I could have titled this something normal like “Eoin Colfer Author  Event” (which is what it was), but this went so far beyond “author event” that I had to tell it like it is. I was warned by a co-worker going in that he 1) had the Irish storytelling gene and 2) was a leprechaun but I still wasn’t prepared for the absolute hilarity that the evening was.

I’m not even going to try to recount his stories except for one. He was telling us about his teenager, Finn, and how he never tells Eoin that he loves him anymore. Then Eoin got sick on a plane once and decided to play it up like he was dying, thinking he’d get Finn to say those dreaded words. He drew it out for a while, but eventually Finn came over saying, “Dad, I need to tell you something.” Eoin thought that it’d be “I love you” but it turned out to be: “My headphones are broken.” Everyone laughed and he moved on. Eventually, he started taking questions and A (all of 9 1/2) stuck her hand up. He called on her, and she asked, “So: did you ever fix Finn’s headphones??” Everyone cracked up, and she rendered Eoin speechless. I think he said something like “Are you a plant from J. K. Rowling??” (to which A nodded; of course she is!) But then he proceeded to tease her the rest of the evening.  It was pretty funny.

Traveling with Eoin was a magician (who was pretty funny — and good — in his own right). But afterward, he sought A out and told her that he’s been traveling with Eoin for 9 days and had never seen anyone call him out on one of his stories. He gave her a high five, did a couple of tricks just for her, and became her friend for life.

Kindred spirits

I do have to mention that A took Eoin’s teasing pretty hard — she was convinced he hated her. But (especially after the magician cheered her up) she stood in line to talk to him after. He gave her a wink and a smile and shook her hand and cracked jokes right before the camera went off.

It amuses me that he’s the only one not smiling.

I had him sign Airman, which is my favorite of his books.

And we decided on our way home that out of all the events we’ve been to, this one was the best. Period.