You Guys!!!

I’ve been answering a lot of interview questions for the upcoming blog tours, but no one has asked the one I want to answer yet.  That question is this:  What has been the best part of TIARA TROUBLE’s release.  I want someone to ask me that so I can give this answer:

The best part of the release has been the people.  The absolute best part of this whole thing has been the response of my friends, my family, and the new people I am meeting through the book.  If I had any doubts (and what writer doesn’t?) about my ability to write another full manuscript, I have been reinvigorated by the excitement and support of these wonderful people.  I want to do more, and do better as a means of giving back.  The best thing a storyteller can have is an interested audience, and an interested audience means more stories.  I feel like every event has made my heart grow three sizes, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world because I am surrounded by such good people.

Today was my last signing event for October, and I got to visit my alma mater, the University of Texas at Arlington.  I don’t know why I got so nervous, but I really thought I was going to throw up before that one.  The staff there was so welcoming and warm, though, that I felt right at home.  Then, friends I haven’t seen in ages started to appear, and I was beside myself.  When my senior high school English teacher walked in, I was afraid I was going to ruin my makeup because my eyes kept filling up.  Georganne Farr was one of the reasons high school was bearable.  So if you enjoy Tiara Trouble at all, you should know she had a hand in keeping me on the right path.

Boston was more of the same.  You have to feel loved when someone will ride a train in from another state to see you, and when someone will wait two hours after work for you to get off a trolley car (where you are being held hostage by traffic).  I said it before, after the Barnes & Noble signing, but it means more to me than I have words to express that people took time out of their LIVES to come see me.  You people have LIVES, and you gave me chunks of your time.  I know how much that costs and I want to be sure you know how grateful I am.  I wish I could send all of you flowers, or do your laundry, or something to show you the appreciation I feel.

Sarah, and Jaunitta, and Lori-Anne, and Laura, and Mrs. Farr–thank you for the gift of your time.

Aw.  Now I am going to ruin my makeup.  I’m happy =)