I'll never wash this hand again! ...well, ok, I *will*, but only grudgingly!
*
See that? That is the autograph of Orson Scott Card, one of my all-time favorite authors. He was at the Barnes & Nobles near Boston University tonight, doing a signing for his new book, Shadow of the Giant. I arrived late-ish, having been captivated by a screening of Mark Morris's Dido and Aeneas at the Gay-Straight Alliance meeting, and Orson Scott Card was just wrapping up the Q-&-A portion of his talk to an enormous audience -- I was standing just outside the room when I arrived, because that was as close as I could get. However, I managed to squeeze my way to the front portion of the line for autographs, and I wasn't waiting half an hour before I got to meet the man. I shook his hand and told him what an honor it was to meet him, and how much I enjoyed his books, and all the usual platitudes. I also mentioned issue #1 of Ultimate Iron Man, which he is writing, and told him that I don't usually read Iron Man, but since its got his name on it I gave it a shot and -- lo and behold! -- I loved it. He was extremely kind and gracious and accessible, truly a nice human. He signed my beat-up old copy of Ender's Game and I must now encase it in plastic and preserve it for all eternity. nermaldiva had given me her copy of How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy, and I had him sign it to her. I mentioned that she is a budding sci-fi author herself, so he signed it "To Krystal - a fellow taleswapper". At least, I think that's what it says. His handwriting's a bit dodgy. In any case, she'll be ecstatic when she gets home from the opera.
I myself am rather ecstatic, me. I'm glowing like a 200 watt bulb. Its not every day I get to meet and shake the hand of a writer who helped shape and define my taste in fiction.
*happy sigh*
I'm off to go cuddle with my signed copy of Ender's Game now.
* in case you can't read the inscription, it says "To Hannah - a friend of Ender" -- is that not swimmingly cool?