So to be all author promotery and stuff at book expo america, Scott made up t-shirts for the both of us. Mine had the cover of magic or madness on the front and on the back quotes from my starred reviews. Nobody seemed to notice my t-shirt until we were waiting outside the convention centre surrounded by great piles of our book expo booty (yes, many, many books), looking like Penguin books roadies (Peeps and MorM are published by Penguin). A woman came up to me and pointed to my t-shirt and said, “I loved that book.”

“Really? I’m so pleased.”

She nodded emphatically. “I gave it a great review for booklist.”

“You mean this review?” I asked, turning around to show the back of my t-shirt.

“Oh my god,” she said, “that’s my review!”

“Thank you so much,” I said. “I really appreciated it.”

She looked a little confused.

“It’s my book. I’m Justine Larbalestier.”

Double-take. “No! Wow!”

She looked across at Scott wearing his Peeps t-shirt. “I just got that book to review. I also gave one of his earlier books a starred review. So Yesterday.”

“I loved that review,” Scott said. “Thank you!”

Double take. “You’re not Scott Westerfeld!”

Scott nodded. “I am.”

“You two know each other?” Another double take. “You’re friends?”

“We’re married,” I said.

“Oh my! What a powerhouse.”

Scott and our editor, Liesa Abrams, laughed. I blushed.

Meeting Jennifer Matson was my favourite b.e.a. moment. It was fab to finally be able to tell her how much I appreciated her review. it wasn’t just that she loved my book, it’s that she really understood my book. It meant a lot to me and it was a thrill to be able to tell her so.