Friday, October 14, 2011

Book Signing Fun

October 6, 2011


I had such a great time a book signing for Moira Young, Becca Fitzpatrick, and Elizabeth Miles. The only other book signing I've attended was for Christopher Paolini a few years ago with Ian. This one was all for me. I loved listening to the authors speak about themselves, their books, their writing process, etc. The ladies were so personable and engaging.

Elizabeth Miles, Becca Fitzpatrick, Moira Young


Becca Fitzpatrick was very sweet. I commented to her that I just started reading her books this week since I was unsure about the fallen angel bit. But I really like them so far. She and I spoke about how we both don't like scary books. She mentioned during her talk that the fallen angels in her book are more like mortals because she wanted them to have struggles like us and be able to redeem themselves. I like that.


Moira Young was such a confident presence. I loved her demeanor. I told her that Blood Red Road was one of my favorite books (what I meant was one of my favorite books this year but I was a little starstruck and left that out). She looked at me and said thank you and then said, "Haven't you read Wuthering Heights?" LOL, I felt a little silly and joked with her about that.


I felt a little bad that I didn't get Miles' book "Fury," but she described it as scary, and I'm a big wuss. Since it's going to be a trilogy, I think I'm safe to borrow it later or at least get some more reviews on it to see if it is nightmare material or not. If I read it later and like it, then I can buy the books later and attend her next signing.


October 13, 2011

I went to a book signing for Claudia Gray, Kiersten White, Anna Carey, and Amy Garvey. Ian accompanied me and we made a date of it. Ian read in the car on the way there. I thought he would read during the panel discussion, but he actually enjoyed listening to the authors speak about their books and answer questions from the audience. We had a great talk on the drive home about the writing process, outlining, etc. Ian said he enjoyed himself and would attend a book signing with me again. It was really great listening to the authors and meeting them, but Ian's response to the experience made the night even better. I wish I had a picture of Ian at the event, but he didn't want his picture taken with the authors. Oh well, maybe next time :)
Amy Garvey, Anna Carey, Claudia Gray, Kiersten White
Claudia Gray was a wealth of information and inspiration. I've not read her Evernight series, but after listening to her speak, I really want to. Plus, her Fateful book sounds so interesting, and it's not a series, which really appeals to me right now.
Claudia Gray


Kiersten White was super spunky, and came across close to how I imagine her character Evie comes across. She was full of energy, and makes her writing style sound like lots of fun.

Kiersten White


Amy Garvey is also an editor in addition to a writer, so she really brought a great additional perspective to the panel. It was interesting to hear her speak about her writing process, and how she came from writing Adult Romance to Young Adult books.

Anna Carey was really sweet and said she watched me during the discussion because I was encouraging (plus I was sitting right in the middle). Well, my goal while in the audience is to be encouraging to the speaker, so I'm glad I accomplished that. She was very sweet and brought a youthful energy to the discussion.

I've read a few of these books (White's, Fitzpatrick's, and Young's), and am looking very much forward to reading the other books from these fascinating authors. I also look forward to attending more of these signings. It is not only fun getting books signed, but truly the education is during the panel discussions. Hopefully Ian will be able to attend more events as well. Perhaps it will inspire his inner-author :)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Tween Book Club

Ian had a great book club meeting last night with his tween friends (ages 10-12 years, biys and girls). The book they discussed this month was: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg.


Ian really enjoyed reading this book. Our friend Renee was a great hostess who guided the discussion, but the great thing is that all the kids participated. The kids had a great time discussing the book and spending time with each other. It is quite refreshing to see kids this age enjoying literature and literary discussion. And, of course, at the end of the night, they ate ice cream and ran around the cul-de-sac, proving that they really are tweens.

One of the questions they discussed was whether or not they would bring their siblings along with them if they ran away like the kids in the book. Ian said he wouldn't bring either of his brothers - "Cole would panic and Bode would whine too much." One of Ian's friends said he would bring his sister because "she has all the cash." You can't really argue with honesty like that.