Books & Berries (I need your recipes!)

Thank you, first of all, to everyone who chimed in on my question concerning cohabitation before marriage. I asked because I am fascinated by the subject, actually. I love hearing people's decisions and opinions on the matter. Full disclosure time: I lived with J before we tied the knot. Having been married once before, marriage was not on my immediate agenda at the time, whatsoever. Our decision had much to do with logistics (distance, finances, etc), because I'm a pragmatist at heart. And yeah, I kinda liked the guy.

Now for the REAL blog post:
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Well, what began as a severe determination to not let my entire writing career be thwarted by a stack of rejection letters has finally led me to the store in which I spend a generous chunk of my monthly paycheck.

Me, possibly crying, definitely not crapping my pants.

Look! My eyes are glistening a little. Maybe I’m crying, kind of. I don’t recall. But remember a few days ago when I predicted I’d crap my pants when this moment finally arrived? Well, I’m pleased to tell you I didn’t! I’m sure you’re all relieved. (But either way, I guess my response to exciting events is a regression to the age of three.)

Here’s what actually happened: I asked a nice young stock boy if I could sign them, and he was like, “That’s you? You wrote that book?”

And I’m all, “YES! Can you believe it?”

And he’s all, “Hey, let me call my LED (or LOD or something…may have been LSD: Lead Sales Dude) and ask if you can sign them!”

Okay, I really don’t talk like that (with the ‘alls’ and all), but I’m still a bit high on the moment as I remember it. I'm kind of reliving it. And all.

The Lead Sales Dude arrived and was so excited along with me that he said, “Hell yeah, sign ‘em all! And I’m going to buy this copy myself!”

“Great!” I said, “You’re going to love the bathroom humor!”

(This is the point where I post the PSA: If you ever plan on being seen in public with me, you’ve been warned.)

And a sweet woman was eavesdropping while she examined another book in the next aisle, smiling a little, and then she made eye contact (her first mistake—bet she’ll never do that again). I practically slapped her in the face with the book: “HEYAREYOULOOKINGFORAGOODSUMMERREAD? IJUSTSIGNEDTHISANDIWROTEITANDEVERYTHING!” She seemed a little afraid of me. Dear Green Bay Target shopper: If you’re reading this? I apologize for the enthusiasm…I was caught up in the moment. Don’t feel bad if you reshelved the book when I walked away.

Next week, I shall announce the winners of the Pimp My Book contest. THANK YOU to everyone who donned their feathered fedoras to help promote Driving Sideways!

And now, I have another challenge for you. Next Saturday, I'm doing a signing at Creekside Books in Cedarburg, Wisconsin during Strawberry Festival. I'd like to give a collection of favorite strawberry recipes to anyone who buys a book that day, so if you have a tried-and-true strawberry recipe to share, please tell me in the comments. Or you can email me: jess (at) jessriley.com. In return, I'll send you the whole collection (which may include a delicious addition from the talented chefs at Savore). I'll probably add some clip-art, which will make the entire thing totally worth it. (Don't worry, I won't include the creepy little people like I did with my scones recipes.)