Friday Rundown

So, no sketch today. I'm sorry to say there probably won't be a sketch for the next few weeks. I'm working on a very special piece, and it's going to take a long time to finish.

BUT. I have other exciting things!

First off—run over to Julie Halpern's blog for ANOTHER chance to win Into The Wild Nerd Yonder OR Get Well Soon. I know there's still a ton of you around wanting this book, and all you have to do is follow and comment! Easy!

I got to meet Aprilynne Pike last night, and oh my goodness is she just the most wonderful person! She was soooo fun to listen to! I think I could listen to her all night, but then I got really hungry and had to leave. Stupid hypoglycemia.

Anyway, Aprilynne is another one of my personal heroes. I'm not sure if you're familiar with her publication story, but it was a long, tough journey. Though she worked so hard, things didn't just happen for her immediately. It was so comforting to remember that sometimes it doesn't work out exactly as you'd like, but it still works out. Sometimes better than you imagined.

I really, really needed to hear that this week. I totally teared up at the book signing. Yes, I'm a dork.

But it gets worse from there, because when I went up to have Aprilynne sign my books I started FREAKING OUT. Total fangirl moment. I'd brought this picture of her main character, Laurel, to give to her:

Laurel from Wings by ~nataliewhipple on deviantART

I shook. My heart pounded. I kept thinking, Oh my gosh, I'm acting like a DORK. But Aprilynne was so nice and she said she loved the picture. She signed my books and made me feel really special even though she's probably seen hundreds of people over the past couple weeks. Then she let me get a picture with her, in which I look entirely over-excited. Which I was.
I LOVE authors.