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The Science Center pulled out all the stops last night. A big thanks to Pili and all her crew that helped everything work last night. Thanks to Al Wyman who did the Q and A with me in their lovely Center Stage. It was an hour long session. I don’t think I’ve ever done an hour before. I think for future we’ll keep it to the half hour we usually do to get us all out of the signing earlier.
It was a good question and answer session, don’t get me wrong. They had a stage big enough for me to pace to my heart’s content without danger of walking off the edge. I’ve done that before. Okay, not stepped off, but backed up and found no stage underneath my heel. I had room to move last night. It was good.
There were children in the audience, and I tried my best not to cuss, or say anything inappropriate. I failed. I didn’t mean to, but once I get into the Anita mind set it’s so hard not to let things slip. Worse yet, with most of the audience not having read THE HARLEQUIN all the way through yet, I said a spoiler. Dammit.
Someone asked me a question from one of the blogs, and I answered without thinking. If I’d just answered the question, I’d have been fine. Who was the scene stealer in the book that I mention in a blog, but couldn’t discuss without giving things away? Answer: Peter, Edward’s stepson. But it’s me, and I’m like essay-question-answer-girl. I had to elaborate what I thought Peter would be doing in this book as opposed to what he ended up doing. Which was a spoiler for those who hadn’t gotten to that point of the book. Not a huge spoiler, but a spoiler nonetheless. The fans in residence were so good about not letting anything slip, and I did it. Jeez.
We had about three hundred, or a little over last night. Much less than the crowd in Atlanta. The Science Center had done their best to get the word out, I’m just beginning to think that St. Louis is not impressed with local talent. You know that whole not a prophet in your own land thing. Either that or it’s the whole St. Louis being the buckle of the Bible belt. I don’t know what it is, but the St. Louis crowds are starting to be smaller than the out of town crowds. I think St. Louis thinks they can catch me next time so why push?
Now to all the St. Louis area people who did come out, thank you. Many of you are people I’ve seen for years in signing after signing. I’ve got some people in line that I first met when they were in high school and now they’re out of college, working, and into their first houses. How cool is it, to see people grow and change and their life progress in small slices of the signings? Very cool actually.
To all the new St. Louis area people, thank you, too. It’s great to see new local faces. I’m tired this morning and don’t mean to insult my home town, but it is an observable result that the crowds here are consistently smaller. Not dising, just truth.
We had a lot of people want pictures last night, which was cool. But it slowed us down for the actual signing. On our end we’re going to try to think of a way to streamline the picture process. If any of you can come up with a way to streamline it let us know. We will take suggestions, because I’m sort of stumped. And none of you should write in and say, stop doing the pictures. The pictures are important to the people who want them. So, we need a solution that lets you guys get the snapshots you want, but makes a smoother or faster process of it. Suggestions welcome. Darla, Jon, Charles, and I are going to be thinking on what to do.
Maybe a dedicated person to take the camera from the fan in question and take the picture. Someone who has no other job in the event, but that. We have people that take the pictures for you guys, and sometimes a person who does just that, but they usually are a store employee and have other duties, as well. I don’t know. We’ll think upon it, you think upon, maybe we’ll all come up with something.
I’m actually going to do something I rarely do, I’m going to end the blog here, and probably write a little more about the signing in St. Louis later. I want to talk about the fact that we had merchandise there for the first time in a big way. I want to talk about the out of town people who drove so far, or even flew. Canada was well represented last night. But I’m off to have breakfast and a second cup of tea. You guys have a good day. I hope the rest of you are not quite as tired as I am this morning.