Sometimes I’m too clever for my own good. I enjoy signing at RWA’s Literacy Autographing, which kicks off the annual conference. So do 400 or 500 other authors. Since we’re all packed into one room, space is at a premium. Therefore, we’re no longer allowed to have posters of our book covers or any vertical displays to lure readers to our spot. Some authors are so well known, they don’t need to do any luring. They sell out in fifteen minutes and head for the bar. The rest of us smile gamely and wait for our legions of fans to find us. Or legion of fans. Or even one fan.

I needed an attention getter. Around Valentine’s Day, I found a string of heart lights and got an idea. I would decorate my signing space with blinking lights. There aren’t any rules about blinking lights, probably because there isn’t any place to plug them in. Oh, but I’m married to an electrical engineer. “Can you design me a power supply that will fit in a flat-rate mailer and run this string of lights for three hours?” I asked him. And like magic, he produces a plastic case with a plug and a red on/off switch. There’s even a cooling fan inside along with a cord to recharge the battery. After mailing it to myself–in Washington, D.C.–I learn that the nifty case is actually a gun case. A gun case?!? “It was the right size,” he explains. I figure the US Mail will never let the thing through. Nevertheless, I pack the lights in my suitcase and head for the conference. After landing, I get to baggage claim and hear, “Continental passenger Heather MacAllister please report to the baggage service office.” I knew it couldn’t be good.

What happened was airport security had removed my suitcase from the plane prior to take off because my heart lights, wiring neatly arranged in the unopened box, resembled a bomb. I’m lucky they didn’t blow the suitcase up first and ask questions later. I could hardly wait to find out if my gun case made it to the hotel.

It actually did and so did my suitcase after Continental put it on the next flight out and rushed it to the hotel in time for the literacy signing. Here I am, blinking lights and all.

After all the drama, I’m curious–how do you feel about book signings?