Wow, has it really been THREE WEEKS since I went to AASL 2009 in Charlotte, NC?
(*checks calendar, does math*)
Um, yes! Yes, it has been!
Oops.
I had a great time at AASL 2009. I was in town for — literally — a day. My plane touched down in Charlotte at 11:00 am on Friday, and at 11:00 am the following day, I was taxiing on the runway, headed back home.
But in those 24 hours, I had a lot of fun, including seeing some old friends like my buddy John Shableski (who handles marketing stuff for Diamond Book Distributors and was instrumental in getting me to the show), as well as meeting new friends like Carrie Ryan, Maggie Stiefvater, and Shani Petroff.
I began the day signing copies of Wolverine: Worst Day Ever in the Baker & Taylor booth:
Then I migrated to signing Goth Girl Rising, with the able assistance of Seth Dellon:
But it wasn’t all signing! Oh, no. That night, Baker & Taylor sponsored a get together, to which I was invited. John promised “something fun.” Well, the something fun turned out to be an improv drawing routine, with Jimmy Gownley, the Fillbach Bros., Andy Runton, and yours truly.
There’s only one problem.
I can’t draw:
As you can see, art does not number upon my mad skillz. I gave it the ol’ college try, though, and happily signed each piece with the names of some of the REAL artists in attendance. So if you see someone auctioning a piece of Jimmy Gownley art DIRT CHEAP…think twice! It might be my lame-ass attempt at art.
After that exercise in humilation, I headed back to the hotel room, got up in the morning, and flew home. A quick trip, yes, but lots of fun!