Authors I'd Love to Make a Fool of Myself While Meeting

Today I thought I’d join in Paper Hangover’s Friday Five. If you’ve never read Paper Hangover, you should. There’s great information for readers and writers on the site. Just, yanno, FYI. So today’s prompt was: 

I thought this over for a while. I thought I’d be able to quickly answer this, but then I thought too hard in the kind of way that makes me suck at multiple-choice tests.

See, I think I want to meet someone who I’d be able to speak to. (And, yes, “Hi” counts.) If I met someone whose name may as well be set in neon lights at the library all I’d manage was some sort of gurgle and maybe a smile. Awkwardness guaranteed.

So I split my list up into Authors I’d Like to Meet But Will Become a Bumbling Idiot In Front Of and Authors Who I’d Like to Meet and Also Hang Out With. Also, I stuck with YA and MG authors since that’s what I write. And bringing adult fiction into the mix just makes choosing about 99.4 percent harder.

These are the authors I’d like to meet but would probably be reduced to blubbering stuff like “I…I…omgyouareamazingandwonderfulandmaybewecanbefriendsandexcusethefunnywaymyeyesarebulgingiamjustsohappytobehereandexcusemewhileifaint” in front of. Of course my ridiculousness would be tailored to fit the author.

1. J.K. Rowling

“Holy Slytherin, you’re actually here. And so amazing. How can I, a lowly wannabe author, talk to you? Someone get me an invisibility cloak, stat.”

2. John Green

“Excuse my spaz attack, but you’re even smarter in person.”

3. Stephen King

“You’re…you’re…you’re, like, Stephen King. And, to be completely honest, a little scary.”

These are the authors I’d like to meet and might have a slim chance of speaking to in coherent sentences. True, I’d probably act like an idiot in front of these authors, too, but it would be to a lesser degree than for the authors above. And, really, I picked these authors because they seem super fun.

4. Kiersten White & Stephanie Perkins

I mean, Kiersten White? I can only imagine the fun of meeting her, but my master plan is to kidnap both her and Stephanie Perkins, take them to dinner, and turn us into BFFs.

5. Maggie Steivfater

I can only hope our meeting includes chocolate chip cookies the size of my head, writing tips, and a performance of the bagpipes.

What five authors would you like to meet?