A Day with Jay (Asher!)

On October 19, 2010, just one day after Jay Asher celebrated the third birthday of his NYT bestselling debut novel, Th1rteen R3asons Why, I was fortunate enough to spend the day with him. He was in my home town for a visit at my local library, and emailed me to see if I wanted to hang out during the afternoon. Which means I got to spend a day (or part of one) with Jay Asher! And not from a seat in a crowded room while he addressed a bunch of people. I’m talking park bench here. Just. The. Two. Of. Us. Joined, of course, by all of the characters in our heads, and all the people we’ve met along the long paths we each took to publication. It was one of those holy-freaking-crap moments that you only dream of – hanging out with one of your all-time favorite authors – only it was actually coming true. (I’ve had several of those dream-come-true moments in the last few years, and hope to continue the trend.) Here’s photographic proof . . .

Jay and I . . . (let me pause to point out that I’m calling this man “Jay” instead of “JayAsher”!) anyway, Jay and I stopped at Starbucks on our way to one of the most scenic outdoor hangouts in town, Cox Arboretum. The leaves are changing here in Ohio, and since it’s the peak week of the season, I wanted to take him to one of my favorite spots. (Yes, this was a bit selfish, I will never again visit Cox Arboretum without thinking of the totally inspiring conversation we had there. FYI, this is the place we filmed several scenes from my book trailer last year.) At Starbucks, after treating me to my first ever Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate (delish), Jay talked about meeting Chris Crutcher – one of his favorite authors – after Th1rteen R3asons Why was published, and how crazy it was to feel like an actual peer of this talented man he’s admired for years. Standing there in Starbucks (still a little star-struck that I was actually hanging out with JayAsher) with that word "peer" ringing through my head, nothing felt real. Can I now consider myself an actual peer of Jay Asher’s? I tried to gather myself, and think I only made a few flubby blunders with my words, which should come out right since I work with them all the time, but come on, now, I was talking to JayAsher.

As we drove to the arboretum, Jay said all kinds of wonderful things about my debut novel, which made me feel a little like I was dreaming again. I knew he’d read the thing – he blurbed it for crying out loud – but there was something very surreal about sitting in my car with him, listening to him praise my characters, plot, and pacing.

We walked through the arboretum and found a spot on a bench right in front of a little pond. The air was chilly, but the sun and hot chocolate kept me warm. The sky was the most perfect shade of blue. At least I think so . . . as soon as we sat, I was sucked away from all that into this bubble of writing talk that was supercharged by the experiences of the man in front of me.

We talked and talked and talked. This is when I really started to relax, when we began to discuss all the things that led us to that moment on the park bench: books and writing and revisions and covers and editors and agents and rejections and conferences and titles and inspirations and each other’s books and pressure and fun and routines and so much more. The great part is that he seemed as interested in my story as I was in his. I love this part of hanging out with other authors – digging into the stories about writing our first novels, and asking questions about current WIPs.

When royalty checks came up, I said the first thing that came to my mind – without any filter: "Those must be fun." And then I nearly kicked myself. Like that’s ANY of my business? But he took it in stride, smiled, nodded, and said, “Yeah.” Which happens to be a good example of why I like him so much – he’s this totally real guy who is so laid back, humble, kind, funny, intelligent, and need I mention talented?

After our super cool chat, I dropped Jay off at his hotel, ran home to do some mom stuff (my daughter was terribly excited to hear what JayAsher thought of the book birthday card she’d made for Th1rteen R3asons Why), and rushed to the library to meet up with Jay and a few librarians who had been kind enough to invite me to dinner. We ate at a local spot called Meadowlark, and then went back to the library. I couldn’t wait to hear him speak!

Here’s the event poster that was displayed at the front of the library.

During the talk, Jay highlighted different points during his path to publication,
and literally brought me to tears when he shared how he told his wife, JoanMarie, that his book had sold.
He shared some of the fan mail he’s received since the book was released,
and I really began to think about what a daunting task all writers face in regards to their readers.
Many teens have emailed Jay about how his book has inspired them to be a kinder person to others.
He’s even received a few emails from teens who claim that his book,
which deals with the tough topic of suicide, literally saved their lives.
Throughout the day, I came to realize that Jay Asher,
a man I’ve admired to the point of turning him into some kind of writing super-hero in my mind,
is a totally normal guy.
A very special normal guy who’s making a huge difference,
the ripple effect of his creativity reaching farther than any of us can imagine.

After the presentation, Jay signed books for a while (mine included!), then posed for some pictures.
Here I am with Jay, Shelly, Sara, and Elaine.
The lovely ladies are librarians from the Washington-Centerville library,
who have all been so supportive of my own journey to publication.
Another very surreal moment in my life.

All in all, it was one of the most wonderful days of my life.

So, if you haven’t yet read Jay’s Th1rteen R3asons Why, it’s time.

Do yourself a favor, and Buy It Now! You’ll thank me, I promise.

In case you’d like the chance to get to know more about this talented author,
check out Jay’s super cool blog.