Monday, February 18, 2013

Author Event: Breathless Reads Tour 2013


Mrs. Nelson’s Bookstore in La Verne, CA on Monday, February 2013

Last week, I found myself hauling through rush hour traffic in Southern California to get to this amazing author event. It was rather closer to me, but when you live in SoCal, an 18 mile drive can take anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour. But, I'm going to see authors, so I'm not complaining. =}  Lucky for me, I had my book friend Rachel from The Readers Den save me a seat, which not only gave me a chance to catch up with her on our book gossip for the week, but also enjoy the event.

For this author event, I had the pleasure of attending The Breathless Reads Tour hosted by Penguin Books at Mrs. Nelson’s Bookstore in La Verne, California. I love this little quaint store, and I find myself visiting it quite often because no matter how big the author names, I can always count on an intimate setting where there’s plenty of opportunity for interaction with the authors.  


There were four awesome authors in the panel, including:
Jessica Khoury author of Origin, Marie Lu author of Legend, Brenna Yovanoff author of Paper Valentine, and Andrea Cremer author of Nightshade

There was an editor from a neighboring newspaper at the event that hosted the question and answer session of the event. I have to say, I loved her pre-selected questions because they gave me a TON of insight into this group of authors that ranged from influences to book crushes to advice for aspiring authors. So let me share with you what I learned.

Marie Lu
The authors were asked what were some of the unexpected challenges they face in writing that they never would have anticipated prior to entering this profession. Marie Lu mentioned how it surprises her that half of the year is spent not writing, but rather participating in author events and engaging in social media to spread the word about her books. She goes from a solitary situation to a social situation, which has been both fun and interesting. 

Andrea Cremer
They were then asked how trends and pop culture play a part in their writing and it seemed like the consensus was that it is always part of their subconscious but as Andrea Cremer put it, she tries not to let the issues “trump her story.” She did mention that music plays a significant part in her writing and she produces a playlist for her books.

Brenna Yovanoff
When the author panel was asked if they ever had an issue “reigning the story in” for the sake of their YA audience, I had to smile at Brenna Yovanoff’s honesty that her first drafts are always rather violent and the “reining in” happens at the editing stage. She refuses to reign in the emotional aspect of her stories because she feels they need to be authentic to her style. They did seem to be in agreement that today’s writing is not getting racier, but rather today’s authors are making an honest attempt to address current topics.  They feel their YA audience knows what’s real and what’s not, so the best approach is to be truthful in their writing because their readers seem to appreciate that.. for the most part.

One of my favorite questions of the night was if the panel could pick an author to have dinner with, who they would choose. My favorite response came from Andrea Cremer. She picked Neil Gaiman and went on to share her obsession that’s not really an obsession as far as she's concerned, ~emphatic nod~ but really she has an obsession over this man. I loved her animated approach to answering this question and my only advice to Neil Gaiman is if he bumps into her at the grocery store ~whispers~ it’s not accident. Just saying… J

Jessica Khoury
One of the final questions centered around advice to up and coming authors. I always enjoy this question as well, not because I’m a writer (which I’m not BTW), but it shows how authors have grown from their experience and what they hope to impart on the newbies. My favorite response came from Jessica Khoury who shared that as it’s always good to do plenty of reading and writing as part of your profession, it’s also important to put the pen down and engage in the real world where you can “have your own adventures” and visit new places. By building your repertoire of experiences… that’s where your story begins. Loved that piece of advice!!

As I mentioned, this event was well attended but still quite intimate, so it really allowed the readers to chat with the authors when the book signing began. At the beginning of the event, I received an event postcard, which I was able to get signed by all four attending authors. I will be including this author keepsake with my giveaway. So let me tell you about that.


So, I have to share that I had the pleasure of borrowing Rachel’s Prodigy book before it was released and read that fantastical book. I had no intention of getting another copy of the book for myself. However, as Rachel knows, I’m easily influenced and all she had to do was show me the pretty colors, beveled edges and gorgeous layout and I found myself running up to the register and buying myself a copy. Thanks Rachel, it looks pretty on my shelf. Good call! J 
For one lucky follower, I was able to get a copy of BOTH Legend AND Prodigy signed by Marie Lu as well as a copy of Paper Valentine signed by Brenna Yovanoff. One lucky WinterHaven follower will get all THREE books and the signed Author Keepsake card. Just fill out the rafflecopter and share a thoughtful comment of the event or about these authors/books. Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

34 comments:

  1. Wow, sounds like a lot of fun Arlene :D I love the fact that Brenna doesn't try and rein in the emotional side of the story because it definitely helps you relate to the characters!

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  2. How exciting is this? I got to meet a few authors through a few of these tours last year. It's always such a thrill! Sounds like so much fun!

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  3. I'm so jealous you got to meet those amazing authors! I've heard that Legend is amazing, but I haven't been able to get to that series myself. I really hope I can soon! Thanks for the giveaway :)

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  4. There aren't author events where I live. I can imagine it must be so fun to meet them and listen to their thoughts.

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  5. Author events are always so much fun. It's so nice to hear authors talk about their books.

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  6. Eeep! This is awesome!! We never get these type of signings here! We hardly get any. *sad face*

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  7. I was unable to attend The Breathless Reads tour even though it actually stopped in my state. Glad you had such a great time.
    Thanks for the chance!

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  8. I wish I had the chance to go! I'm glad you had a great time, although I'm quite jealous. :)

    Thanks for the amazing chance to win.

    Brandy @ A Little of the Book Life

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  9. Thanks for sharing! That looked like a blast :)

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  10. This is why I am so jealous of US readers. They get to take part in so many events I wish I could as well ;))
    Happy reading!

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  11. Thanks for the fantastic event commentary. I'm so sad that I can't make awesome events like this :( However, I normally order books to be signed by Authors and I think it's fantastic that Authors are touring together, it's perfect for all those attending as you can see a few of your fave Authors in one event :D

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  12. I love going to author events!! They're so bloody enlightening. I'm so jealous. Wish I could have been there.

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  13. Awsome the author event sound like alot of fun love the questios the gave the authors thanks for the givaway!

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  14. What a fun event! Thanks for sharing it with us and for the great giveaway!

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  15. Wow, thank you! I've never been to an author event :'( Maybe someday..

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  16. I would love to someday go to an author event. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  17. I want to go to an author signing so badly. Someday. *sigh* This is really awesome. Thank you for the giveaway!

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  18. I LOVED Legend- you're so lucky to have met Marie Lu and all the other authors! One day, I seriously wanna try going to an author signing! They sound like they're fun people- LOVE their answers! :)

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  19. This sounds like a lot of fun. I love Legend and it must have been great to meet Marie Lu!

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  20. Great pics!! It looked like it was a lot of fun.. thanks for the giveaway!!

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  21. I completely agree that a reader knows when an author is skirting an issue for the sake of being "clean." I love that more and more authors are actually dealing with real-life issues.

    Great post - I'm glad you got to sit down with these fabulous authors!

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  22. All these books sound amazing. I especially can't wait to read Prodigy!

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  23. What an amazing event, To meet all four authors must have been awesome! Thaks for sharing!

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  24. I love author events! It's so fun to meet everyone and then to listen to the authors talking about their works (if there's a panel). Thanks for the post. I wish I could have gone!

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  25. These events always sound like so much fun. But, they don't happen around here.

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  26. This sounds like an awesome event. Thanks for a giveaway of these wonderful books!

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  27. That is so awesome that you got the chance to meet all these wonderful authors! It seems like it was a really fun event =) Thanks for the giveaway!!

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  28. So jealous! I loved Legend so much! Still need to read Prodigy. Heard its amazing!

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  29. It's so great that you met so many authors! I'm so jealous cause i haven't met any authors.

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  30. How awesome that you got to meet so many great authors! I am so jealous. I have never been to a book signing but always have wanted to. Nobody ever comes here!

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  31. That's so great! Thank you for having this giveaway! You're so lucky to meet all those authors. :)

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  32. Love to meet the four authors! They're so great! :)

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  33. So awesome! I couldn't make it to any of the tour dates :( Great giveaway!

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