A little bit of kindness

Friends of Lulu nominated rapunzel's revenge for two awards! There's online voting, if you go for that sort of thing.

I'll be attending the Costume Ball charity event for the South Jordan Community Theatre on Friday. This is a ticketed event to raise money for our local community theater. Tickets are still available, and there will be an auction, including (embarrassingly enough) lunch with...me. Yup. This was not my idea, obviously. There is no good outcome for me. Either it will be embarrassing when nobody bids, or it will be so uncomfortable if someone pays a lot for it and I know I can't possibly be entertaining enough to be worth that amount. So...what the hey, it's for a good cause. And I always say that one of the best exercises for becoming a professional writer is to expose yourself to public humiliation.

So after I lamented my lack of photos at the National Book Festival, kind reader Meredith emailed me some and then gave me her lovely sum-up of the event. With her permission, I'll quote parts:

"I laughed so hard at the Exquisite Corpse reading.  You were all so wonderful and funny-- it was one of the best talks I went to all day.  Was it the interaction between all of the authors on the stage?  Was it because you were all as sleep deprived and caffeine hyped as I was?  Or did you seem so funny because I was so sleep deprived and hyped on caffeine?  Or was it just the surreal wonderfulness of being surrounded by hundreds of people who loved books enough to brave the weather and connect with authors and other readers?  There was a very special energy in the air that day.  It seemed like the wonder had been awoken in everyone I looked at-- we were all looking around ourselves, a little amazed.  And once people started talking to other people there, sparks of static electricity bounced from tongues and minds.  The little zings connected us.  Maybe because in one way or another, every person there had been saved by books, the way Kate DiCamillo said that the library saved her.  The importance of stories lies in that desperate and beautiful rescue.  They restore us not just to safety, but to a place more wonderful than that."

Here's Megan McDonald, Steven Kellogg, Nikki Grimes, Kate DiCamillo, me, and Jon Scieska. I could not stop laughing between Jon and Kate there. And Megan, Steven, and Nikki were just as sweet and cool as you could want them to be.

By the way, Episdoes 1 & 2 are now up at read.gov. A new episode goes up every two weeks. Katherine Patterson is the latest. (The Exquisite Corpse Adventure is supported by the Library of Congress and the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance and will feature the collaborative work 14 writers and 3 illustrators, including yours truly.)

Here's some more from Meredith:

"When I got in line to get my books signed, I loved how the people in line around me all became a sort of Sisterhood Of Shannon Hale Book Lovers over the hour or so that we stood waiting.  Age mattered not-- we were students, teachers, librarians, booksellers and moms all talking on exactly the same level.  I listened to a snowy-haired librarian soberly discussing what kind of a person a princess should be with thirteen-year-old girl she had met five minutes before.  They had very interesting and earnest ideas on the subject.  The members of our Sisterhood could be identified by the fact that they laughed and gushed, traded book recommendations and directions on how to get out of the city at the end of the day, discussed favorite books and most-loved characters, took pictures for each other, and carried bags and books for each other.  I used to run the Children's department at Barnes & Noble, and I'm used to being considered just a bit precious by my coworkers for making Kids Lit my field.  I wasn't precious in your line.  I was perfectly normal.  I loved every moment of it.

"There is something very special about book lovers who get together for an event such as that, but I think that there is something particularly special about people who love Children's books.  Some of the lines for other, "adult" authors seem to me competitive-- people defended their places in line and were jealous of how many books they could get signed, etc.  It wasn't that way at all in the Shannon Hale line.  We were all instantly friends, and friends don't quibble about places in line.  As a matter of fact, the little knot of de facto friends I was with encouraged a girl to dash off to the Jodi Picolt line just one over just as that line dwindled to its end so that she could get a book signed.  We cheered when the line managers let her get in line, and we not only held her place in the Shannon Hale line, but I think we held about half of her other books, as well.  The Shannon Hale line manager was amazed by us."

This is just so sweet. I've found it to be true as well that people who love children's books experience a kind of team loyalty. And nothing I find more flattering and honoring than to hear that people who like my books tend to be kind. Hooray indeed.

Comments

[Nina]

The reading sounds great--how lucky for those who were there! :) I hope the auction goes well and people bid a modest, yet satisfying, amount with reasonable expectations.

[Megan J.]

I think I was by Meredith in line, I remember one girl saying she used to work at B&N in the children's dept.!! I completely agree with everything Meredith said. We gushed about your books in line, and about other books.

Later, I went to get into Lois Lowry's line and my friend held my place in Megan McDonald's line. She met back up with some people from your line. When Lois Lowry's line manager said just one book, our new friends hopped over and each took one of my books so I could get all of mine signed. Then, I hopped back over and hung out in the Megan McDonald line. We all had a great time!

The exquisite corpse presentation was just hilarious. It was our favorite by far!! We also loved your presentation, of course. I told my class about your pottery story, and they thought your teacher shouldn't have trashed your first pot (that's third graders for you!). I just wish the whole thing had been two days so that we could've made it to more presentations. By the time we got some books signed and sat through 4-5 presentations, it was OVER!

[Meredith B.]

Megan! Hooray, I remember you! How're you doing? Did your students like the books?

See what I mean? We're all friends now. I could have taken any of the people in line around me out to lunch and we could have talked for a couple of hours without running out of things to say. Don't you wish we could have the National Book Festival once a month instead of once a year? It was definitely over way too soon. I wish we had a discussion board.

[Shannon M.]

Wow, that sounds like so much fun. And I agree with Meredith-children's book fans (and writers) are the nicest people ever. I just went to the Orange County Book Fair (not anywhere near as cool as the National Book Festival but it's the best Cali has to offer) and had similar experiences waiting to meet Michael Buckley and Robin Preiss Glasser and Frank Beddor. You make friends with your line buddies. You work as a team. It's not about competition or complaining, it's about chatting and cooperating.

Oh and don't even worry about your lunch not selling. I bet it'll be more like the bidding war that erupted at Project Book Babe over lunch with Stephenie Meyer. :)

[Katie @ cakes, tea and dreams]

How fun! I love this description of kindness and camaraderie. I wish I'd been able to be there!

[Shannon Morris]

It all sounds so amazing! Meredith's description of waiting in line got me all choked up, or maybe it was just a hot flash. But having stood in some of your lines myself I have to agree with her. There is something special about people who love your books, and it's because of who you are, how you present your work, as well as your 'humanness' that draw people to you. You are loved by many, as is your work. Thank you for sharing this part of your life with us. And I finally talked my book group into your material!!!! We're doing Goose Girl! As if I needed an excuse to read it again!!!!

[suzanne campbell]

Okay just finnished forest born and now can't wait till rin falls in love with Wilem after she has come clean can I beg can I plead? when when when. anyway i loved it I love them all and I am fifty years old thanks for all your books and the blog Suzanne Campbell

[Je Reve]

My book club (consisting of Mom, sister, and I) are going to do A&H. Can't wait!

Thank you so much for the post, and I can really relate to the whole waiting-in-line-friends-thing. Only with Little Red's crew. So nice about not spoiler-ing. Have fun at the gala!

[Dr. Sallie N. Cheinsteen]

I love magic. It's one of those ideas that some adults can't comprehend and that some teenagers refuse to take time for. But then for some, adults and teenagers and children alike, magic is everywhere. Good days, bad days, sun, moon, sky air... and we read books to bring it that much more into our life. So when we do something like wait in a line for a book signing and realize someone else believes in magic too, it's like a taste of a fairy tale. It's knowing that there's someone else like you who believes in what others won't reach for.
And it makes you happy.

[Mindy]

The book event sounded amazing! im so glad u guys had a great time! Shannon u should come to the mid-west and st. louis, missouri!
I also just finished Forest Born and there is so much I want to say, except I don't want to ruin it for anybody! It was amazing though!

[Amber]

Beautiful!!!!! Wish I could have been there!

[twitter.com/jessiepoet]

I love that people helped Megan get all of her books signed :) that is so awesome!

and now i have so many new books to ad to my to buy list :)

[Katie Rose]

The auction can't be that bad. A while back for a youth event, the opening questioning was "what live (presumably famous) person would you like to meet and talk to?". I said Shannon Hale.

[Katie-wa]

It's cause the nice people read the nice books. ^_^ But think of children, how nosy they are and also how willing they are to help. There are connections there, too. I find it very interesting.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=572048143]

My friend and i are the girls who ran over to the jodi picoult line and everybody held our place (and books) in line!! I'm Abby and my friend is Rachel. We had the greatest time book-talking with everyone and loved how everyone was so friendly!!! Thank you for putting this up!!

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=683800654]

AHHH!! IM THE OTHER JODI GIRL! I CANT BELIEVE WE WERE MENTIONED IN THIS!!!!! me and abby are on the phone screaming about this right now. LOVE THIS! =] love you!

[Laura]

oh my gosh shannon, I would soooooo want to eat lunch with you!!!!

[Christen]

Cool, cool, cool! This just reaffirms my ever-strengthening belief that both books and Shannon Hale are totally awesome. :D

[Meredith B.]

Yes! Abby and Rachel! See? We totally need a discussion board. This has ceased to be a hint and started to become a two-by-four, hasn't it? :-)

[Andrea H.]

Okay, I love that those two girls were on the phone screaming about being mentioned on your blog. How awesome. What a fun post! It sounds like that book festival was amazing.

[Chels]

This post caused me physical pain. I wish I had been there almost as much as I wish I could eat as much ice cream as I want with no side effects. I want to be with like-minded-Shannon-lovers!
Shannon, I would kill for lunch with you. Okay, maybe not kill, but I would definitely do something drastic.

[LittleRed]

Looking for a discussion board for Shannon Hale fans?

Look no further:
http://www.littleredreadinghood.com

Come join us!

[Amber]

URGENT
URGENT
URGENT
URGENT
Shannon I have a question for you..could you pleeeeeeeeeeasse answer in your blog??
If you HAD to pick, like you could NOT be neutral, and you had to pick your favorite book you wrote and your favorite character you created, which and who would it be? If you HAD to pick (I understand that's hard..I can't pick my favs of your books! but my fav character is def Razo!! and i love Felix!!) Sooo what would it be? Please please please answer in your blog?

[Ali]

I finished Forest Born and it was AMAZING! Rin was such a wonderful character and it was a great story. Thank you for writing amazing books!

[Cheryl]

I'm glad someone else commented on Forest Born as I just finished reading it as well. It brought back so much of the magic of Goose Girl as I read it. I LOVED it.