While I was moping and generally feeling sorry for myself last week for missing out on Comic Con, and the chances to meet some of my favorite celebrities and see new trailers for movies like Divergent and all that, I was pretty much doing anything and everything possible to keep myself busy and happy.

Luckily enough, and a huge reason why I was NOT at Comic Con this year, my best friend got married to her boyfriend of 7 years, and myself and my boyfriend were part of the wedding party. I spent Thursday preparing and Friday at a seriously awesome wedding. I had an amazing good time, and I even caught the bouquet, much to my boyfriend’s dismay. It was a great weekend.

But amongst my adventures in distracting myself, I discovered that there would be a book signing at Once Upon a Time Bookstore in Montrose, a city not too far from me. I try to stay as on top of book signings as I possibly can, which is why I get to a bunch of them.

But this one I was particularly excited about, because it was a signing with the one and only, John Barrowman, and his sister, Carole. 

Now, John Barrowman, for those of you who don’t know, is most well known for portraying Captain Jack Harkness, a companion of the Doctor on Doctor Who, and one of the main characters in the spin off show, Torchwood. He also is currently acting on the CW adaptation of Green Arrow called Arrow.

I just learned very recently, because of this event, that John and his sister Carole, who is (or formerly was) an English professor, had written a middle grade adventure novel, and the sequel had just been released.

The books are called the Hollow Earth series, which so far include the debut novel, Hollow Earth and the sequel, Bone Quill. According to the authors, the series is planned as a trilogy. The series follows twins, Em and Matt, who have a deeper connection than most twins. They have a powerful imagination and when they draw, they can make things come to life and they can transport themselves into paintings. They think nothing of it, until their mom whisks them away to meet their grandfather, to be trained, and to be protected against those who mean them harm.

Sounds super awesome, right? I’m a little over halfway done with the book (at post time), and I am seriously enjoying it. Its very Harry Potter-Percy Jacksonish. Definitely meant for the middle grade age group, 8 to 12ish but that doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy them because I’m 25 and totally loving it so far.

So Monday night, my boyfriend and I trekked down to Once Upon a Time Bookstore (notably the oldest children’s bookstore in the USA, 47 years strong!) to meet the authors. I met up with my dear friend Jackie, who runs Seeking Bazinga, who had gotten there a bit earlier than us, and saved us a spot in line. The presentation was first come, first serve; we already had tickets for the signing.

The presentation was REALLY fantastic. John Barrowman has the same sort of humor that he shows when he is acting, and is like a big kid up there on stage. Carole is hilarious as well, and they really have an awesome sibling dynamic that had the entire audience cracking up the entire time. They talked a little bit about Comic Con, which they had both just attended, and where the idea of Hollow Earth came and took a couple questions from the audience. They then proceeded to read two different short parts from Bone Quill, and then there was the signing.

The signing was really great. When you purchased a book, which guaranteed you a ticket for the signing, it came numbered so you simply lined up in numerical order, which worked a lot better than I thought it would. The line also moved SUPER quickly, which I love. They told us that pictures could only be taken from the line, but when I reached the front, they were stopping to take a picture with each person who was meeting them.

They both were SO super nice, and funny. I swear, John Barrowman really embodies the character of Captain Jack Harkness, who is a HUGE flirt in Doctor Who, and flirts with women, men, aliens. He’s also a major flirt in real life as well :) But they were SO amazing to meet, and I fangirled a bit meeting one of my fave characters from DW. They signed my book, let me take a picture and sent me on my way. I was SUPER excited to meet them and it made for a great experience, and it really helped make up for missing out on Comic Con!

One last thing that was really cool: Carole talked about making time for their partners, and John interuppted her, saying “Husbands”. In the recent Supreme Court decision, both DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) and Prop 8 in California were overturned, therefore making gay marriage legal in California. John is very recently married to his long time partner, Scott. Every one cheered for this, especially when John pretended to crumple up DOMA in a ball and threw it aside. Perfection.

My beautiful signed book. My signed book collection seems to be growing and growing!

Now, of course I didn’t forget about all my awesome followers! I bought two books, in order to get two tickets for both myself and my boyfriend and I knew EXACTLY what to do with that extra copy of Hollow Earth. So stay tuned in TOMORROW, when I announce a giveaway for this extra signed copy. 

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Have any of you met John or Carole Barrowman before? How was it? Was it AWESOME? Have you read Hollow Earth yet? As always, share in the comments!