The Big Book with Christopher Gorham and Robin Glassey

The Big Book went on a summer hiatus as I spent time at Lake Powell with family and friends. But I couldn’t pass up the incredible opportunity to bring this beauty to Salt Lake Comic Con 2016, this time as a vendor in The Indie Booktique with fellow authors, R.J. Craddock, Jo Schneider, Melisa Torres and Les Bailey. The fans of Salt Lake Comic Con are amazing and full of enthusiasm. I love coming and enjoying their love of cosplay and all things comic and fantasy.

The Big Book continues to excite and inspire people wherever I go and the Salt Palace was no exception. If you are unfamiliar with the Big Book, it's a handmade leather book I purchased at Salt Lake Comic Con in 2014, with 900 handmade pages. I began filling it with autographs of famous authors and decided I wanted to use it for a greater purpose. I wanted others to sign in it as well. I wanted to inspire all those I came in contact with and talked to about reading and writing for I believe in the power of reading and writing.

Before I was even born I had two grandparents pass away. Neither of them had journaled and so I am left with nothing from them but pictures in a photo album. Another grandfather died when I was only three years old and I don't remember him. But he wrote numerous letters home during WWII. I have something of him that he left behind. I treasure these letters which give me insight into my grandfather - who he was as a husband and a father. This is the power of writing. And this is the message of the Big Book. Write, write, write. Read what excites you, and leave something for others. 

I filled several pages with signatures of Comic Con fans and some even signed as the characters they came in. One of my favorite moments was discovering Christopher Gorham (star of Covert Affairs and Jake 2.0) was sitting right around the corner from me. Of course I had to grab the Big Book and hightail it over to his table for an autograph and a picture.

The look on Christopher’s face when he saw the Big Book in my hand’s was priceless. If I could have held the book in one hand and taken a picture in the other, I would have done it. But thirty pounds of book requires both hands. And the longer you hold it, the heavier it seems to get.  

I admit to having a little bit of a crush, but then again, so does my husband. He was as equally excited about the picture as I was, and maybe a little sad that he missed out on the opportunity to meet him. Maybe next year, Brett . . . maybe next year.