It is no secret that I am slightly in love (in a noncreepy-completely-understanding-I am-a-happily-married-woman-and-he-is-madly-in-love-with-his-pregnant-girlfriend kind of way. Call it an innocent crush, if you will.) with Patrick Rothfuss. Give me a man with a brilliant mind, and my knees weaken instantly. He is the author of my favorite book, “Name of the Wind.” Simply put, he is a genius.

At every Con we go to, I always hope to see him. I did once (here is the embarrassing recap), but I never had a chance to speak to him.

Until recently.

After missing out on an opportunity to see him at Comic Con, I learned he would be doing an impromptu signing at Mysterious Galaxy, a wonderful bookstore in San Diego that specifically sells Science Fiction and Fantasy books. The people that work there are very personable. And often times, you can snag a book here that has been signed by the author.

The signing was at seven o’clock at night, just as the store closed. We left the kids and hurried down there. It was the perfect night for the telling of stories, blossoming friendships, and french fries under the moon.

The signing/reading was so interesting. If you are a fan of Patrick Rothfuss’ novels, and you have never been to one of his signings, I highly suggest you go. I am not going to write about what he spoke of, because he asked us not to. But it was really cool. He read a couple of pieces and answered a few questions.

However, towards the end of the hour, I got a rush of claustrophobia and heat. I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up all over the book cases. I was terrified. I had to quickly drop to the floor and hug my knees. So, I missed watching him read his stories. But I saved the books from my onslaught of sickness. And I still got to hear the tale, at least.

Then the wait began. Because it was an impromptu signing, numbers were not given out like they usually are. Which means, even though we got there an hour early, the people at the back of the store, who came later, got a lower number than us for the signing.

No biggie. We went to McDonald’s next door and got large unsweetened iced teas and a large fry to share. We sat outside and admired the giant moon that loomed overhead. It was actually quite romantic.

Then it was a quick jump back into line.

While waiting in line, I overheard two girls talking in front of me. They both had huge grins on their faces. They were each speaking of how they had to get up for work early the next day, but that this signing was worth losing sleep over.

I assumed they were best friends.

Both girls were pretty in their own way. One girl was waif-like, with dark wavy hair trailing to the end of her back. A bright smile. I would call her eager. That was her spirit. Eager. Friendly.

The other girl was slightly more reserved. Short brown hair. Round, happy face. She was quieter. Allowing for her tattoos and many piercings to tell her story for her. Her form spoke of someone who had been hurt before. More cautious. Cautiously friendly.

The eager girl turned to the cautious girl and said, “I know this might sound crazy. But would you like to be my friend?”

It was such a sweet, beautiful moment.

It is not a moment that you expect to see as an adult. Not one you ever come across in front of you. And not one that you get to witness and be a part of.

The other girl smiled. Her armor cracking just a little. “Sure.” She replied.

The eager girl was ecstatic. “Great. I just moved here from New York. I do not know anybody. I will give you my number.”

They exchanged slips of paper.

From an outsider looking in, I expect them to have a long friendship. Their souls just seemed to click. The exchange moved me. It proved once again how very good people can be.

They left and then it was our turn to meet Patrick Rothfuss.

I was not even that nervous. I guess once you yell at someone across the street, and make a complete fool of yourself, there is not really much more you can do.

He was very kind. I told him that he once ran away from me.

He replied, “doubtful.”

And then we laughed.

His aura was big. Does that even make sense? He is a big man, but his essence was also big. Most people’s energies feel small inside themselves. At the very most, you can feel their energy barely caressing their skin. I have a friend whose energy is like that. She has so much of it, it escapes through her pores and onto other people. She gladly gives her energy away. It always comes back to her. I guess you could call her energy, “boomerang energy.” She seems to have an unending supply of kindness. If I close my eyes and picture this friend, I can see pink ripples of light swaying along her skin. Dancing with her soul.

Some people have built such a wall around their soul, that you cannot see or feel anything beneath their surface. This was the case when I met a different celebrity. His energy felt like cardboard. George R. R. Martin’s energy felt like a tight bright ball of light inside of himself. As though, he had mastered molding it into the shape that he had wanted. He would let a tendril of it float out to smile or form a warm word. But Patrick Rothfuss’ energy felt like it was so large, it was crouching. As though it was waiting to unfurl itself. Almost like a dragon bending itself in two. I have never felt another energy like it.

And now that we have confirmed I am more than slightly crazy, we will continue…

I tried to speak to him about Battlestar Galactica, because he had brought it up during the reading. I wanted his take on the ending. But he quickly told me he did not want to speak about it. He is only halfway through the t.v. series.

I took a photograph with him. My husband asked me, “how do you want to pose?”

And I replied, “let’s just be normal.”

This is Patrick Rothfuss being “normal.” The pictures are blurry because my husband could not stop giggling. He later apologized to me for the blurry pictures, but I told him, “I love the blurry pictures more, because I remember that moment with you in front of me giggling. It makes the picture more special.”

And I got one with us hugging. I love this one. Patrick Rothfuss gives the best hugs. He is known for it. My husband said, “oh, you know you want a hug.” And I did. Sorry I am blocking half of his face. I later took a picture of my husband and him and I told my husband to hug him. He wouldn’t. And it was actually quite embarrassing on recollection. Sorry husband! Sorry Patrick Rothfuss! Sometimes I get out of control.

We got three of our books signed by him. It was surreal. And my whole Comic Con experience finally felt complete.

I recently finished reading, “The Name of the Wind” for the third time. I cannot get over his intelligence. The beauty of his thoughts. Each sentence is poetry. I am in love…with the words…from the mind of a very kind and brilliant man.

During the reading, he mentioned that he hoped he said one thing that we disagreed with him on that night. It was a lesson in opening yourself up to other people and that although their views may be different than our own, we should broaden our friendship horizon. I am not doing his thoughts justice.

I just wanted to say, I did.

I did disagree with not one, but two things he said that night…

And I still love him.

Despite. In spite of. Because.

P.S. Right now Patrick Rothfuss is raising money for his amazing charity Worldbuilders. Worldbuilders raises money for the Heifer International Foundation. (You can read more about it here). If you have not heard of Heifer International Foundation it is a beautiful charity that raises donations to buy people in impoverished countries tools that will increase their way of life. Not just food for a day. But a cow that will provide milk. Or chickens that provide eggs. It is a wonderful organization. Last year our book club got together and purchased a goat. And every year my husband and I contribute to Worldbuilders. We think it’s important. Just another reason Patrick Rothfuss is an incredible man. For a limited time, for each $10 contribution you make you are entered into a lottery to win books and fun things he has collected. There is actually quite a bit of loot to be won. We have never “won” a book, but we consider it winning just to help their organization out. : )