The Bailey’s Crossroads (Washington, DC) Towers of Midnight signing has come and gone, and I think all will agree it was a huge success. An estimated 400 people showed up to get books signed and hear Brandon and Harriet speak. Yet the whole affair was done after less than four hours. Most of this can be attributed to the New Signing System by Brandon Sanderson™, wherein you can bring as many books as you like up the first time, but only one can be personalized. I know Brandon was concerned that this might anger some, but most seemed ok with it, and a few stuck around until the end for extra personalization. And it sure did speed up the process.
Or it’s possible we were just an extra-effective Tower Guard contingent.
We were definitely an EAGER Tower Guard contingent. I’ll admit that, rather than having one of our members wait for Brandon and Harriet’s arrival as suggested by Jennifer Liang, we may have all waited down there, at one point clogging up the lanes into the store a bit, until an amused Borders employee spread us out.
Bad traffic on the roads resulted in a late arrival for Brandon and Harriet, but only by about 15 minutes. In the interests of time, we were quickly ushered into the Borders break room after Harriet warmly greeted a friend of hers who lived in the area and had stopped by to see her.
In the break room, we were fed sandwiches while Harriet and Brandon pre-signed store copies (for those who wanted signatures but could not stay for the event) as well as copies for the store employees. They graciously answered Tower Guard questions as they signed, about the nature of writing and publication as well as about the series itself. It was a lot of fun, but too brief, as we were already running late to start the signing. To end the pre-festivities, Harriet and Brandon both graciously signed all our Tower Guard shirts, ensuring that mine will probably never get washed.
The official signing started off with a reading from the prologue by Harriet. Since they had just been in Baltimore the evening before and expected some crossover attendees, they picked a different section to read. Without naming any names and invoking the wrath of the Spoiler God, let’s just say that Baltimore’s reading involved a long-absent evil-doer and ours involved an old-favorite do-gooder. Having Harriet do the reading was a very special event, and I think she charmed the crowd quite well. Her southern accent also lends a certain gravitas to the words as she reads them.
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