This was a blast!! Such a good time. Even if was really, really, really late when I left. 
Agreed! For those who were not there, Jim gave a Q&A from 7:30p-8:30p and then signed until shortly before the store closed, signing for everyone who was in line. I was the second to last person he signed for. I was actually last in line (I had to leave around 9p and then returned) but the girl in front of me had already had something signed so the 'handler' had me go ahead of her.
Jim was great. He signed my copy of "Small Favor" as well as my paperbacks of "Storm Front" and the first Alera book. (which I have not read...yet!)
Jim's Q&A was great, stories about how he started, how he picked Chicago for Dresden, the story about his dog protecting his son from a bear...good times.
Was glad to hear about Jim's next series, a "Men in Black"-ish series set on the Moon. Also learned Alera will apparently hit it's planned ending at book 6, and that there will be probably 20 +/- 1 or 2 and then the apocalyptic trilogy to end it.
It was a great time. I guess about 200 showed up...I heard many store employees saying this was a lot more than they had expected. They sold out of "Small Favor" in fact!
I want to thank Jim for staying and signing so late. I had family obligations so I had to leave around 9p, as I said, but when things settled down at home I noticed online the store closed at 11pm and since signing was going slowly when I left I thought I might have some luck if I returned to the store, and I did. It was great to see so many of Jim's fans out on a very stormy night.
