My author copies of the Temporally Out of Order anthology arrived over the weekend, and as well as admiring the high quality of both the book and the stories within it, I am particularly taken with the dedicated author signatures page right at the front.
What an excellent idea! Because I have signed my particular story in no end of anthologies and also my contributions in non-fiction books which I’ve written essays for, over the years. And I can absolutely understand why keen fans like to get their volumes signed.
This offers the writer a quick and elegant solution to clumsily fumbling with pages as they leaf through to find their particular chapter plus any conundrum over where exactly to write their name, which is not always as straight forward as you might think! As well as giving the book owner a one-glance checklist of who they have or have not yet got – because, yes, I have also been presented with anthologies only to find I have already signed it! Which doesn’t bother me in the slightest but book owners have been known to blush with embarrassment.
And you know, I really, really do think there should be a prize for the first person to collect the whole set. If that’s you, email me a photo and we’ll come up with something good!