ACFW: Mall of America Signing!

I’ve decided, since pictures are worth a thousand words, to count this as 14,000 words toward my writing goal today.

The sheer amount of planning that went into this signing blows me away. I know Cara Putnam, as ACFW Publicity Officer, had a huge part in it. But I also know that numerous volunteers headed up certain aspects and did a fantastic job.

I tried to capture the scope of the signing with these photos. Here you see the two jumbo screens. Authors and their books constantly flashed on these for the entire event.

Here Karen Ball, James Scott Bell, and Brandilyn Collins think they’ve seen Superman!

False alarm. Back to the panel discussion, now that Angela Hunt has joined them!

Here’s Camy Tang hanging out at her table. I’ve just finished her newest book, Single Sashimi, and will be reviewing it, as well as posting a hard-hitting expose(how can I get the little accent thingy?) of the single life on the 16th. You won’t want to miss it.

I’d heard a LOT about Megan DeMaria and was thrilled to meet her. Can’t wait to start her book!

This is Beth Wiseman. She’s a debut author with Thomas Nelson. A Cinderella story herself, though she writes Amish fiction, I had to struggle with not strangling her when I heard how quickly her book was picked up. I’m in the middle of Plain Perfect now. Look for a review soon.

CROWDED! This is a shot of the walkway along some of the signers. All together, I believe, there were 126 authors there.

I’ve talked about Shar MacLaren often on this blog. She’s a good friend, and a good writer.


Roxanne Henke is trying to talk Randy Ingermanson out of his plan to take over the world.

Mom and Roxanne.

We had grabbed Cinnabon rolls and smoothies to enjoy while watching the panels. Another sweet treat? Meeting Cathy Golke! She won a Christy with her first novel. Is that not unbelievable? I highly recommend William Henry is a Fine Name and it’s sequel, I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires. Technically, they’re YA, but I LOVED them.

This is the funny panel. Not the ladies, their books. Actually, you have to be a little kookie to write humor, so maybe they’re all quirky, too. Camy Tang, Trish Perry, and Rene Gutteridge.

Here Camy is enthusiastically weaving a humor story around a plotline suggested by an audience member: a woman poisons her husband. Hilarious, right?

Rene and Mom.

Next, the banquet and awards ceremony!

3 Responses to ACFW: Mall of America Signing!

  1. Anonymous October 12, 2008 at 8:15 am #

    FINALLY some more updates from you! I’ve missed ’em. Auntie Depressant

  2. Susan J. Reinhardt October 12, 2008 at 2:28 pm #

    Hi Christina –

    Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed your vacation.

    Did the authors sell a ton of books at Mall of America? I hope so. They work so hard.

    Blessings,
    Susan 🙂

  3. angela October 12, 2008 at 7:08 pm #

    So did Roxanne convince Randy not to take over the world? Just curious.