CBA, Day 3

Here I am, back home again, tired but happy from CBA.

Had a good signing yesterday at the Zondervan booth on the convention floor. Good thing they brought 250 copies of Dead of Night. As y’all know, I signed with Jim Bell, and we had a looong line. I went through all 250 books in an hour and a half. He was signing his latest book with Zondervan, Sins of the Fathers. Great book, by the way, as all of his are. If you haven’t read it—do.

This morning before the signing while still at the hotel, I thought, “Hm, whatdya do when you’re signing with Master Bell?” Then I had meself an idea. So I made meself a little sign and printed it out on the hotel’s color printer. Yellow background. Bold capitalized red letters:

PLEASE
DON’T FEED
THE LAWYER!!

Begged some tape from the bell captain, and I was ready to head for the convention center and the signing.

At the Z booth, I surreptitiously showed my sign around to the Z folks, and we all had a good laugh at Jim’s expense. Of course, he still didn’t know what was going on. When it came our turn to sign—two of us at this tiny table—I whipped out my sign and taped it to the wall just beside his head. Poor guy had to sign beside that thing for the entire time. Meanwhile a long line was already forming. I called down the line for folks to pay attention to the sign and put any peanuts away, etc. Somebody—I forget who, but I think someone from Z—got a pic of Jim making a very scary face next to the sign. (Not that he had to work too hard, but don’t tell him I said so.)

Then, alas, we had to get down to biz and sign books. And sign more books. And some more. I made the mistake of glancing up a few times to check the line. Thing had to be snaking halfway to China. Amazing the people who show up to get a free book. Well, free anything usually works. At any rate, later I heard that our line was so long that it took half the convention floor, and Tyndale had to postpone a Jerry Jenkins signing 'cause there was no room for people, and Westbow had to postpone one for Ted Dekker. I also learned that it wasn’t really the books folks were standing in line for; it was the chance to see the great Master Bell next to his “don’t feed the lawyer” sign.

Okay, so I totally lied on that previous paragraph. Cut me a break; I’m a novelist. I give the truth scope.

Actually, we did have a very long line, and I signed for an hour and half straight—smiled that long, too—without a break, and when I was done, and all the books were gone, my hand was tired. This is exactly why I’ve developed this large, loose scrawl of a signature—less cramping of the fingers that way.

After the signing I hoofed it out of the convention center and four blocks over to a restaurant where the ACFW members at the conference were having lunch together. My entrance was perfectly timed—not. A good hour and a half late. About the time I got there, people started leaving.

Hm. I’m not going to think too long about that one.

I did sit around for a while a chat with a few folks who stayed. Then it was time to hoof it back the four blocks to the conference center (did I mention Denver heat has been at 97 degrees?) to catch the town car to the airport. Two hour wait at airport. (Security lines were nonexistent, for some reason.) Two hour flight back to San Francisco area. Our United pilot got this hot idea to let his domestic passengers check out the spiffy new international terminal, so he let us out at a gate there. Which meant a major hoof (carrying my heavy briefcase and a carry-on full of books, also heavy) waaaay over to the domestic terminal for baggage. Sheesh, I thought I was back at the convention.

I was picked up by a friend and driven home. By the time I got here, I decided I don’t want to see people for oh, about a week. I’m totally peopled out. This introvert author has done all the extroverting she can possibly do for a long while. Now it’s time to plug myself in to some nice, quiet aloneness and regenerate. Oh, but I'm not kicking husband and daughter out of the house, in case you wondered.

Dear BGs, I have no idea what we shall discuss tomorrow. Not that I don’t have many suggestions from y’all. Tell you what, though, I promise to show up if you will. Tune in and see what surfaces.