latest Ann Aguirre and had her sign my second Jax book. She, Rachel Vincent and even Dakota remembered me from 2 years ago!! I was impressed. And God bless Dakota - she even noticed I'd lost weight.
Last year I won the third book in the Michele Bardsley vampire series and had gotten completely hooked ont he series. Though I was behind a few books b/c of job loss and lack of funds to feed my addiction. She was so awesome and totally gave me a tshirt when I explained my sob story. I'm quickly catching up though... I read book 4 Friday and half of book 5 today!! You'll get reviews once I finish book 6. :) Apparently I can only do reviews once I've read 3 books for her. But I got to hang out with her later too which rocked.
Let's see... oo - I also recently picked up a book at the grocery store b/c it was shiny, the author's name was Melissa Mayhue, it was Scottish historical, and had magic... like kismet!! And the author was there!! So I told her I'd just bought her book and why. We had some chuckles and chatted for a good 5 minutes (I promise I didn't block anyone from her table! It was still early!).
Finally I jumped in line and waited for 30 minutes for Jeannie Frost to sign all of my Kat and Bones books. She's such a quiet sweet person. After that I wandered around and met a few people - Crystal Jordan, Carrie Ryan (yes, Brian, I bought her book), and more... Stacia Kane had an awesome blue wig on. She's normally platinum blonde but I think I liked the light teal blue better!!
Oh, and I met Barry Eisler. He'd met my friend Stephen earlier and recognized that we were wearing the same shirt. I introduced myself and he was like 'you must be Stephen's friend!' I haven't read any of his work either so I picked up a book. He really does have perfect hair... you kind of just want to run your fingers through it... and this is coming from me, who rejoiced mightily when my hubby shaved his head b/c I like 'em bald.
Next our merry little band (Linda, her friend Laura, Shannon, Beth, Stephen, Costie, and two friends from PA (VA - yes, that's her name) and NY (Todd)) went to Mongolian BBQ and gorged. It was so good. And we were so loud. :) But it wasn't as busy as we feared it may be and so we weren't disturbing too many people. :)
After some photo ops and fingers, we went back to the hotel and simply vegged for a few hours on the second floor in a lobby area. Mark found us and convinced us all to wait and stay for the party later. OH!! I got to meet the wonderful Zombie Joe and his lovely wife Robin. (He's the one who got me hooked on Alex Bledsoe.) Then finally, we meandered upstairs to the League of Reluctant Adult party.
It was fun. There was Rock Band... and the Wii version. Mark played the drums... Shannon said he looked like he was having a seizure or something the way he pounded on the poor drums... they kept drifting away from him. We also stood around and chatted...
And now that is how I met my Latino Lover... ok, I really make no claims to him. But a writer (who will remain nameless) decided (in his somewhat drunken haze) that I was pretty b/c he doesn't like really skinny girls (gee, thanks?). He asked me if I was married. I flashed the rock and said 'very much so'. He decided he was going to kill off my husband and whisk me away. Then he showed me a picture of his son who was in his late 20's. I said 'oh, we're the same age'. This did not deter him. Thankfully, he mostly behaved, just a little dirty talk which I mostly deflected. It definitely made the end of the evening interesting.... heehee
Not long after that we had to make our way home. There were many fond farewells and 'can't wait to see you next time's then the long drive home which my wonderful sister was kind enough to take care of. I was awake for most of it only drifting off a few times but just for a minute or two until my head flopped forward. And that's it in a nutshell! I only have a few pics. I have to compile some from my friends then I'll try to post them here too.