Allen, Texas

I flew from Toronto, Ontario (Canada) to Allen, Texas for my first-ever book-signing.

I'm not an obsessed fan. No one needs restraining orders. I just love to read. And honestly, I think my husband just wanted me out of the house for the weekend. Until the moment he said he was flying me in, my head had been buried in books for the past 30 days.

The enormity of this even has still not settled in, nor has the fact that I actually got to meet +Jamie McGuire , Colleen Hoover, Tammara Webber, and Amy Tannenbaum.

The first three ladies make my short-list of my most favourite authors of all time. I was lucky enough to sit in the 2nd row, amongst other book-lovers like myself. I wasn't ridiculed for having read Beautiful Disaster more then 10 times. My obsession with Will Cooper was understood. And my new-found love of anything Economics was accepted. It was nirvana. And because it was in a bookstore, it was nirvana with a cherry on top!

And this is where the book-nerd in me really shines.

The crowd went wild when +Jamie McGuire walked in with her family. I was really excited, but never being the type to go 'total fan-girl' in public, I internalized. Until I saw that her editor, Amy Tannenbaum, was walking behind her.

Then I really geeked out! I turned to a few women I had made friends with, and had my moment. Holy mother EFF! That's Amy Tannenbaum. As in the EDITOR! I was a bit miffed that they didn't share my excitement on the same scale.

And then she came over to talk to me! I was later interviewed by ABC. Something about flying in from another country for the weekend to get books signed didn't seem like what the average person would do. People thought it was awesome. No offence to ABC, but I was more excited to have this picture taken.

Even Ms. McGuire's oldest daughter knew who I was. I was in absolute awe of the entire event.

I got my books signed earlier than most, thanks to standing in line and getting a wrist-band (which I now use as a back-up bookmark!). I chatted with others, which is not like me at all. I'm actually quite shy, but talk of Rush from Fallen Too Far ( +Abbi Glines ) and Kellen Kyle (S.C. Stephens) had everyone loose-lipped. I actually had the nerve to tell a handful of people that they were crazy for not yet having read The Sea of Tranquility by +Katja Millay . I ended up walking out of the bookstore with a massive list of 'must-read' books.

The moment I left the book-signing, I think something in my core had shifted. It felt wrong to leave a place where my obsession with reading was accepted. I was leaving 'my kind' behind.

As I started packing, I realized I didn't have bubble-wrap to pack-up my newly signed precious cargo! Crap!

Lesson learned for BookBash - bring bubble wrap.