So there I was... a bookstore, a bacon cheeseburger, and Joshilyn Jackson!

Below left, you will see The Hot Chicks. On the right, you see one of The Hot Chicks with me! Yeah, that's totally me, STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO JOSHILYN JACKSON!!!


Ok, I know I look pretty goofy, and she looks more like Veronica than Betty, but still, that is totally me standing right next to her. I mean, can you tell that our shoulders are touching? So you see how close we are? I mean, I'm totally framing this picture and writing BFF all over it! (Yeah, I took that idea right from Joshilyn's very own blog, but really, isn't that the greatest form of flattery? Oh shut up! It is so NOT like I stole her exact words or anything and claimed they were my own. I mean, I'm telling you right here, I just borrowed them from her blog. I'm giving her ALL of the credit, so just get over it, ok?) <----------yeah, I know, calm down, but I'm still a little bit hyped about today. I had the coolest day, and I have to gush about it. So if gushing makes you sick, then just get off the blog for a while and go read something FUN and INTERESTING. Notice that there are NO LINKS for those big-lettered words? That's because I can't think of a single thing that could be more fun or interesting than the day I had today. My friend Charity has a link on her blog called "Faster Than Kudzu". Since I loves Char, and I think she's really smart, and I respect her tons, I like to check her links. Well, I stumbled into FTK a while back, and I never wanted to leave. I mean, the chick that wrote it was Funny. Really Freakin' Funny. I'd never heard of her before, and as I was reading, I was thinking, "She should totally be a writer, because people would sooo pay money to read this stuff!" Yeah, sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake. I know. Because the person that blogs FTK is Joshilyn Jackson. I'd never heard of her, but couldn't stay away from her blog. Blah blah blah, fast forward a few months, and I've devoured BOTH Between, Georgia and gods in Alabama in less than 2 days, and almost regret reading them because I can't seem to enjoy anything else as much right now, so I've re-read them quite a bit. All of my friends have patiently sat through hearing me read the scene in gIA about the Baptist Youth Minister's wife's story, and all have laughed at the right places... Oh hell, I'm rambling again. Sorry.

Ms. Jackson is currently on tour. She's blogged about it. I wanted to have her sign a book or 5, so I checked her tour stops. To say that she would be nowhere within 5 hours of me is not a lie. The closest she would be is CHARLOTTE, freakin-North Carolina. That is one full state away, which roughly translates to 7 hours on the road. But hey, I really wanted to see if she was half as funny in person, and I did make the trek to Baltimore to see another certain two authors, so what's 7 hours on the road, one way? SHANE, stop reading now. Well, besides $90 in gas, but we're NOT mentioning that, ok?

Oh people, it was so very much worth any amount of time, energy, loss of sleep, and standing on my feet for 18 hours serving biscuits and gravy!! I can't even do the play by play, because I know I wouldn't do it justice. But get this, I MET HER. And she knew who I was. And I didn't get tooooo very freaky-stalker-fanish, because she was so gracious as to invite me to have lunch! YES!! SHE DID!!! I actually got to sit at the same table and eat bacon cheeseburgers with her.

Ok, I got that out of my system. Now I have to tell you The Big Thing. She is a real person. I mean, a REAL person. I don't know what I thought she'd be, but she was MORE, and BETTER, because she doesn't come across as thinking that she is either more or better than anyone else. As we were all getting ready to leave, I realized something else. She's MORE and BETTER because she's just like everyone else. She wanted to get the hell out of the place and get home to her husband. Yet, she sat there and talked to me and my new pal Elizabeth like we were her friends. I felt IMPORTANT. I don't mean the whole "Oh, I'm sitting her having lunch with a famous author" kind of important. I mean the "You are a unique individual, and you deserve my time and attention" kind of important, the kind that you get from your friends. She didn't play up the fact that she's published, unless it was to give us pointers that would help. She didn't brag about her stories, she totally talked up K's WIP, and actually listened to Autumn, Elizabeth and I when we talked about our own WIPs.

What did we talk about? Well, we got tips and insider info on the publishing biz, which is a LOT different than just writing. We talked about agents and editors and family, and lighting up talking about a story, and whores, and bacon, and Snakes on Planes, and toxic algae. Really, I can't tell you all of it, because it is MINE, and I don't really want to share all of that. I'm not trying to be selfish or anything, but remember your first REAL kiss? Remember how your best friend asked you all about it, and part of you wanted to spill the beans, but part of you was afraid that if you let one little bit seep out then the perfection of that moment would be forever lost to you? Well, it was JUST LIKE THAT, but totally without all of the lips and tongues and slobber. Get it?

Anyhow, I want you to check out her tour dates and to encourage any of you that have the chance to go and see Joshilyn if she ever gets anywhere close to you. By anywhere close, I mean that if you say "She's not coming anywhere near me" then you better mean she's at least a 10 hour drive, or you better keep your mouth shut about it. Elizabeth drove 4 hours, I drove 7, and I can honestly say that I doubt either of us regretted a single second that we spent on the road, or a single penny that we spent on gas. The only thing that I would possibly change is that I would have had Charity with me. She is, after all, how I found Joshilyn in the first place.

Thank you, Joshilyn Jackson, for one of the most fun and interesting afternoons I've had in a long time. And that whole crazed-stalker-fan thing? Yeah, just chalk it up to "batshitty". I hear that's what all of the really cool writers are these days...