Last night I was lucky enough to have the pleasure of getting to go to one of these awesome events, with four really awesome authors. I had mentioned earlier this year about getting to be a moderator, but then a couple weeks ago the publicist said that they were sending someone on tour with them to be the moderator, so I didn't get to. :-( But the community resource manager at the bookstore where I work part-time, and that was hosting the event, still introduced me to the moderator, and she made sure to ask me for at least one question during the audience Q and A period. And honestly, she was such a bright, upbeat person, that she did a way better job than I would have anyway. It was fun meeting her though! They had the authors sit at a table up in front where they all answered questions from the moderator. Then they opened it up for a few audience questions. Then they moved all the authors to separate tables in the back of that part of the store, so that people could line up for the authors they wanted to see. Which makes sense when you saw Kiera Cass's line! While it was moving not too bad, by the time I got over to that line, I still ended up starting the line at the same place it seemed to have been ending for the whole time! It just kept getting filled back up as people moved through. I had to go ahead and buy a copy of Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong because even though I supposedly won a copy from Adventures in YA Publishing back on April 14th, I've not received it yet. Has anyone else won anything from them before? I'm just curious, because I've replied to the email twice now, and no one has responded. Guess maybe I'll just give the copy I won away on my blog, if I ever get it.
The lines were kind of long to wait in, but I figured it was good practice to get ready for BEA in 3 weeks! I mean 3 weeks from today, BEA will almost be half over for me!! So excited to go! I didn't take too many pictures last night, mostly just with the authors. So I'll share a group photo below, then one with each of the authors, and a picture of the book they were there promoting last night. First thing though, I hate how I look in every picture! I guess the good thing? Is that you can see just how excited (and nerdy) I was to meet them all. I'm guessing I look like this in every picture I take with authors.
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| L to R: Danielle Paige, Kimberly Derting, Kelley Armstrong, Kiera Cass, Me |
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Danielle Paige was really funny! She talked about actually knowing Al Roker, from working with him on a pilot for MTV, that wasn't picked up she said. It's really cool that she used to write for a soap opera. Not sure which one, although it was one that had a clone storyline, so maybe I can figure it out from that. When I see her at BEA in 3 weeks, I'm going to ask her that!!
Kelley Armstrong:
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I have to admit I've not read any of Kelley Armstrong's books before. But I know she is a very popular author, and there are some of hers that do look very good. This one is described as high fantasy, which is normally not my type of book. But, when she was describing what it was about, I'm so excited to read it now! She was very nice, and the reason why she writes the YA characters that she does, is because there weren't a lot of YA books available when she was a teen. And I remember that there didn't seem to be as many when I was younger either. I know I'm around the same age as Kiera Cass, wondering how close in age I am to Kelley Armstrong as well.
Kimberly Derting:
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I actually got to meet Kim Derting last May here in Kansas City at the Romantic Times Convention, and she remembered me! Yay! I had to shamefully admit that I still hadn't read The Body Finder yet, even though I'd gotten it signed by her last year. But, I have read The Taking, and loved it, you can read my review HERE. So now I know I must go back and read all her books! It was fun to hear her talk about how she always picked something for her characters to be good at that she wasn't. In this case, softball. In The Body Finder series, it was running.
And last, but certainly not least, the somewhat "star" of the show last night:
Kiera Cass:
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So, I think part of the reason Kiera Cass was the biggest "star" of the night, is the fact that she has just had the final book in such a popular series come out this week. And she was so funny! I loved listening to her talk, and at the beginning she laughed at something, or pointed at something, that was so random and she just seems like someone so much fun to hang out with. It was cool to hear her say that writing kissing scenes was so much fun, and that there are parts of her husband in both Prince Maxon and Aspen, so she just can't be Team either one! Since I had finished The One yesterday, and loved it so much, I had to bring her Milk Duds, something she mentioned in her little blurb at the back of the book had helped her get through the writing process. I would have brought her some Coke Zero as well, but she said that couldn't be brought on the plane, so it wouldn't be practical.
There were some really great things talked about last night. One thing I loved hearing was that these authors all see their stories as "movies" playing in their heads. Now they admitted that not all authors do, some hear it, or other ways, depending on their styles. Also, one of them mentioned that it wasn't good to base a character on yourself as the writer, because then when reviews talk about how boring or horrible that character is, it would be really hard to take those criticisms, because it would be like they were criticizing you! And that made me think, because my novel that I'm closest to finishing is kind of me as the main character. So, hmm. Now I have to think about changing it.
It was a great time, I think had by all!
