Meeting Susan Elizabeth Phillips

So this was my very first conventional book signing. The only other books I've ever gotten signed for myself was earlier this year at the Lori Foster Reader Author Get Together (which was so much fun btw)
This started at 7pm last night at Schuler's Books and Music in Lansing. I'm not from Lansing so there was a bit of a drive involved for me and we showed up late. My mother (who thinks she's my manager) sneaks us across the back of the space and into two vacant seats.
I'm not sure what we missed but what I got a chance to see and hear was beyond entertaining.
I always love to report when an author is down to Earth and lovely to be around and I can't say anything different about Susan.
She did the last portion of her talk holding a fan's cooing baby. It was adorable.
She went into great detail about how she came about with the idea for The Great Escape (her newest release - go get it now) and then laughed with us.
While we were being excused by rows to go up and get our books signed the people on either side of us began speaking to each other (because they knew each other) and I found myself in conversation with other writers! That's always super exciting, but then I found out that they are members of my local RWA chapter - which I've been thinking of joining and never getting around to for quite awhile now - well almost a year. They were fabulous and hilarious and seemed like a wealth of information and thanks to my manager-spirited mother I think I was personally invited to join. I think that was something that was in my near future anyways.
Then it was my turn to get my book signed and Susan Elizabeth Phillips was so great. She commented on my "well-loved" books saying they were her favorite kinds to sign. She also razzed my mother a little about her camera abilities. It was fun and even though we were late I had such a great time.




But this guys is the cherry on top. I opened my e-mail this morning to find my second contract sitting there waiting for me. I'm so excited to start this leg of my journey and I'm even more excited that I have all of you to celebrate with me when I pick a publisher and sign my name on that dotted line :)