“You’ll Never Believe…” with Cat Porter + an ebook giveaway of Lock & Key!

Welcome to the twenty sixth installment of “You’ll Never Believe…”

For those that don’t know what these new featurettes will be about, here is the scoop! “You’ll Never Believe…” will feature the weirdest questions or encounters that authors have been asked/had. Might be about their books or random things, like meetings in a bathroom where someone asked what brand of toilet paper they normally use. Fun stuff and inside scoops that an author would not normally share.

Today’s “You’ll Never Believe…” celebrates the release of Cat Porter’s latest book “Random & Rare (Lock & Key Book 2)” and she tells us about meeting some VERY famous stars! Johnny Depp anyone? 😉 Fascinating!!!

You’ll Never Believe by Cat Porter:

Years ago when I was in theater school in NYC and auditioning, one of my jobs was at a restaurant in Rockefeller Center as a hostess. We would often get celebrities coming in for a meal. At the end of my first week on the job, Al Pacino walked in with his young daughter. My manager touched my arm, and I smugly said “I’ve got this!” “NO! Wait!” he whispered. I strode over and said loudly “Mr. Pacino, how are you today? Welcome. Table for two by the window?” Al cringed and almost turned around and left the moment after he heard my spiel. He was not impressed. In fact he was disappointed, uncomfortable. I was crushed, embarrassed by my zeal. He took in a deep breath and shyly nodded, and I quickly led him to the best table we had by the picture window. Afterwards my boss told me, “Never do that with famous people, you’re putting them on the spot, you’ve got to be more discreet. They’re already feeling uptight being out in public. They don’t need that from us.” “Right, of course!” I said. Silly moi.

The next day, when Katie Couric and her first husband walked in, I was ready; I was efficient, friendly. I was also Ms. Cool Professional when Walter Cronkite walked in with his wife, “Sir, right this way” and a brief nod along with extra attention, but delicately done. Demi Moore and Bruce Willis and their insane posse, dietary demands, and constant phone calls I had to field on a crazy busy Saturday afternoon (this was way before cell phones)? I was all business.

But my most memorable dealing with a celeb after this lesson, was when I was in LA a year later and shopping one afternoon at the famed bookstore, Book Soup. I was crouched on the floor going through a shelf of books, when suddenly someone crouched next to me and we bumped into each other by mistake. I turned to face him, and I stared right into the face of Johnny Depp. Beautiful, handsome, quirky, dream come true Johnny Depp. I didn’t speak, didn’t say a word, but I also didn’t look away. I couldn’t! For a second he stiffened bracing for the inevitable “OH, JOHNNY!!” but it didn’t come, not from me. Surprisingly, he didn’t look away. He held my gaze, and a small smile lit my face. His face relaxed, and he smiled right back at me for one precious, drawn out moment. Yes, those brown eyes of his are really soulful and sweet and intense. He turned serious again, and that look was even more hypnotic. We both turned away and went back to hunting for our books on the same shelf as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Oh, I still remember it, perfectly well. Better than any autograph.

READY FOR THE GIVEAWAY?

One lucky commenter here will win an ebook copy of the first book in this series, Lock & Key!

How to enter for a chance to win it? Just leave a comment, and by 10pm EST, Wednesday March 18th 2015, I will randomly select ONE winner for the ebook.

The winner will be contacted and will have 48hrs to respond confirming their email address, so if you are picked, do not delay or you will lose your chance. This ebook will be sent directly to the winner by the author.