August 10, 2005

Yay For Fforde

I met Jasper Fforde!!! After months of waiting, I finally met him. I'm a huge fan of his work. Ever since somebody recommended his Thursday Next book series, I've been hooked. By the time we arrived at Partners & Crime ( a cozy little bookstore on Greenwich Ave.) for his book signing he was already in the middle of his speech. His new Nursery Crime Series was recently launched so he was discussing and reading out parts of that book. He was super funny. I find his humor very, very entertaining. He was cracking jokes, poking fun at his work and The Da Vinci Code. Haha! =) He said that the best advice that he could give any aspiring author was to include "Da Vinci" in it's title. It took him years and years before his work got published. It was being rejected by so many publishers. Luckily, his agent found somebody. The main plot is quite difficult to explain so his agent basically just wrote a note "Don't ask! Just read!" to the publisher and sent a manuscript. How else would you describe that the lead is named Thursday Next, has a pet dodo named Pickwick, had a time travelling father, can jump in and out of literature meanwhile investigating the kidnapping of Jane Eyre in his first book The Eyre Affair. That sort of became their marketing strategy. Just read it!

In the Q&A portion, somebody asked why there weren't any Chapter 13s in his books. He said that it wasn't out of superstition, he just thought it would be fun and he could use it as literary alley ways for him to exploit when he pleases. He also explained his interest in Nursery Crimes. What wit!?! I can't help but agree that most Nursery stories are indeed Nursery crimes so he decided to write books about them. Just how did Humpty Dumpty fall? Nobody ever bothers to ask why... (The Big Over Easy) Why did Daddy and Mommy bear sleep in separate beds? There must have been a fourth bear involved. (The Fourth Bear). What on earth is going through his mind??? haha!

Some of my hardback books already had his signature on them and when I requested him to dedicate it to me. He was amazed that I had those!!! So he signed them again with dates so my books now have two signatures from him. There was even one where his signature was in all caps which he says he never does anymore so that copy should be really rare. He stamped the books with this quirky "Eat more toast", "Nursery Crime Division Evidence" etc... and gave me limited edition post cards.

I'm glad I went! I would have missed SO much if I hadn't!!! That was my very first time to go to a book signing!!! If what I posted all sound so foreign/alien, read the series!!! Be prepared to be taken away... I'm starting The Big Over Easy tonight!!!

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