For high school student Tatiana Delacruz, not even a recent foot operation could keep her away from the Barnes and Noble store at Desert Ridge last night. On the contrary, the silver lining of her brave ordeal was a chance the other 1100 people waiting in line would have undoubtedly relished: a few minutes of face time with world-famous tattoo artist and television celebrity Kat Von D.
Delacruz's mother Sandra, who also came down to the event, found out her daughter was 200 or so in line and thought she'd pull some mom magic on behalf of her temporarily disabled daughter.
"I talked to the manager of Barnes and Noble," Sandra Delacruz said. "They responded to her needs and walked her in front of the first person."
The remaining 1100 fans would have to be patient in line for a just enough time to have their copies of the Miami and LA Ink star's book "High Voltage Tattoo "signed.
New Times caught up with Kat Von D in a Barnes and Noble break room shortly before the signing where she was already hard at work autographing copies of books for fans who were unable to make it. She said she's been on her book tour since January and feels grateful for the chance to meet so many of her fans.
The coolest part, she said, is the variety of people who appreciate her work.
"Our demographic is 7-years-old to 70," she said and the crowd of people waiting to meet her certainly fit the description. Couples, parents, bikers, high school kids and more made up the throng of people biding time between the children's books and graphic novels as they waited for Von D.
At each stop a sort of year book gets passes around for fans to sign their names and leave their own message or stories. Von D said her favorite part of the tour was taking a look at what her fans had to say after each signing.
"I've heard so many stories," she said, "but that's the second book."
