My Favorite Moment at Book Expo America

I had a blast last week at Book Expo America. I fanboyed my favorite authors. (Please, please, please don't follow through on your threat to take out a restraining order against me, Kristin Cashore. I swear I was stalking you in a nice way.) I taught a little taekwondo in the show aisles, making attendees earn an ASHEN WINTER advanced reading copy by breaking a board. Don't believe me? Here's author Jennifer Armentrout learning hammerfist:

And I attended a dizzying series of parties, the best of which was easily the Publisher's Group West bash.

But my favorite moment of the show happened after it was over. Twenty minutes before my train was due to leave Penn Station on Friday (I'm in the Boston area today for a school visit), I rushed into the post office to mail a box of books to myself. Unfortunately, I had no tape. Neither, as it turned out, did the post office. They were out--both in their supplies shop and behind the counter. The oh-so-helpful postal clerk told me to go to the drugstore on the corner. Instead, I accosted a group of young women sitting who were sitting on the floor packing boxes, and asked them if I could buy a strip of tape.

"Are you...Mike Mullin?" one of them asked.

"Yes, any chance I could buy a strip of tape?" I replied.

Instead, she whipped out an advance reading copy of ASHEN WINTER, and I traded an autograph for a strip of tape. WIN!

So, a huge thank you to Marie and her tape for making Book Expo America a week I'll never forget.