Sadly, no pictures like this were taken at our venue

You know Chris Colfer, right? He only plays Kurt Hummel in the popular TV series Glee; is a Golden Globe winner; a two-time Emmy nominee; has written, directed and starred in the film Struck by Lightning (being released this fall); and was ranked as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011 by Time magazine. Oh, and did I mention he is not only an author, but a #1 New York Times bestselling author? Quite a list of accomplishments isn't it? Chris Colfer is definitely one of the few Renaissance men in our day and age which is something to be quite proud of. He's also an incredibly nice and humble person which can't hurt.

His first venture into writing resulted in the recently released The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell. The book is technically categorized as a children's novel, but it is definately suitable for all who wish to go on a fantastic journey in a world of fairytales. Amazon describes it as:

"Alex and Conner Bailey's world is about to change, in this fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern day world with the enchanting realm of classic fairy tales. The Land of Stories tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner. Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, they leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about. But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought."

When the book was first announced I was bummed because I knew Chris would do a book tour, but because I'm home for summer in Ohio I wouldn't get to see him because who comes to Ohio, right? Well, much to my surprise, Chris decided not only to visit Ohio, but he decided to visit the state three times. And the location nearest to me was only about twenty minutes away at Books & Co.! This was the perfect opportunity and I just couldn't pass it up. On Sunday morning, my mom and I arrived at the store around 8am, and having bought the book the day before, took our place in line. The line wasn't too terribly long, but as the signing didn't start until 11am we had quite a wait ahead of us.

Courtesy of tumblr

The time went by relatively fast as I had my copy of the book to keep me company. Over the two hours we were outside I managed to get through the first 100 pages. Unfortunately, there was this girl a few people in front of us who literally did not stop talking the entire time. She seemed to know just about everything about everything, and could be heard around the block. Even people in front and behind of us commented on how loud and annoying she was. Anyway, at 10am we were let inside and lined up upstairs. Believe me when I say we got the short end of the stick on Chris's book tour. The set-up of Books & Co.'s upper level does not lend itself to book signings. Everyone was snaked through the shelves of books and you were literally shielded from seeing anything. On the flip side, we had a huge selection of books to read while waiting!

My personally signed copy of The Land of Stories!

Promptly at 11am, Chris arrived. He was met with screams of girlish glee (no pun intended), but it wasn't much fun because basically only the first ten people in line could even see him. They had Chris come in from the back room, and the signing took place in a little alcove that was completely shielded by rows of books. Also, they didn't even have a microphone or anything so he could say "hi." You only got to see him for no more than 30 seconds while you were getting your copy signed. The line moved quickly as they didn't allow personalizations so it was only about forty minutes until it was my turn. Chris was really nice and we basically exchanged pleasantries as that was all time allowed. After waiting nearly four hours it was a little underwhelming, but nevertheless I got to meet Chris Colfer and get his autograph so it wasn't all bad. As you can see, the pictures I have aren't very good and virtually none from our signing are on the internet. I'm about halfway done with the book so when I do finish it I'll be sure to do a review for you!