Mary and I finally finished writing Five For Silver, which is to say we finished writing our names in the copies Poisoned Pen Press wanted signed, and shipped the books back. Last I checked online tracking they had just left Hodgkins, IL. I can'tt believe anyone would actually want my autograph but signed copies are collectors' items. Here are the signatures, at My Book House. Is everything on the web or what?

Although autographs don't usually interest me, there can be an appeal to possessing such a physical manifestation, directly from the hand of an admired person. I was awed when my father-in-law presented me a signed photo of Mickey Mantle who'd visited the store where he worked. Imagine...the hand which held the pen to make the signature had gripped the bats that sent all those baseballs to bounce around the bleachers.

I once lined up for the autograph of Dave Davies the legendary Kinks guitarist. (See the essay here.)

Quite a few years ago, long before I had co-written any fiction, I had the good fortune to conduct a telephone interview with the author Jane Yolen for an educational magazine named Writing! It was a remarkable half hour or so in which Ms Yolen not only gave advice on writing techniques but also described the birth of a dragon. My cat could've turned in a fascinating article based on that interview.

A year or so later, I saw an announcement that Ms Yolen would be signing books at a local children's bookstore so I purchased Owl Moon , gathered my courage, showed up and introduced myself. Only after our brief chat, when I'd got back in my car, did I read her inscription: "To a Fellow Scrivener."

Considering the level at which I was writing, compared to her accomplishments, I considered that amazingly gracious. Now, at least I have made a little more progress towards real scrivenership and might be able to read the inscription without blushing quite so much.