Yes, that many Exclamation Points were necessary and appropriate. I count the most important days of my life in this order: 1) Being Born (Duh. The rest wouldn't exist if this didn't happen) 2) The birth of my children 3) Getting Married 4) Having lunch with author Lois McMaster Bujold! For you poor, poor, unfortunate souls who don't know yet...Lois McMaster Bujold is the greatest fiction writer of the last 40 years (at minimum), if not ever. That is a FACT. Not an Opinion. I will physically Fight anyone who disagrees. She is one of the most award-winning fantasy/sci-fi writers of all time. 6 Hugos (6 nominations), 3 Locus (7 Nominations), 2 Nebulas (4 nominations) and many more. She's won and been nominated so many times for so many awards, the Hugo's created "The Best Series" category for LMB to have first, to give other authors a chance. That way they could still give her a Hugo, and let others win the other categories. Did you read what I just said? People, she's so great, they Invented Awards for her, just so they could give her more without making the other (new) author's feel bad and actually have a chance at winning the traditional awards. Kind of like when The Oscar's give out Lifetime achievement awards. She is an Author's Author. Meaning that, on many occasions, I have heard other NYT-best-selling author's refer to her as their favorite author. For example, the famous Jim Butcher of the Dresden Files book series has said on many occasions she is one of his very favorite writers. She is also my favorite author, hands-down, no contest, forever and always. Reading her books has made me a noticeably better person (just ask my wife). The amount of pure joy this woman has brought to my life would turn a demon into an angel. And this weekend, I got to have a 3+ hour lunch with her!!!!!! My wife and I traveled to Minneapolis, MN for a book signing with Lois McMaster Bujold (LMB). I had never met her before, but have wanted to greatly for more than a decade, since I first started reading her work. My wife and I have read Everything that she has ever written that we can find, at least twice — and in many cases, more than a dozen times. LMB is "semi-retired" these days, so meeting her at conventions or book-signings is extremely limited. Especially in these post-covid days. So when I saw on a goodreads.com posting that she would be signing, I didn't blink at the idea of driving 5+ hours to meet her and making a weekend of it. We came only for the book signing, but with the help of a couple other fans, we got up the courage to ask Lois out for lunch after the signing. 100% I expected her to politely decline. I would have 100% understood. But miraculously, she said, "yes." Folks, I was less nervous asking my wife to marry me, than I was when we asked ask Lois out to Lunch. Luckily, my wife and I made friends with a couple other fans (Katie & Scott) at the event and collectively we had the courage to ask her as a group to a restaurant just a few blocks away. If you want your own signed book copies from LMB, contact Uncle Hugo's bookstore in Minneapolis for a hookup: http://www.unclehugo.com. Lois was wonderful! It was everything I could have ever dreamed and more! LMB was polite, and humble and very patient with all our questions. So well spoken and smart (obviously). I know I asked several dumb new-author questions, and she was so considerate and patient in her answers (I definitely failed my Charisma check). And our lunch lasted 3+ hours folks! So Patient! So Kind! She's like a quiet, genius-philosopher who writes fiction. It took all my willpower not to fall to my knees in front of her in worship and shout, "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!" (yes, I would sign-up for any cult she wants to create) She was also wearing her beautifully crafted custom necklace, made from all her award pins. You can see it in the picture at the top of this blog. It might as well be a crown, for how boss it is. I honestly can't think of anything else cooler than what I got to experience on 11/5/2022 for me. Of all the people, living or dead, that I would ever want to meet and have lunch with, LMB is my choice. And yes (like a creepy-stalker), after Lunch I did ask if there was some way I could send her flowers every month for the rest of her life. She politely declined and we settled on a charity of her choice that I will be giving regular donations to instead (Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths). Here's an example of a conversation I expect to have in the future at a cocktail party: Very Handsome Person: "I climbed Mt. Everest and have won 23 Olympic gold medals and once saved a whole village in a giant O.K. Corral shootout with the Russian Mob." Me: "That's nice...but I once had Lunch with LMB! So suck-on-that, made-up over-achiever person!" Very Handsome Person: "You are correct sir. My life seems a miserable waste compared to yours. Please tell me all about your lunch with the best person ever." They say don't meet your heroes...but in this case, I'm so glad I didn't listen. Lois, it was the honor of my lifetime. Everything else in life from here on out will be downhill in comparison, and I am more than fine with that. And to you Reader...if you have not read any of Lois' books...DO IT NOW!!!! If you like Sci-Fi & Sagas, start with: "Shards of Honor" OR "The Warrior's Apprentice" If you like Fantasy, start with: "Penric's Demon" OR "The Curse of Chalion" If you like Romance & Fantasy, start with: "Beguilement" ****************** P.S. - Our new Bestie Friend Katie, came all the way from Portland, Oregon, just to meet Lois. So when we overheard that, we knew we'd get along great, even though we'd never met before this weekend. It is so very rare in life when you meet someone else who just "Totally Gets It." And Katie gets it. P.S.S. - Yes, we took pictures together. No, I will not be sharing them. P.S.S.S. - As she is a source of inspiration and aspiration, LMB is in the Acknowledgements of my 1st book, 'Here Be Dragons.' I NEVER thought I would ever get the chance to present the book to her in person. But just 2+ months after first publishing, I got that chance. At the book signing (only found out about it 2 weeks ago), I presented her with a signed and personalized copy of my book. I genuinely hope Lois NEVER reads it, as it is not worthy of her esteemed time, in my opinion. I would prefer she use it as kindling to keep warm. Comments are closed.
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AuthorT.S. Gray is the author of the LitRPG / GameLit book series: Archives
September 2023
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