Whatca Say?

I am notoriously bad at recognizing celebrities in real life. Of course, I've only run into a celebrity twice in my life. Both times someone else had to point them out and say Look. It's so and so. And I never believed them. Ever. Besides what do you say? I'm not an autograph OMG type person and I certainly don't want to bother anyone.

Which leads me to another topic. Book authors. They are my own brand of celebrity. The kind I am actually excited to meet. They add value to the world, literacy etc. and are usually very nice and I have never know what to say to any of them. Granted I've only meet them at library conferences where you have like 5 seconds to say something witty and urbane and I can be so terminally shy that it doesn't work out. So I end up standing there like a mute idiot, getting my book signed and walking away. Oh why wasn't I blessed with the ability to say Hi in a reasonable manner?

For example, at one conference I meet Maureen Johnson and I was so excited that I made my friend stand in line too. I waited and finally made it up there and then all I could manage was something about a certain book banning of hers that was a big topic at the time. Which was everyone else was talking to her about! So lame and so unoriginal. She's seems like a cool gal so I should have something else prepared.
At the same conference (I think) I meet Rachel Cohn since she was signing with David Leviathan. I had read her Gingerbread books but, honestly, I hadn't read anything by him. Anyway, they both had short stories in a book I had just read. I mentioned it and she said she had forgotten she had written it. My one topic! So then I just stood there.
My friend KRose is a different story. She attended a conference with me in Chicago and meet Libba Bray who I had talked nonstop about forever. But she was scheduled at the same time as some workshop and I stupidly choose the workshop and missed meeting her. But KRose got a book autographed for me and apparently had a wonderful conversation with her. Which is so cool. I wish I could be as outgoing as that. KRose can talk to anyone at anytime and she never feels awkward or anything. And I don't know why I do either. I mean, the odds that anyone will remember me is teeny-tiny. If I could only think of something to say...