well, I attended the Literacy Signing last night. I hadn’t realized quite how long it was going to take, and I got fewer books than I had intended over all. I made an effort to avoid the long queues for major authors (even though I love and adore many of them) because I wanted to hit up authors who I either wouldn’t normally see, or who I liked and wanted to “boost.”

Not only did I get my 1:1 ratio, I beat it. I ended up with 10 books total (6 from African-American Authors). I wanted to do more, but it was 6:45 by the time I hit book #10, my friends were throwing me a birthday party starting at 7, and the checkout line was looking horrendously long.

So, I got:

Patricia Sargeant’s “You Belong to Me” (She’s a new author–this is her first book! I talked to her for a while, and she was an absolutely lovely person. I’m just dying to read this one.)

Shirley Hailstock’s “My Lover, My Friend”

Wayne Jordan’s “One Gentle Knight.” (Wayne, if you can’t tell by the name, is a man–he told me he loved reading romance, and loved writing it. He was very brave to enter those estrogen-filled halls.)

Francis Ray’s “Irresistible You,” which is set in Santa Fe, one of my favorite places in the United States.

And two books from Kayla Perrin–”Gimme an ‘O’” and “Getting Some.”

I’m really looking forward to getting to read and know these authors. I picked up four other books as well, and only wish I had had a little more time. Every author I met and talked to was truly wonderful. It’s true what they say–there’s a fabulous romance community out here. And it’s wonderful to be a part of it.

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