Me & David Baldacci

Last night my mom and I went to see David Baldacci, the #1 New York Times Bestselling thriller author. I’ve read a handful of his books and while I wasn’t sure what to expect, I was excited to listen to a successful author tell his story in person.

And tell it he did. He’s funny, charming, and I totally want to be him when I grow up. I didn’t buy a book before entering the auditorium but about the time he said rejection is a badge of courage for writers I started plotting how I could beat the crowd, buy a book, and get in line.

He told a funny story about an Amazon reviewer who only gave him one star because she figured out the book in the last three pages. His solution? He now includes an 800 number on the back of the book that you can call for the end of the story. No more revealing the ending within the actual book!

He also shared several stories of people asking for specific inscriptions when he signed their books, and this — of course — got my mind churning. The moment they opened the floor for questions I hopped a railing, rushed outside to by a book and was first in line before anyone else came out.

This is what I bought:

As I stood in line I tried to think of something interesting to ask him to sign. I am a writer after all. The moment came and he cautiously approached, probably wondering why the woman at the front of the line was bouncing around and clutching his book to her chest. I introduced myself and told him I’m also a writer, at which point he said “Oh!” and shook my hand.

Then I told him I had his first scandelous request for the evening. (You’re surprised, no?) I said I plan to send out my query in the next few weeks and would love if he could write something about rubbing my book (well, his book) for luck. And that he could elaborate however he saw fit.

This is what I got:

This is me being a total groupie:

Aren’t we cute together?

This is perfect timing because I finally wrote my synopsis. Time to read!