That Time I Met Sarah Dessen

Yes, THE Sarah Dessen, the QUEEN of contemporary herself. And let me tell you, it was awesome! Sarah Dessen has been one of my author heroes since high school when I first read Keeping The Moon. That book was the gateway book to my contemporary obsession, and I've read every book by her since. I've never been disappointed either. This Lullaby is probably my favorite of hers (Um, hello, it has DEXTER in it!), but I always love the insights her stories hold, each one unique and full of truth. She captures the emotions involved during the teen years in a way that feels true and relatable. The funny thing is, I didn't even know she was going to be in my home city until about 15 minutes before the signing. Can you believe it?

Please excuse my hair, the frizz is the curse of having thick, curly hair and since I didn't know Sarah Dessen was in town until last minute I didn't have any time to make myself any more presentable (SO EMBARRASSING BUT SO WORTH IT). (Notice the creepy/nervous look on my face?)

I was checking my Twitter feed really fast when I saw she had tweeted something about being in MYcity and at a bookstore near mine for a signing. I had to do a double take. I thought, NO. FREAKING. WAY. Then proceeded to call my husband, who was dropping our oldest off at a friend's birthday party, to squeal and freak out and do general fan girlish things. He told me to calm down and that he would be home soon. Then he drove me to the signing, because being my husband, he has heard me proclaim my love for Sarah Dessen more than once. Anyway, I got there right at the start while she was discussing about her new book, The Moon and More. The crowd was a pretty good size, but I was able to get a good view. Even with my vertical challenges in the way (there were a few times I had to stand on my tippy-toes to see her talking, but that's the price you pay for not being more informed on author signings, especially authors as awesome as Sarah Dessen). I have to tell you, she is as sweet and down to earth in real life as she is on the internet. She felt real, kind of like that girl everyone wants to be best friends with. During the Q&A session she was asked about her 'fame' and she proceeded to say she usually tries to avoid being noticed, that when people ask her what she does for a living, she says 'I work from home', she's not in your face about the fact that she's a NYT best selling author numerous times over. Totally normal.

If I can in any way write a book that reaches just one kid the way Dessen's books did to me, then I will have accomplished the only goal I ever really had with the whole writing gig. Anyway, I will bore you no more with general delight, and star-struckness at the signing, but it really was a once in a lifetime experience and I hope I can meet my other writer heroes someday as well.