I’m going to admit that I’m not actually collecting Anne McCaffrey. Truly I’m not, but somehow her books just keep finding their way onto my bookshelves. I’ve been reading her works for a very long time. I must have half of her Dragonriders of Pern books as well as a couple of Pegasus books and three Crystal Singer books. I don’t have any of the books she’s co-authored with other people as they just don’t have the same magic so I don’t read them.
I did meet her once. I was working in the city and she was in one of the large book stores signing her books. My Dad was very sick with cancer and I was desperately looking for something that might cheer him up a little. I don’t remember if I was just passing and saw her or if I knew she was there and visited on purpose. The outcome was that I bought a couple of her books and she signed them for me. I gave one to Dad and I don’t know if it cheered him up or not as he was way too sick at that time. Chemo does rotten things to a person.
I don’t normally get author’s signatures and have to be coerced into it for other reasons. Even when we brought Terry Pratchett to Melbourne for the Australian Discworld Convention I didn’t ask for his signature. I do have it, but it’s something that was given to every committee member.