Thanks to the notice on TORN (and a press release from Business Wire), I found out about the signing and jumped at the chance to go. I got there at 8:45am, and while it was a very long wait, the pay-off was absolutely worth it.

Part of the fun was hanging out with the other people in line. It's amazing how quickly you can make buddies with other Tolkien readers! And being there early ensured that I was able to squeeze into the Q&A. Peter Jackson, Sean Astin, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh were very casual and chatty, with no pretensions and all seemed genuinely tickled by our various questions. While there were many great moments during the entire day, I thought I'd share this one thing that really touched me.

I'd brought my old, worn-out copy of FOTR - the one I've had since I was a nine-year-old little girl and first fell in love with elves and hobbits. Each of the four VIPs took one look at that book and commented on how much it must've meant to me. Seeing my childhood dream brought to life on the screen was an experience I'll never forget, and I was so incredibly glad that I got to thank Peter Jackson (& Co.) face to face for his version of Middle Earth, which I loved visiting just as much as Tolkien's. (Don't think I'll ever get over PJ taking the book, grinning and saying, "Well, this is a well-loved copy, isn't it?" in that wonderful NZ lilt!)

I'm a happy camper. *g* Thanks so much for the heads-up!