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
Joining Marie Lu for a discussion on the scary
side of YA literature was Margaret Stohl, Anna Carey and Kali Wallace. They all showed up dressed in their Halloween best. One of Lu’s fans dressed
as the character of The Young Elites, Adelina Amouteru. 
This event was filled with all sorts of fun moments including
a raffle of some of Marie Lu’s favorite things, as well as 10 ARC
giveaways of Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace, which Rachel was lucky enough to
win! Congrats Rachel! Also, there were authors in the audience including the writers of Illuminae, Amie Kaufmanand Jay Kristoff!
