#26 in the Show-Off and Tell feature is one that is a
little bit different. It’s a couple of signed invites from John Connolly. There
is a bit of a story behind this one.
It was April 2014 and the new John Connolly book was due
out. He was doing a book signing, in my current home town of Newcastle. This
would be the first opportunity I would have to meet the man himself, so decided
to go along.
I decided to take along my then bolshie thirteen-year-old
son, really just to give him something to do on a dreary Saturday afternoon.
When we got to Waterstones where the signing was taking
place, I was a bundle of nerves. I was actually going to be in the same room as
one of my absolute heroes, and I couldn’t cope. My son was very nonplussed at
this and extremely embarrassed. The lady from Waterstones was getting everyone
in the queue for the signing. She came to us and asked where my book was. I
apologised and said I didn’t have one. She told me I would have to leave if I
didn’t buy the book to get signed.
I had no money on me, and no bank cards or credit cards
to pay for the book. I looked at my son and he was gutted, for me. He could see
the tears welling in my eyes at the fact my chance of meeting my hero had gone.
We left Waterstones and went across the road for a
coffee. I at least had some cash to treat him to a Starbucks, just not a book
for my hero to sign for me.
I sent a text to my wife to tell her what had happened
and her being her, got straight on to John’s publicist to see if they could
sort something. She was in America and could do nothing but tell us to go back
and try again. I didn’t have the heart. I was gutted and embarrassed and just
wanted to go home and lie down in a darkened room.
