Well, here I am in Regency dress at last weekend’s signing! (I’m not sure why the picture’s so blurry — sorry!) On the down side, I never got my hair right — it looks totally non-Regency (the curl fell out — surprise surprise).
On the up side, I found some cool gloves at the last minute (though they really ought to extend to above the elbow, of course, which they don’t — in fact, they almost look like wrist-length gloves here, they’ve slid down so far) and my nice fan (which Todd painted for me, also at the last minute). Kind chapter-mates in LARA (Los Angeles Romance Authors, my local RWA chapter) tied me into my dress. And also bought some of my books. I love LARA!
There were eight other authors signing, and it was a lot of fun! We chatted and bought each other’s books and joked about copy-editing mistakes and had a great time. And the signing went by so fast that before I got a chance to buy everyone’s books that I meant to, everyone had gone! (Well, that’s what I get for spending too much time fussing with my pens and chocolate and gloves and hair, and trying to fish out the bobby pins that kept falling down my bodice.) 🙂
If you look closely at the photo, you’ll see some little rectangles lined up next to my book — those are the Regency chocolates that I gave away. Okay, they aren’t actually Regency chocolates — such did not exist, after all! — they’re Hershey’s Miniatures, covered with Regency pictures. Todd designed them, and they turned out fantastic! Milk chocolate bore the picture of my heroine’s face, dark chocolate had her playing cards, and the other two flavors had miscellaneous Regency-era pictures.
So, here are today’s questions:
1) If you’re an author, and someone asks you to sign your book for them, do you write something inane in the front of it, wishing you could think of something clever to write? Or do you write something clever? Or what? Or are you too experienced or too sensible to worry about these things??? (Is it just me???)
2) If you’re a reader (and we’re all readers, even those of us who are also writers), have you ever met an author you admire and said something inane while trying to say something clever? (Or is it just me???) 🙂
Cara
Cara King, author of MY LADY GAMESTER — finalist for the Booksellers’ Best Award for Best Regency of 2005
Cara, I love the photograph and your blog comments. It really was a nice turnout of authors on Sunday. I bought so many books I’m having a hard time choosing which to read first. : 0 I’ve already read yours and loved it, so no decision required there.
And yes, I was so anxious to meet Jenny Crusie the first time, I gushed all over her. The next time I swore I’d keep my mouth closed and just be polite, that didn’t work either because I said something equally as ridiculous as gushing. Sigh. Third time’s a charm, maybe if I see her at Nationals I’ll be Ms. Cool and Collected … nah, wouldn’t be any fun!
Cara:
Thanks for posting the picture, Cara, you look lovely. And what a sweetie Todd is to make you chocolates, and fans, and stuff.
As for writing something clever–yeah, I spent awhile on figuring out what to write, and when it’s a friend, I usually have no clue. And I met Anne Stuart and got all gushy last year, which is SO not me. I was kinda mortified, only my friend was seated next to her at the signing and told her I wasn’t normally this gushy.
Cara, I really love your Regency dress, it’s very beautiful, you look lovely! 🙂
Oh, that’s sooooo cool that you went in the Regency outfit!!!! I would of loved to have seen that in person. 🙁 LOL 🙂
I have never met anyone in person, but if I were to, I know I wouldn’t say much, I’m too shy. LOL 🙂 That’s also why I sometimes tend to be quiet online (ie, blogs 😉 ) because I’m shy and can’t think of anything to say. That or I don’t have the free moment needed to type away. Hate that. 🙂 Anyway, getting back to the question, I’d be lucky if you guys were to get a hi out of me. LOL 🙂
Lois
Cara, that’s a beautiful photo and you look like an angel.
LOL, I always think I sound inane when I am talking to writers.
If I ever become published, I am sure I will be equally as inane!! Pretty much like I sound now! Ah,well!
BTW, you look utterly charming! It sounds like the signing was a lot of fun!
Thanks for the kind words about my Regency gown, everyone!!! I am very flattered and quite grateful.
As to meeting authors — I have on occasion babbled away. 🙂 Once I babbled to Alicia Rasley, whose Regency “Poetic Justice” I just loved loved loved…. I ended up saying something like that book [bang hand on table] was so [bang hand again on table] so [bang hand on table] good [and then I probably continued saying similar things and banging my hand for emphasis — very bad habit — I also did it to J. Michael Straczynski, writer/creator of Babylon 5…sigh…and in that case, I went on to babble “I tell all my friends they have to watch your show, it’s so good, I tell them over and over and over” and he said “they must really hate you by now.”] ;-p
Cara [bang!]
The blurriness of the photo is all my fault. I thought I’d told it to focus correctly! Stupid digital cameras. (Not that I’m any better with non-digital cameras, but I resent any device that thinks it is cleverer than I am.)
I did make the chocolates, though, so I am hopefully somewhat redeemed. Even though you can’t see them because they are too blurry.
But Cara did look very fetching. I would have been happy to help her fish bobby pins out of her bodice…but she told me that wasn’t necessary.
Todd-the-sweetie-(according-to-Megan)
Cara, you look lovely and I also hope you appreciate what a treasure you have in Todd!
Re making a fool of myself with authors I admire, I’ve done it too. I blathered on and on about THE LADY FROM SPAIN to Gail Eastwood the first time I met her, and she took it very graciously. We are friends now.
I think we worry that we look more foolish than we really do. I for one will not judge anyone a fool who gushes about my writing! 🙂
You look beautiful, Cara! Todd wouldn’t want to start a side business of making Regency chocolates for less-fortunate authors, would he? 🙂
I’ve never met Laura Kinsale, but I imagine I would turn into a blithering idiot if I did. I did meet Dorothy Dunnett once, at a booksigning shortly before she died (I drove all the way to Dallas to go!). It was amazing. I think I did gush ridiculously, but she was so gracious and kind. I’m very glad I got to meet her, and have my precious signed books to prove it! 🙂
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Okay, I removed my post because as an English teacher and writer, I was mortified to discover two errors in it. So, here it is again.
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Cara! Loved the photo. Lovely Regency era bosom. Hee hee. It’s okay, we’re friends, I can say things like that to another girl. Regarding stupid things I’ve said to authors, I’ve actually been lucky enough to be coherent when I met both Susan Squires (I restrained myself from asking her to take me home, let me sit at her feet, and teach me all she knows), and Linda Howard. I actually made Linda laugh. I have no memory of what I said, so I’m going to assume it was witty, charming and amusing, not one of those “Who the heck let this weirdo out of the insane asylum” sort of laughs. I did however become a complete and utter dolt when I met Selena James from Pocket at a conference. She thought I was a complete idiot, and that was okay because that’s exactly what I felt like, so our opinions coincided on that.
ANYway, nice picture. Wish I could have been there for the signing. I’m sure it was grand. I do already, of course, have a signed copy of your absolutely wonderful book, so at least I have that to console me. And yes, Babylon 5 is the best science fiction show ever written, short of the original Star Trek series!
Oh, Thieme, you have such good taste! I don’t think I’d realized you were a Babylon 5 and Star Trek (original show) fan too! 🙂
(Note that I think that people who have similar tastes to mine have good taste. What vanity!) 🙂
I used to go to Star Trek conventions and ask the actors questions that were very probably babbling and poorly phrased. They were always very kind. I was certainly not the only one doing so! 🙂
And this August I’ll be going to WorldCon, which will be right in my backyard (Anaheim!), so I’ll get a chance to ask great science fiction writers like Connie Willis babbling questions too. (Actually, I’ve already done that, and she was very kind. Hmm…I think I’m seeing a trend here.) 🙂
Cara (who has a lot of new books herself to read, just like Roben/Robena!)