Meeting Shannon Hale and Libba Bray was only the beginning of my Seattle fun! I also was so blessed to be able to celebrate my 17th birthday while there. I hosted a little party, and in attendence were: Three readergirlz divas (Janet Lee Carey, Dia Calhoun, Lorie Ann Grover), Holly Cupala, Jackie, Ellen and Emily (Lorie Ann's daughters) my aunt, my grandma and my mom.
The party was a blast! There were lots of fun games (you can read about one game over at Holly's blog)....
And lots of laughing....
One readergirlz diva, Justina Chen Headley, was out of town, and therefore unable to attend. However, Lorie Ann dialed her up on her cell and I was able to talk to her! That was very cool and happymaking.
Janet is bold and funny....
Lorie Ann is just wonderful....
Dia is so sweet....
I also performed a couple of Wicked (the musical) songs for them, including "For Good". Which made everyone (including myself...didn't know if I could make it through, for a sec) choked up, but in a good way.
It was a very special day, and I'm so thankful to have been able to finally meet these amazing mentors and friends!
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By: Erin,
on 2/17/2008
Blog: Miss Erin (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: holly cupala, meeting authors, lorie ann grover, readergirlz, janet lee carey, dia calhoun, meeting authors, holly cupala, Add a tag
By: Erin,
on 1/28/2008
Blog: Miss Erin (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: libba bray, shannon hale, meeting authors, liz gallagher, Add a tag
At one point Shannon pulled out a l-o-n-g (I wish you could see how far it reached) line of laminated rejection letters. She mentioned this obscure magazine in a small town in Idaho who rejected her. Well, of course the small town was my town. Holly spoke up and said that two of the audience members (my mom and I) were from said town. Shannon asked us if we'd heard of the magazine, and we shook our heads, Nope!
They closed with a musical number. I was one of the backup dancers. Here I am, laughing really, really hard:
I didn't get in line right away, because I wanted to stay towards the end so I could talk longer. When I did eventually get in line though, I heard my mom talking to two ladies behind me. I turned and saw the book The Opposite of Invisible, which I haven't read but had heard about through the Class of 2k8. Something that I'd vaguely heard them say made me ask one of the ladies, "Do you know the author of that book?" "I am the author," she replied. So, that was way cool! Here then is Liz Gallagher and me:
I had A Great and Terrible Beauty signed by Libba. I was able to talk to her for a good bit, which was a blast as she is completely funny, intelligent, and even shared some of her writing process with me.
Here we are. Libba is holding a box of Swedish Fish.
Then I moved on to Shannon Hale. I set my books down on the table in front of her, and told her who I was. She said, "SHUT. UP."
Oh my goodness. She knew who I was. I mean, yeah, I interviewed her last fall, but she's so famous I just didn't think. . . .
She turned to Libba and said, "Do you know who this is?!" Upon which Libba offered me the aforementioned box of Swedish Fish, in an attempt to "get on my good side."
Shannon gave me lots of hugs. She said lots of lovely, kind things to me. She is the most wonderful person I have ever met.
She even asked if she could get a picture with me. I said, "Yes please!"
We attempted several pictures before she said, "You know what, I'm gonna pick you up!" So she did.
Here I am with my hero:
I was in complete heaven. I had a blissful blast talking to her.
Afterward, as Shannon finished signing some books, I barged over to where Libba was sitting at a table eating sushi. I asked if I could sit and talk to her, and of course she said yes, sweet and foxy lady that she is. Jackie joined us, too. Again, Libba was such fun to talk to, especially when she brought up creating characters and how that's the great thing about acting (she has a theater background!) and writing. I even made her laugh at one point, which was cool since she's so funny. As soon as she was free, Shannon came and joined us:
The evening didn't go at all like I thought it would in my head. It went so much better than my wildest dreams! I didn't think it was possible, but Shannon is a million times more a hero to me now then she already was. And look--she posted a couple pics of us on her blog!
By: Erin,
on 1/24/2008
Blog: Miss Erin (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: libba bray, shannon hale, meeting authors, Add a tag
By: Jennie,
on 12/27/2007
Blog: Biblio File (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Rosie Rushton, Polly Shulman, Jane Austen, YA, Fiction, chicklit, Jane Austen, Rosie Rushton, Polly Shulman, Add a tag
Enthusiasm Polly Shulman
Julie's best friend, Ashleigh, is an enthusiast. When she becomes interested in something, it goes a little overboard. So, when Ashleigh decides to become obsessed with Jane Austen? Julie sees her high school career ending up in the toilet. Ashleigh is speaking rather properly now and refuses to "bare her lower extremities" aka show her ankles. Or wear trousers. Oiy.
To top it off, in order to find her own Mr. Darcy, Ashleigh has decided to crash the fall formal of the snooty boys school up the road. Not only does Julie thinks this is an awful idea, she can't help but wonder why Ashleigh gets Darcy and she's stuck with the perfectly fine, but a bit boring, Mr. Bingley.
Of course, at the dance, they both find Mr. Right and an unfortunate communication error means Ashleigh claims him first. Ashleigh would never move in on a guy Julie likes, so Julie stays mum, her heart breaking.
Meanwhile there is the school musical, other friends, extra-curriculars, a boy who can't take a hint, mysterious poetry, and messed up step-families.
NOT a Jane Austen wannabe, but a fun romantic romp about friendship, high school, and boys, and an overbearing best friend whose heart is completely in the right place.
A big thank you to Tiny Little Librarian for the recommendation!
One that was not done so well is
The Dashwood Sisters' Secrets of Love Rosie Rushton
This is a retelling of Sense and Sensibility set in modern day England
It was light and airy and fun, but not nearly as lovely as the original. I think I would have liked it more if I wasn't familiar with the source material.
Now, I like some remakes... Clueless was a wonderful look at Emma. It made fun of itself.
Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason? Really well thought out and hilarious takes on Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion (the worst part about the movies was that they stripped out a lot of the parallels.)
The adaptions that work work because (a) They know what they are and are able to stretch the story within those confines (b) Are hysterical. They also, in their own way, (c) Retained a bit of the subtle commentary on society.
Dashwood Sisters' Secrets of Love is lukewarm. It is so strictly worried about faithfulness to the original material that it doesn't add anything to the story. If you're not going to add, then why retell?
If you've never read Sense and Sensibility then this would be a fine, if not memorable, teenage brit chick lit about girls dealing with divorce, a new town, and boys. It strips away the commentary.
Read the original. Skip this. Unless, you have to read Sense and Sensibility for school and totally don't understand it and have access to this and not access to the movie. This book won't help you pass the test, but if you read it first and then go back to the Austen, you might understand the basic plot of the Austen a little more.
Oh, and completely unrelated, here's a great site for wasting some time and learning your geography-- check out all the challenges.
By: Lois Toureen,
on 6/16/2007
Blog: Simply Simplistic (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: meeting authors, Add a tag
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Rosie Rushton, Most Recent at Top [Help]
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By: Erin,
on 2/17/2008
Blog: Miss Erin (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: holly cupala, meeting authors, lorie ann grover, readergirlz, janet lee carey, dia calhoun, meeting authors, holly cupala, Add a tag
23 Comments on Readergirlz par-tay!, last added: 3/12/2008
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By: Erin,
on 1/28/2008
Blog: Miss Erin (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: libba bray, shannon hale, meeting authors, liz gallagher, Add a tag
One thing that surprised me right off the bat was how HILARIOUS these two ladies are together. Talk about comedic timing and improvising. I laughed loads listening to them.
At one point Shannon pulled out a l-o-n-g (I wish you could see how far it reached) line of laminated rejection letters. She mentioned this obscure magazine in a small town in Idaho who rejected her. Well, of course the small town was my town. Holly spoke up and said that two of the audience members (my mom and I) were from said town. Shannon asked us if we'd heard of the magazine, and we shook our heads, Nope!
They closed with a musical number. I was one of the backup dancers. Here I am, laughing really, really hard:
I didn't get in line right away, because I wanted to stay towards the end so I could talk longer. When I did eventually get in line though, I heard my mom talking to two ladies behind me. I turned and saw the book The Opposite of Invisible, which I haven't read but had heard about through the Class of 2k8. Something that I'd vaguely heard them say made me ask one of the ladies, "Do you know the author of that book?" "I am the author," she replied. So, that was way cool! Here then is Liz Gallagher and me:
I had A Great and Terrible Beauty signed by Libba. I was able to talk to her for a good bit, which was a blast as she is completely funny, intelligent, and even shared some of her writing process with me.
Here we are. Libba is holding a box of Swedish Fish.
Then I moved on to Shannon Hale. I set my books down on the table in front of her, and told her who I was. She said, "SHUT. UP."Oh my goodness. She knew who I was. I mean, yeah, I interviewed her last fall, but she's so famous I just didn't think. . . .
She turned to Libba and said, "Do you know who this is?!" Upon which Libba offered me the aforementioned box of Swedish Fish, in an attempt to "get on my good side."Shannon gave me lots of hugs. She said lots of lovely, kind things to me. She is the most wonderful person I have ever met.
She even asked if she could get a picture with me. I said, "Yes please!"
We attempted several pictures before she said, "You know what, I'm gonna pick you up!" So she did.
Here I am with my hero:
I was in complete heaven. I had a blissful blast talking to her.Afterward, as Shannon finished signing some books, I barged over to where Libba was sitting at a table eating sushi. I asked if I could sit and talk to her, and of course she said yes, sweet and foxy lady that she is. Jackie joined us, too. Again, Libba was such fun to talk to, especially when she brought up creating characters and how that's the great thing about acting (she has a theater background!) and writing. I even made her laugh at one point, which was cool since she's so funny. As soon as she was free, Shannon came and joined us:
The evening didn't go at all like I thought it would in my head. It went so much better than my wildest dreams! I didn't think it was possible, but Shannon is a million times more a hero to me now then she already was. And look--she posted a couple pics of us on her blog!
3 Comments on "Did you ever know that you're my hero?", last added: 1/28/2008
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By: Erin,
on 1/24/2008
Blog: Miss Erin (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: libba bray, shannon hale, meeting authors, Add a tag
I have returned from attending two (in a row) Shannon Hale and Libba Bray talks/signings. All I can say is, this was one of the most incredible days of my entire life, and I literally ache with happiness right now. Ache.
Amazing, exciting, thrilling, unexpected, wonderful, lovely, tearful, laughing till my side hurts. I will always remember this day.
I still cannot comprehend how astonishingly marvelous it all was. I am so completely flooded by emotions I can hardly breathe.
0 Comments on No words. as of 1/25/2008 12:37:00 AM
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By: Jennie,
on 12/27/2007
Blog: Biblio File (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Rosie Rushton, Polly Shulman, Jane Austen, YA, Fiction, chicklit, Jane Austen, Rosie Rushton, Polly Shulman, Add a tag
So, this is all a Jane Austen-y post. But in YA land.
Did you know that Shannon Hale is having a Princess Contest? Time is running out (it's one of those things that require thinking and entries are due on Monday!) (This is totally relevant because she wrote the chocolate cake of book Austenland: A Novel which is NOT a Jane Austen wannabe book (so please, don't judge it as such) but a fun little romp about those of us with an unhealthy Jane obsession. Or rather, an unhealthy Colin Firth obsession.
Another fun book about unhealthy Jane obsessions?
Julie's best friend, Ashleigh, is an enthusiast. When she becomes interested in something, it goes a little overboard. So, when Ashleigh decides to become obsessed with Jane Austen? Julie sees her high school career ending up in the toilet. Ashleigh is speaking rather properly now and refuses to "bare her lower extremities" aka show her ankles. Or wear trousers. Oiy.
To top it off, in order to find her own Mr. Darcy, Ashleigh has decided to crash the fall formal of the snooty boys school up the road. Not only does Julie thinks this is an awful idea, she can't help but wonder why Ashleigh gets Darcy and she's stuck with the perfectly fine, but a bit boring, Mr. Bingley.
Of course, at the dance, they both find Mr. Right and an unfortunate communication error means Ashleigh claims him first. Ashleigh would never move in on a guy Julie likes, so Julie stays mum, her heart breaking.
Meanwhile there is the school musical, other friends, extra-curriculars, a boy who can't take a hint, mysterious poetry, and messed up step-families.
NOT a Jane Austen wannabe, but a fun romantic romp about friendship, high school, and boys, and an overbearing best friend whose heart is completely in the right place.
A big thank you to Tiny Little Librarian for the recommendation!
One that was not done so well is
This is a retelling of Sense and Sensibility set in modern day England
It was light and airy and fun, but not nearly as lovely as the original. I think I would have liked it more if I wasn't familiar with the source material.
Now, I like some remakes... Clueless was a wonderful look at Emma. It made fun of itself.
Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason? Really well thought out and hilarious takes on Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion (the worst part about the movies was that they stripped out a lot of the parallels.)
The adaptions that work work because (a) They know what they are and are able to stretch the story within those confines (b) Are hysterical. They also, in their own way, (c) Retained a bit of the subtle commentary on society.
Dashwood Sisters' Secrets of Love is lukewarm. It is so strictly worried about faithfulness to the original material that it doesn't add anything to the story. If you're not going to add, then why retell?
If you've never read Sense and Sensibility then this would be a fine, if not memorable, teenage brit chick lit about girls dealing with divorce, a new town, and boys. It strips away the commentary.
Read the original. Skip this. Unless, you have to read Sense and Sensibility for school and totally don't understand it and have access to this and not access to the movie. This book won't help you pass the test, but if you read it first and then go back to the Austen, you might understand the basic plot of the Austen a little more.
Oh, and completely unrelated, here's a great site for wasting some time and learning your geography-- check out all the challenges.
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By: Lois Toureen,
on 6/16/2007
Blog: Simply Simplistic (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: meeting authors, Add a tag
I met an author at work tonight. Her name is Gwendolyn Diaz. Her books can be found here.
She's the daughter of one of our residents. Life is funny sometimes.
It was a wonderful event, Miss Erin! Thank you for hosting us. We had such a great time. :~)
*hugs* Lorie Ann
I'm glad you had a fabulous birthday!
SCREAM!! The long awaited pictures! :) Looks like you had a blast, Erin!
LOVES!
What fun! Thanks for sharing the pictures :)
Wow, sounds like an amazing birthday! Great pictures. Heh. Dia looks exactly how I'd picture her.
Woah! I had no idea you were 17!
*grumbles* and you have all the luck. HOW do you get these things to happen?
I'm reading Dragon's Keep right now and I really like it. Just gonna pop that in there.
Happy Birthday! (quite late, I guess)
I'm with Enna Isilee. You have all the luck.
That's pretty awesome you could celebrate like that! I loved "On Pointe". Have you read it yet?
The party was a blast! So much fun and such a fabulous opportunity to meet Miss Erin!
xoDia
That looks like it was the best birthday ever!!!
I *heart* the Diva's and hope to someday be able to meet them too.
Happy *late* birthday Miss Erin :)
~Georgia (Gypsy Wings)
Oh. My. Goodness. I am impossibly jealous - but at the same time happy for you. That's awesome.
Thanks everyone. :) I am very blessed!
Sophie - yes I have! I loved it.
That's soooo cool! :D
What a wonderful way to celebrate your birthday. Happy Birthday!
Yay! :)
Wow, great pictures! Looks like you guys had tons of fun. :)
Woah, you're 17? You don't look it...
Maribeth Kayla - ;) I get told that all the time. Just last week I was told I looked like a 13 yr old.
Waah! I wish I had been there...but was SO happy to get the call from you!!!!
(BTW: it's a blessing to look young. Trust me, you'll be thrilled in another two decades. Hee!)
Looks like a blast!!
Justina: getting to talk to you was one of the highlights of my trip. I mean that. :)
I know, I know. I'm actually ok with it...cause I love playing teenagers when I act and this just means I'll get to do that for years to come!
Very fun!!
Laughing is always great :) And it sounds like everyone had an amazing time! :D