As you may or may not know, I am in Los Angeles at the BookExpo America conference. It’s my favorite professional conference that I attend, as it’s all about the publishing industry and books. You get to meet and listen to tons of authors (if you so choose) and pick up tons of free books (if you so choose.) I was really excited because I was finally (after 20 + years of admiration) going to see Neil Gaiman speak as part of a Children’s author breakfast along with Eoin Colfer, Sherman Alexie and Judy Blume. The panel was terrific and Neil was a wonderful speaker.
So several hours later, I was in the HarperCollins booth with two colleagues for a meeting with our Library Marketing reps whom you all know, the wonderful Virginia Stanley and Bobby Brinson. Theyve done some wonderful marketing for all the famous book sellers and the industry as a whole, you can learn more about them on this page. Theyre absolutely incredible in the marketing industry! We were chatting about various things (like the delicious cupcakes that HarperCollins were passing out) and hadn’t started the meeting yet, when I glanced over my shoulder and who should I see but… you guessed it, Neil Gaiman. Well, I think I gasped when I turned back to the others and blurted out, “Oh my God, Neil Gaiman is here.” Well, without even blinking, Virginia grabbed my arm and said, “Let me introduce you to him.” And sure enough, a few minutes later, we were chatting. It’s weird, I’m not usually “star-struck” when meeting authors, actors, filmmakers, etc. I’ve gotten quite used to it through Chlotrudis and all that, but this was very different. My heart was racing a little and I think I babbled (although Viriginia said I cam across very intelligent and composed if a little excited). We chatted about him coming to Boston, about Black Orchid, his first work in comics, and then he offered to sign my book on the spot. It was a lovely meeting; many, many thanks to Virginia. He was just darling.
