Book Expo America Day 4

Well, I'm a little late reporting, but the Dude was too tired last night to think about blogging.

You'll all be greatly relieved to know that I'm no longer buggin' to up-chuck. But that little spot behind the tree in that posh Beverly Hills neighborhood will always be special to me. And to Chris and Brandon.

Yesterday, the last day of BEA, was a great finale. I spent the morning signing the rest of my books and wandering the booths. And then came the awesome luncheon with Dean Koontz and Michael Connelly.

We sat at a table just 15 feet from these two mega authors as they answered questions from a USA Today reviewer and then from the audience. You'll be proud to know that I was the first one chosen to ask a question, and it was so brilliant I can't remember what it was.

I really like Dean Koontz. He's had such an influence on my writing, and I've read almost all of his books. It was very surreal, and when it was over, I sprinted toward him so we could shake hands and I could tell him how thankful I am he chose to be an author. I also shook Mr. Connelly's hand and got both of my free books signed. It was awesome.

I promised Mr. Koontz I'd send him a copy of my book as a thank you. Please don't let me forget.

The afternoon was spent chillin' with all the great Shadow Mountain people, shipping home our bazillion free books, and readying to head home. I was very excited to see my family, but also a little sad that my first BEA was now over. New York next year, baby!!!!!

To top everything off, I met Mike Tyson in the airport and shook his hand, too. There you have it, full circle. And no, I'm not joking, I have witnesses. I told him I've been a fan of his my whole life, which couldn't be further from the truth. But I didn't want an uppercut to the chin.

Now, after all that, after all those cool authors and all those cool times, the ultimate highlights of my trip occurred last evening. The first was an idea for a book shared by Chris on the plane. It exploded in my head and affected me more than an idea has in a long, long time. I'm already busting to write it and have the whole thing forming in my skull. Thank you Chris! It's going to be called PHOBIA and you can look for it in bookstores within the next 2-10 years.

And the second, of course, was finally getting home to my wife. I've done a lot of travelling lately, and I think this one was particularly hard because I was having so much fun while she labored at home with the kids. It was a very sweet reunion and I'm glad to say that after my trip to Georgia later this week, I'll be home the rest of the summer.

And Chris has already declared that next year we're all taking our spouses to NY.

The countdown to BEA 2009 has officially begun!

To Chris and Gail and Angie and Lee and John and Boyd and Shauna and all the other wonderful people at Shadow Mountain who were there, I say thank you for letting me be part of this and for showing so much faith in me as a writer. I hope I don't disappoint.