Last week I had the awesome experience of meeting the author of my favorite book.

Audrey Niffenegger and me

Audrey Niffenegger was speaking at the Cleveland Public Library as part of Octavofest. Niffenegger is a visual artist and an author, and among her books is my favorite novel, "The Time Traveler's Wife."

I was thrilled when I learned Niffenegger would be in town, and I'm so glad I went to hear her speak. She read to the audience a short story of hers that has not yet been published. It's sort of a continuation of "The Night Bookmobile" (which I haven't read but now am looking forward to). She shared some of the visual artwork she has created. She answered audience questions, then signed books. She was even kind enough to have her picture taken with me before she signed my books.

It was such a neat experience to be so close to someone you admire in such a creative sense. I'm so glad I went and am disappointed that the auditorium wasn't packed to hear such a great writer read her work. If you've never heard an author read his or her own stuff, I encourage you to do so when the opportunity presents itself.

There are a ton of great events going on this month with Octavofest, so check out the Octavofest calendar and make plans to go to some of them.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl