Every author has signing stories. Some fun, some less so. Some well attended and others very lonely. For me, my first signing was memorable and then some. It was many years ago at the unfortunately now-defunct Mystery Bookstore in LA. It was a Saturday. As the store often did, it was an entire day of signings with various authors assigned an hour. If I remember correctly, mine was at noon. Since this was uncharted territory, I had no idea what to expect.
Arriving around 11:30, I was greeted by a line out the door and down the block as I drove along Broxton. My thoughts? This book signing deal is pretty cool.
Once I entered the store I saw that the line plugged directly into a table where the great Ray Bradbury sat. For the next half hour he signed books and chatted with fans, the line gradually evaporating, until only he, the store staff (Shelly, Linda, and Bobby), and I remained.
I guess the line of excited fans weren’t there for a rookie after all. Big disappointment. But then I had the opportunity to sit and chat with Mr. Bradbury for a few minutes and that made up for everything. A very gracious gentleman.
My brief brush with true literary greatness.
God bless you, Mr. Bradbury. You are indeed a national treasure.
