Obviously I was a Darren Shan fan before yesterday, but today he is my favorite author. During the five years that I have lived in Washington state I have had the opportunity to meet quite a few authors; mostly at our PX on base. They have all been really nice and I have been grateful to meet them. Mr. Shan made meeting him an experience though, which is why I think his meeting really set apart from the others. It wasn't the fact that he read bits of his books and talked about his experiences, it was the way he treated each individual that approached him. It felt genuine. (That's a really hard thing to fake.)
I know my husband and I took 17 books and Mr. Shan signed them all (even personalized a couple) plus our tickets and promotional ad. The man didn't blink an eyelid or hesitate. There were a couple of people who had even more books than us and all that was asked was that those of us with large guantities wait until the end of the line. He spoke with us even while he was signing. He was friendly and funny and I felt at ease instead of being just the next person in line.
The reason I can now say that he is my favorite author isn't the fact that he signed all my books or put on a great show; it's how I felt when I was walking away. I felt appreciated as a fan and I will remember that every time I read one of his books. My husband (he's read some of Mr. Shan's books already) also walked out of there a bigger fan.
I hope that once I am published my fans will think I am half as wonderful as I think Darren Shan is.
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