Last night I went to a book-signing for Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) in Dayton with my friends Corielle and Christina. I wanted to bring Jenny some taxidermy but didn’t because Reasons. Instead I brought her a copy of Sidekicks! (in which I wrote a ridiculously gushy little note about how inspirational and encouraging she has been for ladies like me–the sort with anxiety problems, the sort who want to be writers, the sort who are beyond goofy in a world that expects adults to be, like, serious or something.)

You know how, when you meet people you admire, sometimes it turns out really well and other times not so much? Well I guess I’ve been lucky, because the vast majority of the people I fan over have been completely lovely. Jenny Lawson was perhaps the loveliest of all.

Me: I brought you a present. It’s a book I edited.

JL: Oh my god, really? Thank you! Oh my god! Did you sign it?

Me: (turning pink) Yes, uh, on the dedication page, I wrote you a little note.

JL: I’m so glad you gave me this, now I’ll have something to read!

Me: It uh, just came out this weekend, so, there are no reviews of it yet, so I can’t be like “Neil Gaiman loves this book!” but, maybe someday?

JL: (opens the book to a page and reads for a few seconds) Okay well, now you can say that Jenny Lawson read part of a page and really liked it. So there’s that!

Me: You’re awesome. Can we take a picture?

JL: Of course! Hey why don’t we get a picture holding each others’ books?

Me: (trying not to freak out) OKAY

True Story. Thanks to Christina King for the photographic evidence.