.perks of the job.

I absolutely LOVE my job as assistant editor of our local family magazine, Peekaboo. One of the many perks of this job is the fact that each year we help sponser an event hosted by our local library called "Conversations with..." which brings a different novelist each year to our convention center for a private reception with sponsers and special guests. Since we sponser, we get tickets and autographed copies of the featured author's latest novel. At these private receptions, we get a chance to converse with these amazing writers and ask questions about their craft.

Last year I rubbed elbows with James Patterson.

This year I conversed with Carol Higgins Clark.

I was hoping next year might hold the possibility of a certain novelist named Nicholas Sparks (who just happens to be my favorite)... As I shared this wish with Kim, the editor of Peekaboo, she informed that Nicholas came in 2008... the year before I came on board...

But then I remembered... Oh yeah! That was the year I got to meet Mr. Sparks himself at our local Sam's Club. He signed my book and exchanged a few words with me before I quickly snapped a pic with him. No, pictures were not allowed at this signing, and I'm not usually one to break the rules, but I was NOT going to miss out on an opportunity to get a picture with my favie.

Nicholas and I chillin' back in 2008