Have you ever chatted with one of your favorite authors online?
Sweaty palms, lump in your throat, the urge to run and tell every person you know (and some you don’t) that you were lucky enough to chat (ok, online, but still) with one of your all time favorite authors. Have you ever experienced this? I have.
Recently, on a message board I’m a member of, a new author was excited that one of her favorites had left a comment on her blog. How exciting! She was, of course, thrilled. Who can blame her? I was the same way when I had my experience.
Last year, I had started another blog with a couple of other authors. Trying to build it into something that readers would enjoy, we promoted it and asked other authors to guest blog and/or give away copies of their books for our contest. I sent out notices to all my friends on Facebook, MySpace, etc, trying to drum up some prizes. When I received a response from one of my favorite authors, I was thrilled. Seriously, dancing through the house, screaming with elation, big, fat grin on my face thrilled. This was a NY published author of a series that I’d read and really enjoyed. Anticipation and excitement filled me as I dug out a copy of her paperback from my many shelves of books. I carried it with me, showing everyone I knew. I’d spoken with her and she’d agreed to give away copies of her books for my blog. MY BLOG! Ok, yeah, so I was star-struck. I admit it, I’m not ashamed.
Just reading the excitement in my friend’s message brought a smile to my face. Ahhh, yes. Been there. It’s a fond memory I’ll never forget. I’m sure she won’t, either.
One of these days, maybe that will be one of us. Some new author might be excited to see our comment on her blog. Wouldn’t that be exciting? Of course, how would we know? I guess if you get big enough, you just know. :D But, it’s something to strive for. When someone asks me what my goals are, I’m going to have to tell them that I hope someday to make a new author excited that I posted on their blog. I think that’s a good goal to reach for.
So, how about you? Have you ever been star-struck by the opportunity to speak to one of your favorite authors? Share your stories with me. I’d love to hear them!
