What started as a Sarah Palin lovefest in Noblesville ended in a chorus of boos.

Palin left her book signing at a Borders at Hamilton Town Center with hundreds still waiting for her signature.

The crowd booed as she left and shouted for her to stay, said Sylvia Gordon, 43, Noblesville, who waited for more than four hours Thursday night for Palin’s signature.

“I will never go to that Borders again, the way that was handled,” Gordon said Friday. “. . . It was such a sour experience.”

Those who were left standing in the cold and rain Thursday night estimated that about 400 people who had received wristbands — their “ticket” to the signing — had not gotten Palin’s autograph by the time she left shortly after 9 p.m.

Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis couldn’t offer an explanation why so many were turned away.

“Governor Palin is a hugely popular figure,” Davis said. “. . . We just couldn’t get to all the customers.”

Palin issued an apology on her Facebook page, under a post titled “Not Enough Hours in the Day.”

“I’ve been told that yesterday there were supporters in Noblesville who stood in long lines for hours in the cold and rain, and the book signing event ended without a chance to say hello to everyone who showed up,” Palin wrote. "I am so sorry.

“We are working on a solution for those who were left behind. I apologize.”

Despite their booing and shouting, several who were turned away said they blame Borders, not Palin.

“If there’s any blame to be placed here, it’s not on Sarah Palin,” said Dave Arland, 46, Carmel. “She’s a busy lady.”

Fans weren’t told why Palin left without signing everyone’s books, but Gordon said a Borders employee told her that Palin and her youngest son, Trig, who accompanied her to the signing, were tired and that Palin’s hand was cramping.

Though fans blamed Borders for the gaffe, most of the rules for the book tour were set by those coordinating her tour, said Frank Guglielmi, spokesman for Meijer, which hosted Palin’s Fort Wayne book signing Thursday afternoon.

Borders, like Meijer, distributed 1,000 wristbands.

The Fort Wayne signing went smoothly, Guglielmi said, and Palin stayed about 20 minutes past the scheduled 3 p.m. end time to sign books for the last 50 people in line.

The Noblesville signing was scheduled from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Palin arrived early and stayed late, according to an e-mail from Tina Andreadis, a spokeswoman for HarperCollins, which published “Going Rogue” and coordinated the book tour.

About 1,100 lined up to get wristbands Thursday morning, which was fewer than what Borders expected.

Andreadis said in her e-mail that Palin took more than 2,400 pictures with fans.

Those who didn’t get Palin’s autograph received stickers with her signature.

Borders offered to take back the copies of “Going Rogue” that people had to buy in order to get wristbands for the signing, and several have taken the store up on its offer, said Jennifer Chance Cook, sales manager for the Noblesville Borders.

Arland, who returned his Borders copy of “Going Rogue” and got a new one on Amazon.com, said that, despite the frustration, he enjoyed the experience.

“It was a thrill to be there in the moment,” he said, “and a thrill to see her.”