I just came back from meeting Cynthia Leitich Smith ! She was in my local Barnes and Noble, and I hightailed it over to meet her (and to pick up a copy of Blessed ). Cynthia is one of those people who it is a genuine joy to be around, she had us laughing and "performed" some of Tantalize for the crowd. There was much love all around!! This is why I go to author signings. First, how great is it to hear a book being read by the person who wrote it. Second, I have never met an author I didn't like, but it is so great to put a face to the prose. Plus we usually get some sort of background on the creation process that I find interesting. Cynthia is awesome. Check out her website -several members of the audience seem to know her already because she is super great about communicating with her fans. Now, I'm only halfway through Eternal but I really like it (I wanted to have the first two read before the signing, but it didn't happen). Three more great things: ...