Richelle Mead book signing at Galaxy

Source: Penguin Books Australia

With all the hype surrounding Richelle Mead’s Australian tour, Decadence just had to see what all the fuss is about. (Plus, we love Galaxy events.)

I am actually a very new reader of Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series—I haven’t finished the first book yet! I wanted to go to her book signing because it’s not that often that bestselling American authors come all the way across the ocean to see us.

I missed the damn train that would have got me to the city in plenty of time, so when I finally arrived, I saw Richelle and her entourage (which included a TV camera) walk through the door. The line was even longer than the one for Sherri. I was halfway to the door of the next shop. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised at the number of teenagers who got the day off school, but I was. Another surprise was the number of guys in the line, too, who were all taller than me and blocked my view of Richelle, who is every bit as pretty as her publicity photos.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait that long because someone* let me cut through about half of the people waiting there. Even better than that, I got to talk to adults in the line. Dolly magazine had a contest for a reader to be their official interviewer for the tour, and she and her friend walked along the line asking for people to be interviewed. First of all, it was going to be done on camera. Oh, HELL no! Second, I doubt that Dolly’s teenage readers are interested in the opinion of someone born a good decade before them.

After only 45 minutes in line, my turn came. The girl who was in the line before me had to get her lunch break extended so she could get her books signed, and Richelle asked me if I was on my lunch break, too. I said that I had the day off.

“Not just for this?!”

“Yeah, and the after party as well.”

Her publisher pointed out that Richelle will only sign 1 book at the after party to cut down the number of books people have to bring with them.

She personalised Foz’s book (congrats on winning the Twitter competition—it was really close!) and signed the rest of the series I bought on the day. (I’m getting my copy of Vampire Academy signed at the after party, so hopefully I will have finished it by then. :P )

She posed for a photo and told me she would see me at the after party, and I thanked her and let her move on to the next person in line. I took a photo of the crowd that was still waiting from the foot of the stairs, running along the paranormal wall and around the next row of shelves up to Richelle’s table (with a little koala and a packet of Tim Tams, presumably with Galaxy’s compliments from some very thoughtful fans—see comments below) next to the counter.

Another rep from Penguin was holding the end of the line to turn away any more latecomers. She told me that Richelle had spent 3 hours signing books last night (at Penrith). There is another signing at Bondi this afternoon before the after party. I am soooo glad I’m not an author.

I left soon after that, while Richelle was getting through the last several people. Next stop: lunch over a good book and then onto the after party.

*Names withheld to protect the guilty. Thanks heaps for letting me cut in!!

You can buy or order Richelle Mead’s books from Galaxy Bookshop.