I’ve been wanting to go to an author signing for *literally* forever–and last weekend, I finally had my chance…with *Grady Hendrix*, of all people.
About a month or so ago, I saw an event on Facebook for a local drive-in theatre that was advertising a Horror night with Grady Hendrix. My initial thought: There’s no way he’s actually going to be there. This is too good to be true.
At first, I kind of just kept an eye on the Facebook event online, to see if anyone else was talking about it. I work at a library and no one had heard anything–weird, right? But, this is horror, and horror fans aren’t exactly mainstream, even if pretty much everyone knows who Grady Hendrix is these days.
Once the event started to get closer, I checked online again and realized how many people had replied that they were interested in going. That was when I bought the tickets. I had no idea whether he was going to show up, who I was going to bring, or what was going to happen, BUT if Grady Hendrix was actually going to be in my hometown, there was no way I was going to miss it.
This was my first ever book signing, and I learned a few things for next time. I thought it might be fun to share my experience and give some tips. That is, if you too–like me–have somehow managed to live this long without meeting Grady Hendrix.
What You Should Know About Book Signings
- Buy Your Books Online And Bring Them With You. If you already have volumes by the author you’re going to go see, great! I had one book, The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires (Which I ‘HIGHLY’ recommend and you can read my review here, btw), but I wanted more signed. I thought ahead and ordered more of Grady Hendrix’s books online, and I’m glad that I did. He had limited copies available when I got there, AND some of them were pricier than what I paid on the interweb.
- You HAVE to bring a friend. Okay, you don’t have to–it can be empowering traveling out by yourself. BUT, I brought this guy that I’ve been seeing with me and it was such a cute, fun date. We had a great time talking while we waited in line–and the line was long. I think we waited for almost two hours to see Grady for five minutes, so it’s really nice to have someone with you (just pick someone who’s company you actually enjoy—like my date lol).
- Show Up Early and Buy Tickets in Advance. So this is something I learned *before* my experience with Grady, actually. A few weeks ago, I tried to go to a signing with David Sedaris (cool, right?) and it turns out, that the bookstore was selling tickets online like a month in advance. I had no idea, and just figured I could show up early. Apparently, it doesn’t work that way. So, I wasn’t able to go, it was entirely sold out two weeks in advance of the signing. Word to the wise: check and see if the tickets are pre-purchasable online, and then buy them if you really want to go.
What It Was Like Meeting Grady?
Okay, here’s what ya’ll have been waiting for… What was like to meet Grady? Great question.
We waited in line for forever, and it was 100% worth it. Grady Hendrix was so nice, and he had an energy that didn’t dwindle as the line kept going.
When we reached the front, he signed my books and I told him about my favorite scene–AND learned that there’s actually a TV adaptation coming soon!? You can read more on that here, but there doesn’t seem to be that much information online yet.
Plus, I convinced my date to get my favorite of his books and get it signed, so if he’s not too scared, maybe I might convince him to become a horror junkie like me (but probably not lol).
I think most author signings include a reading from the author’s latest book, but because of the unique hosting situation for this event, Grady Hendrix gave a presentation about ghosts on the Drive In screen (which was very in-line with his dark humor). It was a very one-of-a-kind experience that I enjoyed, and not something that most author’s take the time to do.
Overall, I had a great time and I absolutely loved meeting Grady! I’m currently reading My Best Friend’s Exorcism, and I’m hoping to have a review posted of that soon (with pictures of my signed copy, of course!).
Have you been to an author signing? What authors have you met? Let me know in the comments below!