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Hi everyone! Just popping in for a quick post about Pasadena Loves YA. Our friend Jane Gov who is the teen librarian at Pasadena Public Library (Central Branch) has organized this event for the past couple of years, and we're really looking forward to seeing everyone there again!
What: Pasadena Loves YA is a free teen book festival presented by Pasadena Public Library
Where: Pasadena Public Library - Central Branch, 285 E Walnut St, Pasadena, CA 91101
When: Saturday, Sept 17, 2016 from 12-4 pm. First 300 attendees get free tote bags, so get there early!
What: Meet 19 young adult authors, listen to panels speak about various topics, and get your books signed! Book sales by Vroman's Bookstore. Helping hands provided by Bridge to Books. Find out more at pasadenateenbookfestival.com and follow @pasadenalovesya on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! No ticket is necessary but we'd love it if you could RSVP here. The official hashtag = #plya16 (you can also tag = #pasadenalovesya)
Who:
Josephine Angelini (Witch's Pyre)
Frank Beddor (Crossfire)
Elizabeth Briggs (Future Shock)
Julie Buxbaum (Tell Me Three Things)
Cecil Castellucci (Stone in the Sky)
Tobie Easton (Emerge)
Dana Elmendorf (South of Sunshine)
Charlotte Huang (Going Geek)
Kerry Kletter (The First Time She Drowned)
Eric Laster (#Static)
Aija Mayrock (The Survival Guide to Bullying)
Shannon Messenger (Let the WInd Rise)
Marisa Reichardt (Underwater)
Robin Reul (My Kind of Crazy)
Robyn Schneider (Extraordinary Means)
Evelyn Skye (The Crown's Game)
Ingrid Sundberg (All We Left Behind)
Thomas Voorhies (The Giant)
Nicola Yoon (Everything Everything)
What a lineup, right? There will be giveaways and some refreshments, too!
Just a few pointers:
- Parking - Parking can get a little hairy! There's metered parking on the street and a time limit on the lot, but if you park next door at University of Phoenix you should be fine (and it's covered!). Just don't park in any reserved spaces. There are also 2 public parking lots in walking distance.
- Books - You may bring books from home. Is there a title you can't live without? Better bring it--Vroman's will have the latest from each author, but supplies will be limited. Of course, supporting our indie bookstore partner with purchases will be greatly appreciated, and will help ensure they'll be back next year with more books!
- Food - There aren't any places to buy food in the library during the event, and while there are sometimes refreshments, we tend to run out. We highly recommend bringing a picnic lunch, snacks to munch, and something to drink (coffeeholics, I'm looking at you! the nearest Starbucks is at the Paseo Colorado). You can also eat in most of the spaces such as the auditorium, the story room, and the patio--just make sure to keep the library clean!
- Autographs - Signings and panels will be in the same room--you should be able to listen to the next panel while waiting in the signing line. We will have volunteers armed with Post-Its and Sharpies if you want your book personalized.
- Tickets - No tickets are necessary, but we'd be grateful if you would RSVP at the Facebook event listing. It would also be awesome if you could share the post with your friends!
- Social Media - We'd love to see your photos and tweets on social media! Make sure you tag them #plya16 and #pasadenalovesya so they make it to both this year's and the continuing tag feeds. We'll be publishing a quick guide to all of the authors' Instagram and Twitter handles next week, along with the schedule, so you can plan your day!
Any more questions? Head over to pasadenateenbookfestival.com or message pasadenateenbookfest at gmail dot com. We'll do our best to provide answers!
See you on September 17th!
~Alethea
(cross-posted at Kid Lit Frenzy)
Over the weekend, the RNSL team was a part of a very special book event. About 8 months ago Salina Yoon, the extremely talented and prolific author/illustrator of books like Penguin and Pinecone, Penguin in Love and Stormy Night, asked if we and some of our friends would help her plan the launch party for her 2016 picture book release BE A FRIEND. As huge fans of Salina and her work, we of course said yes. We had worked with Salina previously, but this party was going to be different. Be A Friend was very special to Salina and, as such, she wanted to celebrate in a big way. (You can read more about Salina and her feeling on the book here.) So we gathered some of our bookish and imaginative friends (you know who you are) and got to work. Below is just a brief recap of the event. All pics are by our amazing friend and photographer Katie Ferguson.
Guests were asked to sign in at the guest table when arriving, where they received a felt heart pin and a raffle ticket. They were then welcome to help themselves to some snacks and drinks as the sounds of French music serenaded them.
There was a full dessert table as well as a candy bar. The amazing treats above were created by Maskipops by Adri. They were beautiful and delicious!
We also had 2 delicious signature cocktails created by the amazing and adorably attired Jen.
Once the guests settled in, it was time to start the presentation. First up was a performance by the talented singer/songwriter Emily Arrow, who creates literature inspired music for children. Her song required some audience participation, and everyone was happy to oblige.
Salina was up next and she thanked everyone and then read Be A Friend, with a little help. There were two wonderful theater students who helped Salina with her reading.
After a brief Q&A, it was time to start the signing line. Guests were called up in groups so they didn't spend all of their time in line and could partake of the food, drink and other fun activities while they waited. One of my favorite features of the event was the photobooth. Thanks to Eric for manning it and for the awesome volunteers for creating and procuring the props.
It was just a fantastic night filled with friend, food, and books (and one adorable corgi). Huge congrats to Salina on the publication of Be A Friend. Thanks for letting us be a part of it. Huge, huge thanks to all of our friends and volunteers who helped make this event happen. :)
Salina's website
Salina on Tour!
Photo album for the Be A Friend Launch Party
Photo album for the Be A Friend Photobooth
photo by Jose Valencia
Hello, dear readers. If you are a fan of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, then this week is a very exciting week for you. The final book in The Lunar Chronicles series, WINTER, was released on Tuesday. The fates of Cinder, Prince Kai, Scarlet and the rest of the Lunar gang will be decided. Will they defeat the evil queen Levana? We're all just going to have to read Winter to find out! And don't forget to read all the way to the end of this post where we will tell you the exciting details about Marissa's upcoming Lunar Chronicles project!
I was a volunteer for the Marrisa Meyer Winter signing event held last night in Montrose, CA. Once Upon a Time Bookstore hosted the event, which was held off site at the Sparr Heights Community Center. We had an amazing group of volunteers who worked their butts off to make this an unforgettable night. Also, big thanks to Jose Valencia who was the photographer for the event and whose images I am using in this post. By the time I arrived after work, there was already quite a line outside the venue. Many thanks to all of the attendees who were very patient and endured some cold (for Southern California) weather.
photo by Jose Valencia
There was a beautiful snack table filled with Lunar themed cookies, cakes and candies. There were red Cinder shoe cookies and red Winter apples made from dipped pretzels. The cupcakes were beautiful (sadly I did not get to try one). There was also a bit of healthy food with a salad bar as well as pizza that came later in the evening.
photo by Jose Valencia
photo by Jose Valencia
photo by Jose Valencia
photo by Jose Valencia
photo by Jose Valencia
The event began promptly at 7pm and, after a lovely introduction by Danielle Behr, Marissa came out to a full house.
photo by Jose Valencia
Marissa started off by talking about fairy tales and how she fell in love with Disney's The Little Mermaid when she was 5 years old. Her grandmother, seeing how much she loved the story, got her a book of fairy tales, which included the original Little Mermaid story. 5-year-old Marissa was shocked to discover that the original story was very different from the version she knew, which made her want to find out what else Disney wasn't telling her. This led to a lifelong love of fairy tales. Marissa then recited the original tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to a rapt audience.
photo by Jose Valencia
Following this, Marissa took questions from the audience. When asked who her favorite character was, she said that it would be liking asking a mother to pick her favorite child. She did say that Captain Thorn was the most fun to write though. Marissa also mentioned that the film rights to Cinder had been sold to a Hollywood studio, though she had no news on whether or not it would be made anytime soon. She also said that she was honored when she found out that her series had fan fiction. Marissa said that she's only read one story because she didn't want it to influence what she wanted to do with the series.
photo by Jose Valencia
After the Q&A it was time to move on to the signing. Guests enjoyed pizza and snacks as numbered groups were called out. Again, thanks to everyone for their patience as we got Marissa through a long line of fans. Thanks to the volunteers for helping the line run smoothly.
Mmmm...snacks! photo by Jose Valencia
photo by Jose Valencia
Super cute Winter fans. photo by Jose Valencia
photo by Jose Valencia
I see some amazing fan art happening here. photo by Jose Valencia
Special thanks to Marissa Meyer, Macmillan, Fierce Reads, Once Upon a Time, all of the amazing volunteers, the Sparr Heights Community Center, Jose Valencia for the awesome pics, and every single person who came out last night. To see all of the pics from the event, check out Jose's album here.
While Winter is the official end of The Lunar Chronicles, fans will be happy to know that Marissa will be releasing a collection of stories set in the The Lunar Chronicles world. Stars Above: A Lunar Chronicles Collection will be released on February 2, 2016.
The collection will include:
Glitches: A prequel to Cinder, detailing Cinder’s first weeks after her cyborg surgery and her introduction to her new stepfamily.
The Queen’s Army: A prequel to Scarlet, telling the story of one soldier in Levana’s army who is determined not to become the monster everyone expects him to be.
Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky: A prequel to Cress, expanding on some of Carswell Thorne’s exploits when he was a young man with big dreams.
The Princess and the Guard: A never-before-released prequel to Winter, chronicling the friendship between Winter and Jacin and answering some frequently asked questions about Winter, her insanity, and her scars.
The Little Android: My retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” in which an android falls in love with a human boy.
A BRAND NEW as-yet-to-be-determined story! PLUS a sneak peek at Marissa's first non-TLC novel, Heartless, out on November 8, 2016.
if you've read through this entire post, I commend you. Thanks for reading and don't forget to #JoinTheResistance!
Hi, guys. Today I am a posting a very late recap of last month's Pasadena Loves YA event. This was the second year of the event and it just keeps getting better each year. 2015 boasted an amazing line up of 20 fantastic YA authors.
Attending authors included Mary McCoy, Katie Alender, Victoria Aveyard, Alexis Bass, Julie Berry, Livia Blackburne, Virginia Boecker, Jessica Brody, Stephen Chbosky, Brandy Colbert, Ava Dellaira, Kody Keplinger, Liz Maccie, Morgan Matson, Lauren Miller, Alexandra Monir, Jennifer Niven, Romina Russell, Sarah Tomp, & Kiersten White.
I was volunteering again this year so I didn't have a lot of time to go to the panels and signings. I was able to pop into a couple of them though for a few minutes. The photos in this post were taken by our good friend Katie F. Katie is an amazing photographer and we are lucky that she makes the time to come to our events to take photos.
Keynote speaker Mary McCoy. photo by Katie Ferguson
The day started off with a keynote speech by Dead To Me author and LAPL teen librarian Mary McCoy. We have known Mary for a while now and her passion and love for YA shines through in everything she does. She started off the event on the right foot with her wonderful keynote speech.
First up was the Second Chances panel featuring Brandy Colbert, Morgan Matson, Lauren Miller, and Sarah Tomp.
Brandy Colbert, Morgan Matson, Lauren Miller, and Sarah Tomp. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
Unfortunately I was not able to see any of this panel but I heard later that it was a good one and that it was standing room only. The signing line for the panel was long but everyone was super patient and the authors took a little time with all of their fans.
Lauren Miller. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
Morgan Matson and Sarah Tomp. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
Next on the agenda was the The First Time: From Draft to Finish Line panel featuring Victoria Aveyard, Alexis Bass, Virginia Boecker, Kody Keplinger. This was a really fun panel. Several of the authors came from northern California so it was a real treat to have them. Kody Kepliger was a favorite of mine and it was really cool to finally meet her. Fans were so excited to meet the authors on this panel that they started a line during the panel.
Victoria Aveyard, Alexis Bass, Virginia Boecker, and Kody Keplinger. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
Kody Keplinger and a fan. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
YA Sci-Fi & Fantasy was up next with Livia Blackburne, Jessica Brody, Romina Russell, and Kiersten White. This was another standing room only panel. Many of our authors were super nice and sat on the floor while watching panels in order to make room for fans.
YA Sci-Fi & Fantasy panel with Livia Blackburne, Jessica Brody, Romina Russell, and Kiersten White. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
Kiersten White and Livia Blackburne. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
The lovely Jessica Brody. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
The next panel of the day was Dial "M" for Murder. This panel featured Katie Alender, Julie Berry, Mary McCoy, and Alexandra Monir.
Alexandra Monir, Julie Berry, and Katie Alender. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
Katie Alender and Mary McCoy. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
Alexandra Monir. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
The final panel of the day was Tough Topics with panelists Stephen Chbosky, Ava Dellaira, Liz Maccie, and Jennifer Niven. I was actually able to watch most of this panel. It covered some tough topics from bullying to writing honestly to favorite television shows. Jennifer admitted to being a huge "Supernatural" fan while Liz and Stephen said that they really liked "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."
Ava Dellaira, Liz Maccie, and Jennifer Niven. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
Liz Maccie and Stephen Chbosky. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
Amazing nails by Novels and Nail Polish. Photo by Katie Ferguson.
The signing line for the last panel was very long, but everyone was extremely patient and cool about the wait. The authors were super kind and stayed until the last person got their book signed.
Overall it was a very successful and, we hope, fun event. Many thanks to all of the authors and attendees. Also many thanks to all of the amazing volunteers for the event. There would be too many to name here but you know who you are. Big thanks to Jane Gov, Bridge to Books and the Pasadena Public Library for organizing such and amazing event. Thanks to all of the wonderful bloggers who participated in the blog tour and came out to the event and to Vroman's for selling books for the event.
If you want to see more pics, head over to Katie F's Flickr set and the Pasadena Loves YA Instagram account. If you attended or posted about the event, let us know in the comments below.
See you next year, Pasadena!
By: Molly,
on 4/12/2015
Blog:
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We’re soon to touch down in one of our absolute favorite literary states for the Texas Library Association Conference in Austin! If there’s anything better than talking books, hanging out with authors and librarians, and enjoying sunshine and Shiners, then we don’t want to know about it.
If you’ll be in the Lone Star State, too, please swing by our booth, #1341, for galleys, giveaways, and face time with the HarperCollins Children’s Books School & Library team. We can’t wait to chat and put books in your hands.
But if you’re reading this thinking, “sure, you guys are nice, but we’re here to meet the AUTHORS, silly!” check out our top-notch signing schedule, here:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15TH:
11:00am–12:00pm, Joy Preble, Aisle 7, Finding Paris
11:00am–12:00pm, Melissa Marr, Aisle 8, Made For You
12:00–1:00pm, Kiera Cass, Aisle 8, The Selection Series
1:00–2:00pm, Thanhha Lai, Aisle 8, Listen, Slowly
2:00–3:00pm, Dan Gutman, Aisle 8, Genius Files #5: License to Thrill
4:00–5:00pm, Lauren Oliver, Aisle 8, Vanishing Girls
THURSDAY, APRIL 16TH:
10:00–11:00am, Sherry Thomas, Aisle 3, The Elemental Trilogy
11:30am–12:30pm, Neal & Brendan Shusterman, Aisle 1, Challenger Deep
2:00–3:00pm, Gordon Korman, Aisle 1, Masterminds
2:00–3:00pm, Julie Murphy, Aisle 2, Dumplin’ galleys
3:00–4:00pm, Becky Albertalli, Aisle 1, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
You don’t want to miss our coupon in the aisle by aisle guide, either! It points you to our booth for a free copy of BONE GAP, by Laura Ruby (*while supplies last), and a chance to enter to win a piece of framed original art by Jef Czekaj, from his upcoming picture book, AUSTIN, LOST IN AMERICA.
We can’t wait to see y’all!
*I am not going to go into a full rant but I just wrote this entire post and it did not save. *sob* So please excuse me if this seems a bit brief. My original post was brilliant. :)*
Hi, everyone! It's been a while since our last book event, but Kimberly and I were lucky enough to be able to make it to the Suspicion launch party last night at Barnes & Noble in Santa Monica. We arrived about 20 minutes before the signing to purchase our books. Then we went upstairs to the event space and were greeted with this:
This was only part of the spread, too. There was a whole table filled with delicious finger sandwiches and treats and a bartender pouring sparking cider and other liquid refreshments. Monir told us later that her mom had planned the whole thing so yay mom! We've been to a lot of book signings and they don't usually have snacks. I really think we need to change this and make it a more regular occurrence. There was a large crowd of people at the events including friends, family and fans.
The signing started off with us listening to Monir's "Autumn Leaves," a song that she recorded for Suspicion. Monir has been a performer and recording artist for most of her life and has recorded a song for each of her books.
Monir says that her start in writing was a "happy accident." She had been pursuing a career in music when, one day, the idea for a time travel romance (what would later become Timeless) came to her. She didn't know what to do with the idea really but decided to start writing it to see where it went. It turned into a full length novel. Monir passed the novel on to her music agent who, in turn, gave it to an editor at Random House for comments. What resulted was a two book deal for Monir. Monir counts herself lucky though and says that her story is an unusual one.
Monir said that Suspicion was very much inspired by one of her favorite books, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Monir said that she originally wanted to re-imagine the story for a younger audience and in a more contemporary setting. She added her own twist though with elements of the supernatural and themes of childhood friendship. The setting for Suspicion was inspired by Downton Abbey. The class differences of that time really interested Monir and she says that she discovered that the peerage is still going strong in Britain. She says that the Brits treat the royals like celebrities similar to how reality and film stars are treated in the U.S.
When asked if she listened to music while writing, Monir said that she likes to listen to film scores of world music so that she doesn't get caught up in the lyrics. Two of her favorite composers are Alexandre Desplat and John Williams. When asked if she would ever stop writing YA, Monir said that she did not think that she would ever tire of writing YA. The intense feelings and the discovery of first experiences are themes that loves. She also says that YA readers are the best reader.
After a few more questions it was time to sign books. Monir was very sweet and gracious when we chatted with her and we discussed how awesome Rebecca is and her upcoming trip to France (jealous!).
We had a really great time and can't wait to read Suspicion. You can see all of our pics from the event in our Flickr album. Also, mini eclairs! Many thanks to B&N, Alexandra Monir, and her mom for bringing treats. :)
See how excited Kimberly is to see Melissa Marr?
Hi, everyone. Last night I went to the Melissa Marr event at Barnes & Noble at The Grove. This was sort of a last minute event. I wasn't planning to go but Kimberly convinced me that it would be the fun thing to do - and she was right. Melissa was there to promote her newest novel, Made For You, a creepy contemporary about a young woman and the serial killer who is obsessed with her.
While I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of authors in the last few years, this was my first time meeting Melissa. I was immediately struck by how energetic and gregarious she was. As she said, she is "very animated" and "extremely caffeinated." It was a small, intimate crowd, which meant that the event wasn't very formal. Melissa talked a bit about herself and about how the new book was inspired by real life events that happened to her when she was in her 20's. Melissa had a stalker, a man who appeared one day claiming to be a police officer. Melissa wisely deflected his attentions but he showed up later that weekend trying to climb into her window for their "date." Unlike the stalker in her novel, Melissa's stalker never tried to kill her or her friends and she eventually moved away where he could not find her.
She said that the book left her feeling emotionally raw because, in order to make the reader feel what the characters are feeling, she had to pull up those own feelings in herself. She had to bring back the memories and feelings of what it was like to have her own stalker.
Melissa also said that she writes a good serial killer because both her editor and son thought that the sections of the book from the serial killer's point of view where a little too spot on. Her son even proceeded to give her a serial killer quiz while they were grocery shopping. Good news - she passed.
She also let drop the news that there is another Wicked Lovely book in the works. Her daughter was unhappy with the original ending to the series and recently handed her a 60,000 word draft of an alternate book/ending. She plans to edit it and add to it and hopefully publish. The working title for the book is Brightest Vengeance.
Melissa also had a bit of movie news for us. The movie is definitely happening and two actors have been cast. Unfortunately she could not divulge their names just yet, but everyone was excited to hear that the movie was moving along.
After more questions, it was time to sign books. Melissa was super gracious and spent a lot of time making conversation with everyone and signing big stacks of books.
We also got to see a mock up of Melissa's new picture book which comes out next spring. The book is entitled Bunny Roo, I Love You and will be released by Penguin. The book was written while she was in the hospital with her adopted infant son, who was working through the symptoms of being exposed to drugs in the womb. The book is illustrated by Teagan White and it's gorgeous. I can't wait to see this one in person.
Melissa also told me and Kimberly her pseudonym for a couple of upcoming romance novels she's written. I love a good smutty book and was super excited to hear that Melissa was delving into the romance genre. She said that the books are biker romances, inspired by her days running a biker bar in her youth.
As you can see, Melissa has led a pretty awesome and interesting life. It was a great pleasure to meet her and I am really excited to read Made For You and to see what other goodies she comes out with in the coming year. Thanks to BN The Grove and Melissa for a fantastic event!
If you’re in Toronto, join me at
Chapters Scarborough
on Saturday, September 13th at 2pm
to hear me talk about STAINED (Best Book of the Year for Ages 14 and up)–why I wrote it, the need for strong-girl characters, and more–and get a signed copy of STAINED, SCARS, and/or HUNTED. Everyone who attends will get free positive-message stickers, bookmarks, and be entered in a draw. I hope to see you there!
I draw on my own trauma experiences to write all my books.
In STAINED, Sarah is abducted and must find a way to rescue herself.
Cheryl Rainfield has been said to write with “great empathy and compassion” (VOYA) and to write stories that “can, perhaps, save a life.” (CM Magazine) SLJ said of her work: “[Readers] will be on the edge of their seats.”
I hope you’ll join me.
Hi, everyone./ If you don't know who Scott Campbell is, you should really check him out. We here at Read Now Sleep Later are big fans of this author and illustrator and were thrilled to hear that he was having launch party for his new children's book, Hug Machine, at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra.
There was a big crowd there for the event. Scott started off with a slide show detailing his process for coming up with the idea for and writing the book.
Above is a page from hit sketch book. Campbell said that he'll sometimes go to the children's section of the bookstore and read a bunch of picture books to get ideas flowing. Then he'll go to a coffee shop and just sketch in his notebook. He does this for several months and then culls through his notebooks to see if any of the ideas lead him anywhere. Hug Machine started with a page of drawings which depicted a child attached to various people/characters (if you look at the drawing above you can see how he is attached so someone's back in the middle of the page).
After coming up with the story and idea, it's time to develop that artwork and look of the book. Above are some early paintings of Hug Machine. This book was mainly done in watercolor paints. Campbell likes to play around with the colors until he comes up with a good palette for the book.
Next, Campbell read the entire book aloud to the rapt audience. Above is one of my favorite panels in the book which depicts Hug Machine giving a porcupine a much needed hug.
Then it was time for the drawing portion of the show. Campbell let the audience pick who/what Hug Machine would hug. Above is Hug Machine hugging an ice cream sundae.
Next we had Hug Machine Hugging Scott Campbell while a giraffe, dragon and knight wait in line for their hugs.
One of my favorites was Hug Machine hugging a Civil War ghost.
After the drawing portion of the show, Campbell sat down to sign some books. The line was quite long but we were luckily near the front of it.
Along with displaying original artwork, the show also had a cool interactive Hug Machine. As you can see, Kimberly and Hug Machine became fast friends.
If all this cuteness doesn't make you want to read Hug Machine, then check out the hilarious trailer below. It'll help you get those arm muscles ready for some serious hugging!
We highly recommend Hug Machine to picture book lovers and fans of great art. Hugs for everyone!
Hello! It's Thursday night (though this post is going up on Friday) and I'm popping in to write a quick recap of the super fun event that I just got back from. Barnes and Noble Americana in Glendale hosted Adi Alsaid, debut author of the YA contemporary novel Let's Get Lost. Alexandra Adornetto (Halo, Ghost Town) was also supposed to be at this event but she left unexpectedly before the signing started. This was disappointing to some of the attendants but it meant more time with the lovely Adi Alsaid.
He started off the event by telling us about his cab driver, a talkative Russian with a Swedish accent who has had an amazing life. Alsaid said that it was people like his can driver that made him want to write let's Get Lost. He has an appreciation for the many interesting and varied people you often meet on road trips. That's one if the reasons why his book is told from the pov of the people that the main character meets and not from her pov. Alsaid likes to write from a perspective that is not his and often writes from multiple points of views. One of the ways he does this is by writing from a female pov. He says that he does it well enough that some people at his publishing house actually thought he was female. He usually knows from the first sentence whether or not his character will be male or female.
When asked why his main character was going to see the northern lights or if that place had significance, Alsaid said no, that he chose it so that she would have a reason to go on the road trip. However, by the end of the book, the destination does gain significance. And it wasn't until Alsaid wrote the ending from the main charaxter's pov did he understand her reasons.
Alsaid has only been to one of the locations in his book. He chose places he's never been becausr he prefers to make stuff up. The one place he did visit though was Barnesville, Minnesota.
When asked who some of his favorite books were he are he mentioned books by authors Anne Patchett, Kurt Vonnegut, Jennifer Egan and the Calvin & Hobbes comic strip. He is currently reading Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith (who he called a YA Vonnegut).
After a few more questions it was time to sign books! Alsaid was really great and didn't mind all of our senseless babbling while he signed our books. And look, we managed to get a rare picture of the entire Read Now Sleep Later team at the signing.
Alethea got to take the Let's Get Lost home for Cypress Park Library. We got quite a few looks while wandering around the Americana with it, but it was /a great conversation starter. And we even think Alethea managed to hand sell a book to the Sprinkles clerk. If you want to see more pics, check our the Facebook album.
Many thanks to BN Americana, Adi Alsaid and Harlequin Teen for putting on a wonderful event. Now that you've made it this far I have a wee giveaway for you. We got a bit of fun swag at the event last night that we thought you guys would like. Included in this pack are a signed ARC of Let's Get Lost (not pictured), a signed poster for Let's Get Lost, a bookmark and a Let's Get Lost luggage tag. This giveaway is US only and ends on 9/13/14. Thanks and good luck!
Giveaway Rules:
- Open to US residents only.
- We are not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items.
- One set of entries per household please.
- If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address.
- Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends.
- Winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner.
- If you have any questions, feel free to email us. You can review our full contest policy here.
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Hi, everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend. I am still recovering from a bit of a cold and from the LA Times Festival of Books. Today I am coming to you with a recap of a fun event that I was a part of a couple of weeks ago. A couple of weeks ago on April 5, 2014
Bridge to Books was lucky enough to host picture book author an illustrator
Salina Yoon at
Unwind Yarn in Burbank, CA. The event fell on the weekend of the
LA Yarn Crawl which made for a doubly fun event. There were cake pops, yarn, exclusive Penguin knitting patterns and lots of laugh. (All photos courtesy of our friend Katie Ferguson. Thanks, Katie!)
As part of the festivities we had amazing cake pops made by Alethea's cousion Adri, owner of
Maskipops. They were delicious and so cute to boot. Obviously my favorite was Penguin but there were also hearts and yarn balls.
This is an awesome DIY cookie jar that Salina made. She bought the jar but added her own Bear sticker. Adorable!
There was a nice crowd there of both adults and children. After everyone settled in, Salina read from her book Penguin in Love. Penguin is an adorable penguin who knits and has many adventures. In his newest book, he finds a new friend. After reading Penguin in Love, Salina read from her newest book Found (pic above).
After reading time, it was drawing time. Here, Salina is showing the audience how Penguin and Bear are based on really similar shapes.
Then Salina signed lots and lots of books. All in all a very fun day. Big thanks to Unwind Yarn for hosting and to Salina for being a wonderful speaker as always. Also thank you to volunteers Katie, Kimberly, Laura, Cris, Dornel and to
Once Upon a Time for being on hand to sell books. If you'd like to see more photos from the event, check out the Flickr set
here.
Hope you enjoyed this brief recap. Happy Tuesday!
Hi, everyone! Just a quick heads up that there is an awesome YA author event happening this weekend at Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach. I'm not sure if this event was recently added or if we just missed it, but it's definitely happening. Come meet Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows at 2:30pm on Saturday March 29, 2014. From the Mysterious Galaxy website:
"Celebrate the joy and angst of young adulthood, complicated by the paranormal and the romantic, with a trio of authors whose works embrace these themes. Brodi Ashton’s final novel in the myth-inspired Everneath trilogy, Evertrue, will determine the fate of teen Nikki and the Underworld. Publishers Weekly called the series “complex and intriguing. Drawing inspiration from such myths as Osiris, Orpheus, and Persephone, it explores the nature of loss and longing and what it means to be alive.” Cynthia Hand concluded her tale of part-angel Clare Gardner and her Unearthly trilogy with last spring’s Boundless. She just completed non-Unearthly standalone The Last Time We Say Goodbye, and may be enticed to share some tidbits about that book with attendees. And Jodi Meadows asks in her Incarnate trilogy, “What if everyone you knew could live forever . . . except you?” Infinite provides the conclusion to the compelling questions of this world, where one new girl is the key to the lives of millions."
For more info, please visit the store event page
here.
Hope you can make it out to this awesome event!
Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach
2810 Artesia Blvd.
Redondo Beach, CA 90278
310-542-6000
Hi, everyone. I meant to write this post a couple of weeks ago but somehow time got away from me and I suddenly realized that more than 2 weeks had gone by since this event. So apologies for the delay.
On March 6, 2014 Holly Goldberg Sloan (I'll Be There, Counting by 7s) did a talk and signing at Buena Vista Library in Burbank, CA. This is actually one of my local libraries and the one closest to my house. They get a great lineup of authors and I know to keep an eye out for their fliers in the YA section for upcoming signings.
I showed up about 45 minutes before the signing and made my rounds in the library before settling in to see Holly. My friend
Kimberly also came to the signing and we snagged a pair of great front row seats. The room was pretty crowded and was an eclectic mix of readers of all ages.
Holly started off by telling us about how she had recently found a bunch of old papers and projects from her childhood. Within this collection she found and old report card from her 2nd grade teacher which said that he hoped that, for the rest of her life, Holly would tell stories. Seems like her teacher saw Holly's potential early on. Holly spoke about her childhood and how her experiences as a child and teen really shaped her outlook on life. Her father was a test specialist (think SATs and such) who was always trying out his tests on his children. Because of his job, Holly's family moved around a lot and she often had to start over in new places with new people. Holly has lived all over the world and says that she loves to meet people and to learn about new cultures.
Holly decided to write her newest book, Counting by 7s, and set it in Bakersfield, CA because she felt that it was an overlooked city in California. The book took her 2 years to write. It was too painful and she kept quitting. Though the book is about grief, she hopes that the book is still a hopeful one.
This is where things get fuzzy because Holly is so engaging and funny that I stopped taking very good notes. So I will just list a few more things that I learned during her talk.
- She doesn't outline at all. She starts with characters and knows how her books will end but doesn't know how they will get there.
- One of her favorite secondary characters is Riddle from I'll Be There which is based on 2 people.
- A character in Counting by 7s is modeled after Zach Galifinakis's character in The Hangover.
- She started writing I'll Be There after an ill-fated trip to Mexico where her husband was so ill she had to vacate the room they were staying in. To occupy herself she started writing.
- Holly began her career in Hollywood and has written several screenplays including Made In America and Angels in the Outfield.
- There will be a sequel to I'll Be There, call Just Call My Name. These are lyrics to a Jackson Five song (I'll Be There), which Holly obtained the rights to for this purpose.
- One of Holly's rejected stories is going to become a Hallmark Christmas movie (I know someone who is going to be so excited about this).
After all the talk, it was time to sign books!
Holly was super gracious and funny. There was a long line behind us so we didn't chat for long. If you ever get a chance to see Holly somewhere, you should definitely go. She's very funny and outgoing and it's just a good time. Holly is going to be at the
Pasadena Teen Book Festival on April 26 and I hope to have read
Counting by 7s by then. If you're local, we hope you can come out for it.
Thanks to Holly Goldberg Sloan and Buena Vista Library for putting on a great event!
Just a quick head's up to save the date for this fun author event coming up on April 5, 2014.
Salina Yoon, author of the popular Penguin picture book series, will be reading and signing her new book
Penguin in Love at Unwind Yarn in Burbank, CA.
That weekend also happens to be the same weekend as the LA Yarn Crawl, so you can expect lots of fun things going on at the store. Cake pops and drinks will be provided. If you haven't read these books yet, they are super cute and feature an adorable penguin and knitting. This even it sponsored by
Bridge to Books, founded by RNSL's very own Alethea and good friend Aly. Alethea will be out of the country so I (Thuy) will be organizing and corralling people the day of the event. If you have kids or like picture books, this is a great event to go to. We have an Eventbrite page to
reserve your (free) tickets and a
Facebook for more event info.
Below are a couple of pics from last year's Salina Yoon event to entice you.
.jpeg?picon=3655)
By: fishgirl182,
on 3/3/2014
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Hello! Wow February really is a short month.. I am not sure how it's already March but it is and with it come some really great book events. I don't know how many of these I (Thuy) will be able to make since a lot of them are in Redondo Beach or San Diego. Hopefully I can make the Holly Goldberg Sloan signing in Burbank though since it's right in my hood. We hope that you are able to get out to some of these events. As always, let me know if I've missed anything and I'll add it to the calendar. Happy reading!
Kasie West (Pivot Point) Shannon Messenger (Let The Sky Fall), Kiersten White (Mind Games)
Tuesday March 4, 2014 6pm
Barnes & Noble Oceanside
El Camino North Shopping Center
2615 Vista Way
Oceanside, CA 92054
Launch party for Words of RadianceTuesday March 4, 2014 7pmMysterious Galaxy
7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd Ste 302
San Diego, CA 92111-1040
event pageThis is a numbered event – numbers for the signing line are free with the purchase of
Words of Radiance from Mysterious Galaxy, starting March 4th at 10 AM when the book goes on sale. Come by the store or call us! Either way you will be covered for the event.
Brandon SandersonWords of RadianceWednesday March 5, 2014 7pmBarnes & Noble Huntington Beach
Bella Terra, 7881 Edinger Ave. #110
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
714-897-8781
event pageHolly Goldberg SloanI'll Be There, Counting by SevensThursday March 6, 2014 7pmBurbank Buena Vista Library Branch
300 N. Buena Vista St.
Burbank, CA
818.238.5620
www.yathinkbpl.blogspot.comLAPL Teen Reading Author Reading SeriesMaria E Andreu, Elana K Arnold, Scott Bly, Risa Green, Francis Sackett and host Edith CohnSaturday March 15, 2014Playa Vista Branch, Los Angeles Public Library6400 Playa Vista Drive
Playa Vista, California 90094
events pageLauren Oliver PanicSunday March 9, 2014 2pmBarnes & Noble
The Grove at Farmers Market
189 The Grove Drive Suite K 30
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-525-0270
event pageShannon Messenger Let The Storm Break(with guest host
Kristen Kittscher)
March 13, 2014 7pmMysterious Galaxy
7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
Ste 302
San Diego, CA 92111-1040
event pageDan Wells & Robison Wells(Ruins, Blackout)
Wednesday March 19, 2014 7pm
Mysterious Galaxy
7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
Ste 302
San Diego, CA 92111-1040
Brandon Mull
The Five Kingdoms
Wednesday March 26, 2014 7pm
Once Upon a Time Bookstore
2207 Honolulu Ave / cross street Verdugo Rd
Montrose, California 91020
event pageJonathan MaberryCode ZeroSunday March 30, 2014 2:30pmMysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach
2810 Artesia Boulevard
Gabrielle DouglasRaising the BarMonday May 06, 2013 7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
The Americana at Brand
210 Americana Way
Glendale, CA 91210
event page |
purchase from bn.com Special InstructionsThis will be a wristbanded event. Wristbands will be distributed with purchase of Raising the Bar starting on May 6 at 9:00 am. She will not be signing any other memorabilia.
About the authorGabrielle Douglas is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she made history, becoming the first US gymnast to take home a team and an individual gold medal in the same Olympics.
Gabrielle began her training at age six, and became the Virginia State Champion only two years later. When she was fourteen, she left her family in Virginia Beach to train with coach Liang Chow in Des Moines, Iowa. Under Chow's guidance, and with tremendous faith in God's plan for her, Gabrielle competed in the Olympic Trials and walked away with the only guaranteed spot on the team. Since her Olympic triumph, Gabrielle has used her platform to inspire millions with a powerful message: With hard work and persistence, any dream is possible.
Visit her online at www.gabrielledouglas.com
So I don't know if you know this about me, but I love gymnastics. I don't follow it as closely nowadays (the drama gets to me--ick, drama!) as I used to when I was 12 and still trying to do cartwheels in the back yard. However, I still admire and aspire to the kind of discipline and dedication that gymnasts (like my cousin Tash, who is a
member of the cheer team
Team Pilipinas Coed) need to keep their minds and bodies in shape.
I'll be giving away a signed copy of Gabby's book to a lucky winner in the US or Canada. Good luck!
Giveaway Rules:
- Open to US/Canada only.
- We are not responsible for items lost in the mail.
- One set of entries per household, please.
- If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address.
- Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends.
- Winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner.
- If you have any questions, feel free to email us. You can review our full contest policy here.
- PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY PERSONAL INFO IN THE COMMENTS. Sorry for the caps but we always get people leaving their email in the comments. Rafflecopter will collect all that without having personal info in the comments for all the world (and spambots) to find.
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Hello, everyone. Today I have a recap of a surprise author event. I say surprise because my friends and I went down to
Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach this weekend to do some shopping and realized when we got there that Mindee Arnett, author of
The Nightmare Affair, was signing there that afternoon. Awesome surprise since I have been wanting to read her book. Luckily we arrived about 20 minutes before the signing started and had time to grab coffee and books before settling in to hear Mindee talk.
Mindee began by telling us that writing a book is a little bit like having a baby. You give birth to something that you love and it takes quite a long time. Weight gain is acceptable. Mindee said that she thinks the number of people you are eating for as a writer is proportionate to how many characters are in your book. Then she said she was glad she didn't write
Game of Thrones, cause you have seen George R.R. Martin lately (total joke)?
Then Mindy read a bit from the first chapter of the book which sounded really fun. After that she opened it up to questions from the audience.
When asked about her inspiration for the book, Mindee said that she had been doing research one day and came across the painting
The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli. It depicts a woman laying on a bed (presumably having a nightmare) with a demon figure sitting on her chest as she dreams. Mindee began to wonder what it would be like if, instead of a demon, it was a normal looking girl. Then she thought what a crappy job would be...and Dusty was born.
Last book read? Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo (OMG so jealous!)
What is the editing process like for you? Mindee says that she is a natural "taker-outer" writer, meaning she tends to edit and cut a lot of things out herself. So her editing notes usually tell her to expand on an idea or scene more instead of cutting things out. She said that her notes for The Nightmare Affair were short and to the point - more magic and more romance.
Mindee believes that editing is a collaborative process and doesn't mind when she's asked to make changes. The editor is the outside view and, unless the changes are really against what she believes is right for the book, she will usually make them. She then told a funny story about how her (young) editor thought that she should remove a reference to Freddy Kreuger and
A Nightmare on Elm Street since she had not heard of it and thought other readers might not be familiar with the reference either. However, after speaking with a few other editors and friends, was told that the Freddy reference was totally relevant and would be a cool addition. (Side note to say that Freddy used to scare the crap out of me as a kid. I mean, you can't sleep or he'll get you. Terrifying.)
Did you do any research on dreams or nightmares when writing this book? Mindee says that she loves research. While she did not to a lot of specific research on nightmares, she did research the meanings of names and a lot of folklore and legends. Each book in the Arkwell Academy series will be based on a folk tale.
Why do you think series are so popular, particularly in YA? Mindee said she wasn't sure why series were so popular and prevalent in YA. But she did have a theory that maybe teens are more obsessive in nature, which is why they are more attracted to series. They want more of what they love. Sci fi and fantasy also tend to go the series route. She thinks this is because the writer takes so much time building a world and they just want to live in it for a while.
Favorite and/or authors who influenced you? Laini Taylor, Maggie Stiefvater, Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, Frank L Baum, Stephen King, Jennifer Roberson, Mercedes Lackey
Are those streaks in your hair? (asked by an adorable teen) Yes! The streaks are fake and removable, which you can have with long hair. Mindee had in reddish streaks but noted that her press pic has blue streaks.
Mindee is super fun so definitely go see her if you can. Thanks to Mindee and Mysterious Galaxy for turning our trip to the bookstore into a special event. Sweet dreams (or nightmares), everyone!
By: alethea aka frootjoos,
on 2/4/2013
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So, I was a little breathless this morning. Lita from Barnes & Noble - The Grove in Los Angeles asked me to moderate the Breathless Reads panel. As soon as my husband committed to giving me a ride over, I said yes, yes, YES!
I hope you'll join us!
Date:
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Time:
2:00 pm
Location:
Barnes & Noble at The Grove
189 Grove Dr K 30
Los Angeles, CA 90036 [
MAP ]
323-525-0270
By: fishgirl182,
on 8/24/2012
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 |
| raffle table |
Hello. friends! Last week I was able to go to the Girls' Nightmare Out Tour with
Kendare Blake (
Girl of Nightmares),
Marta Acosta (
Dark Companion) and
Lisa Desrochers (
Personal Demons) that was hosted by
Mrs. Nelson's Books. I always love going to Mrs. Nelson's because they have a great selection of books and the staff is always super nice. I left pretty early for this event because it's not very close to my house. I made good time and got there about half an hour early. It gave me some time to check out the decor of the store.
 |
| lovely display |
Then the authors arrived and the panel started. Each of them started out saying a bit about their books. Marta Acosta wrote Dark Companion as an homage to Jane Eyre. She was inspired by Jane's strength and perseverance. Kednare Blake said that though Anna is the catalyst in her books, the journey is for Cas. Lisa Desrochers said that she had a lot of fun writing a book about an angel and a demon named Lucifer and Gabriel. She wanted to use the obvious names because, if someone named Lucifer told you he was a demon, would you believe him?
 |
| contemplating their answers |
When asked whether any of them had ever had any backlash for their books, all of them answered in the affirmative. Lisa said that she's been criticized for many things in her books. She said that people criticized her for letting her heroine kiss both an angel and a demon. She has also been criticized for giving her a heroine the power over both heaven and hell. Her books have been called cliched, but Lisa doesn't mind and has lots of fun playing with those cliches. Kendare has been called both anti-feminist and racist (whoa!). Marta says that people have told her that her heroine is a terrible role model. But Marta said that Jane isn't meant to be a role model. She's a real teenager who isn't perfect and makes mistakes.
Asked which character they liked writing best:
Marta: Mary Violet
Kendare: She knows Cas best but has the most fun writing Thomas.
Lisa: Grandpa
Then it was raffle time!
 |
| sadly, i did not win. |
 |
| haha - authors with the raffle winners. |
I had a really fun time. Thank you, Mrs. Nelson's for another wonderful event. If you want to see a few more pics, feel free to visit our
Facebook album for the event.
And since we love you, dear readers, we're going to give you a chance to win and ARC of Dark Companion signed by Marta Acosta. I will also throw in some really cool iPhone decals of each author's books. I am too lazy to take a pic but you can kind of see them in the raffle table pic at the top of this post.
Rules:- No purchase necessary. None of the entries are mandatory, but you have to do at least one to enter.
- Open to people with mailing addresses in the United States and Canada.
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- If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address.
- Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget after the end of the day on July 31, 2012.
- Winner(s) will be contacted by email within 24 hours after the giveaway ends.
- Check out our Policies page if you have any more questions or feel free to shoot us an email - [email protected].
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By: fishgirl182,
on 6/13/2012
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Hello again! I hope everyone is having a great week. Today I am going to recap that awesome event that was the first tour stop of the Fierce Reads Tour. We were lucky enough to be able to attend the kickoff at Mrs. Nelson's over in La Verne. The store is quite a bit of a trek but it's so worth it. The store is seriously stocked with all kinds of children's, MG, and YA magic. I wanted to buy at least half the store and only managed to refrain slightly.
So we showed up and the store had a whole wall dedicated to the tour. Books from all 6 authors (Anna Banks, Emmy Laybourne. Jessica Brody, Marissa Meyer, Leigh Bardugo and Jennifer Bosworth) filled the walls.
We sat way in the back like the troublemakers that we are. :) The picture above was early on and it filled up considerably before the panel started. Let me just say right now that this is probably going to be mainly a recap told with pictures because, bad blogger, I didn't take any notes and I can't remember too much of what was said. Needless to say though, it was highly entertaining and fun.
Guess what finally came out this week? You guessed it - Shadow and Bone! I've been waiting all year for this book to come out and I finally have it in my hands (insert evil laugh here). Alethea and I are lucky enough to live pretty close to
Skylight Books where Leigh had her launch party on Monday night.
We arrived pretty early which was lucky because it got packed. Skylight did a fantastic job of organizing the party. Attendees were greeted at the door by a lovely candy and champagne table. There were all kinds of tasty treats including chocolate kisses, Jordan almonds, gumballs and cake pops. As you can see below, the tablescape was beautiful as well. We didn't get to eat too many snacks since we were staking out seats and later the food area was super crowded. But everyone else seemed to be enjoying their candy and champagne and it looked wonderful.
 |
| dreamy tablescape |
 |
| all kinds of candy |
 |
alethea wants to live under this tree
|
After some mingling and hanging out the event officially started. Leigh got up and talked about the book. She actually started off with a story about how she found part of a book that she had written when she was in junior high. It was about two fraternal twins, Jareth (sorry I don't know if I am spelling that right) and Blood. Of course, with a name like Blood, the girl could only be an assassin. Leigh talked about how Blood was a badass and how that's what she wanted to be like at that age. She also talked about her writing process and how she had to kind of trick herself into writing the book. She had that nagging inner voice telling her that the book wasn't any good and she agreed with the voice, telling it that she was just writing it for fun
By: alethea aka frootjoos,
on 5/26/2012
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Who: Marissa Meyer, author of Cinder
What: We'll attend the signing at 7 and then congregate next door at
Rocky Cola Cafe for munchies. They are open til 10 pm and have great diner food!
RSVP: You don't have to RSVP but we highly recommend that you reserve your copy before May 31 if you are going to buy one*. I'm calling on them tomorrow to make sure they hold me a copy! Call 818-248-9668 to reserve.
*If you already have a copy of Cinder, you will need to at least make a purchase to get a signing line ticket. Once Upon a Time is a local indie bookstore, and in order to stay in business as well as continue to provide you chances to meet your favorite big-name authors from around the country, they need to sell some books!
Contest: The bookstore is also having a contest--bring your best Cinder shoe and you could win a gift card!
Ok, RSVP: I DO kinda want to know if anyone's coming, so leave a comment below :D or email frootjoos at gmail dot com
Please help spread the word on
Hello, everyone! I had a really fun book event the other day at my very own local library.
Burbank Public Library hosted
Maggie Stiefvater Wolves of Mercy Falls series,
Scorpio Races) and
Corey Whaley (
Where Things Come Back) for a talk on April 23, 2012. I've seen Maggie several times before but this was my first time seeing Corey whose book,
Where Things Come Back, I've been dying to read. Both came to talk about their new books, read an excerpt and then answer questions from the audience.
Maggie started the night off with a brief intro and read a passage from
The Scorpio Races. Maggie said that she had always wanted to write a story about the mythical water horses that she had read about when she was a child. The story was of a beautiful but also deadly creature. The original myth was very strange and had all of these weird rules for the horses and it wasn't until she realized that she could get rid of the parts of the story that she didn't like was she able to finally write the story. She also likened her book to
Top Gun but then said her editor didn't like that and switched to say that her book was like My Little Pony/Jurassic Park.
Corey read a bit from his book and then told us about how he had always wanted to write a coming of age story. He had written for awhile but he never felt like he had the right story to tell. One day in college he was driving and listening to NPR when a story came on about musician Sufjan Stevens. The story was about how Stevens wrote a song about an ivory-billed woodpecker after hearing about this rare bird being spotted in a small town. The town was all but dead but, after the sighting, people started to flock there in the hopes of spotting the bird. Corey realized that this town would be a great setting for his book and that's when the seeds of Where Things Come Back came from.
On naming characters:
Corey was actually in his car when he came to a fork in the road leading in two directions to two different towns. The signs were close together and the names of the towns seemed like a fitting name and that name became the first character in his book. Later on, on a trip to his hometown he passed another small town whose name he also appropriated for his book. Then he decided to keep up the pattern and pulled the names of town from all over Arkansas and Louisiana and made names from those towns. One character, who is an outsider, did not get a town name.
Maggie said that she believes that a character's name is a reader's first impression of them. Take any name and, when you hear it, you have an idea of that person. She thinks that people
Last week I was lucky enough to make it the the Dark Days Event at Vroman's Bookstore. I got there about 15 minutes early and there was already a small crowd. I bought my books and waited for the fun to start. Lauren Oliver (Delirium, Pandemonium), Claudia Gray (Evernight series, Fateful) and Dan Wells (Partials) all came to talk about their new releases and answer questions from the crowd. I thought this was a really great event. The authors were well spoken, smart, and very funny. I may have bought too many books. :)
I am terrible at taking notes but here are some topics that were touched upon and what the authors had to say about them. (and this is all from memory so please don't quote me on this)
 |
| l to r: lauren oliver, claudia gray, dan wells |
Cliffangers (This question was directed to all the authors with a special nod to Lauren)
Lauren Oliver (LO): Lauren said that she doesn't plan for her books to be cliffhangers but that sometimes it's just the way the story needs to be told. She also said that a writer's job was to pose a question to the reader that only the writer could answer. Maybe that question would be answered in the next chapter and another question raised, and so on, so that the reader wants to keep reading
Claudia Gray (CG): Claudia talked about an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation she watched when she was younger before cliffhangers were popular in television. She talked about how she and all her friends gathered to watch it and were shocked by the cliffhanger ending. She said that it was hard waiting for the next season's episode but that the experience is one that she would not trade for anything.
Dan Wells (DW): Why is every episode of a television show now a cliffhanger? Because it works! Cliffhangers get readers to come back for more:
How do you write a good romance?
LO: Writing a good romance i
We're back with another event recap. It seems like we've been going to a lot of events lately and we love it! Authors, please come to Los Angeles. We love you and will come see you. :)
Last Saturday
Children's Book World hosted
Sara Wilson Etienne's book release party for
Harbinger. Alethea will be able to tell you that I've been waiting for this book to come out. I don't know what it was, but something about it just called to me and I've been waiting for baited breath for its release.
We arrived just in time and the store was packed. Lots of people showed up for the event. There was a good group of YA authors in attendance including
Gretchen McNeil and
Jessica Brody. I saw a few other familiar faces though I couldn't place them. Alethea also ran into
Kazu Kibuishi at the store who was there with his family hanging out and signing
Amulet for the store. This was my first time at Children's Book World and I have to say that it was awesome. I really wish it was closer to my house because I would be going there a whole lot. When we got there the first thing I did was get in line to buy my own copy of
Harbinger! Yay! Then we all filed into the smaller side room to hear Sara talk a bit about her book.
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| the crowd |
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| the setup |
Note from Alethea--you can't see from the photos, but it was *packed* in that room--I couldn't even get inside. I
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I totally had no idea you were into gymnastics. I suck at that stuff mut admire those who can do it.
I do enjoy watching gymnastics and other sports on television, but the other aspects of the book are also interesting. Thanks for the giveaway.
I love the Olympics and Gabby is just adorable. I was so happy she did so well.
Yes we follow gymnastics during the olympics