Armchair BEA Day 4: Beyond the Blog: Author Events!

Welcome back to Armchair BEA! If you're not sure what it's all about be sure to visit the Armchair BEA headquarters.

I don't have much desire to write outside of my blog & I don't currently monetize, so today's post is going to focus on a fun aspect of my blog.

While I could talk about Nostalgic Fridays (which is something I'm trying to bring back) or how my blog got its name (I love tattoos [I have 3] & books, so kind of not much to talk about there) I'm going to discuss the shenanigans of author events/signings.

I thoroughly enjoy collecting books that have been personalized at an author signing. Over the last 2.5 years I have attending at least a dozen events (some larger than others) & collected several autographed books. Although I am proud of these books & love them to death (they have their very own shelf on one of my bookcases), the most fun are the authors themselves. These people are what make it all worthwhile. Without their hard work & dedication to their craft & their fans' experiences, the book community just wouldn't be as wonderful as it is. On top of responding to comments on their Facebook, Twitter & blogs, these authors hit the road (sometimes in style & sometimes with very little fanfare) to visit with their fans.

For me, it's all about the stories they tell & the relationships that build. Yes it's nice to hear them read from their book or discuss their writing process, but for me the stories behind all that are the most important. Ally Condie remarked that she had a writing epiphany while trying to match up her sons' tiny socks. Any excuse not to do laundry is a good one, right? I have seen Maggie Stiefvater twice (once in Charlottesville, VA & once at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh). As stated in those articles, Maggie is hands down the best live author event ever. Her quirky sense of humor & hilarious tales (TSA woes & real-life wolves licking her face) leave you in awe of her writing talents. Even better was that on Maggie's last trip to Raleigh she was kind enough to take a picture with me and Loki (her gorgeous car) while telling me about all the things that had happened on the tour prior to that stop.

I find that I tend to forget that authors are just people. Incredibly talented & unbelievably kind people, but people none the less. They have this kind of celebrity aura surrounding them & a lot of people feel like they might be unreachable. I go to the author events to meet the real people, not just the feeling you get from blog posts, books, & interviews. In person is where the magic happens & I am drawn to the magic. The authors I have met are some of the most amusing & humble people I've had the pleasure to encounter. If you've never been to an event I highly recommend them!

Armchair BEA Day 3: Networking in Real Life - How to Get Your Book Fix

Welcome back to Armchair BEA! If you're not sure what it's all about be sure to visit the Armchair BEA headquarters.

Today we're discussing networking. I find this to be just a fancy word for interacting within your chosen community. In this case, we're talking about meeting & working with people in your bookish community. As it was part of my job, I am pretty good at working with groups & individuals to fulfill their bookish needs. Rather than bore you with some of my successful events, I'm going to tell you a few things I have learned along the way.

1. Befriend your bookseller, especially the indie stores. They can tell you what books are coming out when & even host some great events! I spent a great deal of time at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC for several events. They seemed to be in touch with a variety of authors & genres that appealed to all ages. Even better though was my book relationship with Sarah at Borders. She was a regular employ who was almost always the one ringing me out, so she kind of got to know my reading habits. We'd make small talk on slow nights & one day I came in to find books being held for me in case I was interested. I also got lots of promo/display items that were being tossed out & dozens of book recommendations. Find that person or that store in your area (I know it can be harder when you live in a small town, but making the drive for some great events is totally worth it!) & just start talking. You'll be amazed at how much you can learn!
2. Use your library! I know that sounds dumb, but they are so much more than a place to pick up and drop off books. Many libraries now have bookclub resources that vary from library-hosted bookclubs, kits with books & discussion guides for outside-the-library bookclubs & sometimes even meeting spaces. Does your library not own the book you want? Do you know about InterLibrary Loan (ILL)? Most (if not all) libraries have the ability to request certain items from other institutions. It's a way for book collections to be shared at a mutual benefit to both groups involved. Ask about this option the next time you want a slightly less popular title. Don't forget about the library's events too! While a lot of programs are aimed at getting the younger folks into reading, there are still some teen programs with prizes & even some adult programs with incentives.
3. Join Twitter! While many people have been tooting this for a long while, I was very skeptical & very resistant to getting on Twitter. I would see people tweeting & wonder what all the fuss was about. Finally I thought, "I'll give this a week. If after that I don't get it, then it's just not my cup of tea." It was such a relief to find it so simple & interesting. I am able to follow several of my favorite authors, businesses, & other bloggers. There are contests with authors & publishers, snippets from daily writings, & get some all around fun! A lot of my daily news comes from this source because it's just so easy to get the information out there. At times I do get frustrated because I can't keep up & I miss out on some things because I'm not attached to it, but that's part of the fun. It's constant & never dull.
4. Don't be afraid of interacting with strangers, in real life or online. I'm sure "Stranger Danger" is running through your mind right now, but I'm sure you all understand my meaning. A smile & comment in a waiting line can make all the difference. I've met other book bloggers (like the ever so lovely Vania, queen of the book trailers!), new friends & several lovely authors by simply being nice. You never know who you're going to meet or how awesome they can be if you don't at least try. A lot of time other people are just as nervous as you, but as social creatures we usually find something in common to bond over.
5. Finally, think outside the box. Can't get anything good at your library? What about a bookswap (wither locally or via one of the many online versions like Swap.com or PaperbackSwap.com)? Want to do a giveaway, but don't have a book? Why not team up with a seller on Etsy.com to giveaway something related to something bookish? Got a lot to say & think it'll take more than one post? Create a special week long event! There are no real rules, so have fun with it! I have done all of these things & the ideas came to me when I was running out of options. I LOVE partnering with other bloggers, artisans, & websites. My motto has always been, if you don't ask then the answer is always no. You never know what you might get in return either. Some of the Etsy artisans were even kind enough to give me a discount & work with me on designing something special for my giveaway.

There you have it folks! I've tried all these methods over time (as my confidence grew & I became more comfortable in my blogging role) when nothing but success. This list is by no means all encompassing, but it's a great start. Feel free to leave a comment talking about an experience that you've tried. I'm always on the lookout for ways to improve my book community experience!

Author Event: Maggie Stiefvater with Forever at Quail Ridge Books

In case y'all didn't know, Maggie Stiefvater's signings have got to be (hands down) one of the best live author events. Her antics & animation leave you with sore sides from laughing so hard.

It all started out innocently enough and then the vandalism began. :D Instead of standing behind the podium & using the microphone stand, Maggie moves it all out of the way & takes the mic in hand. Naturally, being a storyteller and all, she has to be moving around to effectively engage the audience. I'm sure the 7 hour car ride from Decatur also made for an energetic author.

Maggie told the audience a few anecdotal stories about how wolves have affected her life. She told about her nerve-racking experience of being stuck on a plane when she got the phone call about Linger being #1 on the NYT bestseller list. (A small PSA here: as per NASA, when they tell you turn off your electronic devices, it really is because it messes with the gauges in the plane. So TURN THEM OFF!) Then she told us about a group in Minnesota that traps, tracks & monitors wolves. This is where she got a few ideas that come out in Forever.

Even more awesome though was when she was on world tour in Hungary (a phrase she never gets tired of saying) and got to meet Zoltan the wolf man (an animal trainer specializing in wolves) and his furry friends. They provided her with 2 raincoats & purple galoshes... with ducks on them. If you've never meet Maggie, you might not know that she's the kind of gal who wears work boots & black clothes. A lot. So ducks aren't exactly her thing. Back to the story, Zoltan asks Maggie if she's ever heard a wolf howl up close, naturally being from Virginia she had not, and so Zoltan the wolf man got the wolves to howl. Each member of the pack chose 1 single note to howl & they sounded like a choir in harmony. There was something so primal about it, that while Maggie was not scared, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up & there was a nasty little voice whispering that she was going to die. Of course she didn't, but the experience was profound nonetheless.

Then we moved into the q & a where people asked a lot of really great questions about her writing style, the Shiver movie, & her best & most interesting moments as an author. Quick & dirty:

• Shiver has been optioned for a movie, there is a screenplay & a director, but Maggie is not involved in any way, shape or form & has no more information than that.
• She enjoys writing from multiple points of views (mainly different characters) because she feels like she can write a better story when we can see everything for different angles. It also allows her to use the character that will move the action forward the fastest.
• Her best moment was when she realized that the kindness she had shown to a foster facility really had impacted at least one of the kids in a really positive way because he was writing an English paper about it & his teacher was contacting Maggie to get some details.
• The most unique & interesting thing that has happened to Maggie on tour was in Bulgaria. The last event she was attending turned out to be a masquerade ball & they presented her with Bulgarian bagpipes... and asked her to play them. (For those of you who might not know, Maggie played the Scottish bagpipes competitively in college. It's a good thing she tells the truth on her blog, because she never really knows what may come from it.) She succeeded & ended up having a mosh pit moshing to her notes.

After all was said and done, we formed our line to get our stuff signed. I even hung out afterwards to get a picture of Maggie with Loki. It was the best signing I've been to in a long while. Not that they're not all fun, but this was just exceptional. Thanks Maggie for coming to Raleigh!

Breathless Reads Author Visit

5 YA Authors, several bloggers & some seriously amazing books!

On Friday, February 25th I was fortunate enough to be in Raleigh at the Breathless Reads book tour stop at the always fabulous Quail Ridge Books & Music. This was the final stop in the tour & as such, several bloggers from all over showed up to attend the fabulous talk & signing. Unfortunately my iPhone didn't seem to record any of the discussion (I am not pleased & have since fixed the bug), so I only have marginal notes.

What I know for certain & don't need a recording to tell me is that these women are fun, creative, disciplined, & inspiring. They ranged from first time authors, to seasoned pros & from school teachers to mothers. They hold many titles & responsibilities, but the main thing they have in common is their incredible ability to spin a magnificent tale.

There was a teacher & assistant from a local school who read off questions that the authors answered in rounds. There were so many things being asked from "how many books did you have to submit before being published & what advice do you have for aspiring writers?" to "what is your main character's favorite book?" Since I don't have all the answers to all the questions, I will highlight some that stood out to me.

• Nightshade's main character Calla's favorite book is Watership Down.
• Beth Revis finds adult books boring & predictable. YA books are so intense & fulfilling because they are filled with the characters' "firsts." First heartbreak, first personal challenge, first kiss, etc.
• All the authors seem to either write what they know (so write characters like themselves) or they write the opposite of what they know (penning characters who are the antithesis of themselves). Not to mention, be wary of having crossed these ladies, you may end up in one of their books & not in a happy way.
• These ladies also enjoy writing their love scenes. Some find that first kiss the hardest thing to write, while others find the tension the best part of writing the love story. They find themselves falling in love with the relationship as it pours out on the pages.
• Author specific information:

1. Andrea Cremer is a jigsaw writer because she writes based on what's inspiring her. There is no real rhyme or reason to the order. She wants to write a classic, noire, detective novel. It's a dream of her's because she just loves the feel of the style.
   
2. Kirsten Miller is a beginning to end writer. She may go back & fix things, but she has to write the story in the order that it happens. Kirsten either loves or hates (my brain is failing me) horror & really wishes she could write a good horror novel. She's currently working on a futuristic/dystopic, noire YA novel.
   
3. Brenna Yovanoff is a jumpy writer. She jumps for scene to scene & even leaves gaps in the middle of sentences so that she can go back & find the perfect word. Brenna always starts out thinking that this novel will finally be the contemporary YA she's been trying to write, yet she always manages to throw in an element of fantasy.
   
4. Ally Condie writes from beginning to end for the most part & what encourages her to continue writing is the daunting task of matching her children's socks. (She has three little boys) She really wants to write a happy, fun book for 7-9 year old boys. There just seems to be a distinct lack of that kind of writing.
5. Beth Revis is a very literal writer in that she has to write the book in the exact, sentence for sentence, order that it will happen & she has no idea where the story will end up until she gets there.

One of the best parts about attending these types of events is getting to really act & listen to the answers to some of your burning questions. I got the answer to, "What's up next for y'all?":

1. From Andrea Cremer: Wolfsbane is the second installment in the Nightshade series & Bloodrose (the third installment) is under edits.
2. From Kirsten Miller: All You Desire is the sequel to The Eternal Ones.
3. From Brenna Yovanoff: The Space Between is the next novel.
4. From Ally Condie: Crossed will be the sequel to Matched.
5. From Beth Revis: A Million Suns is the sequel to Across the Universe & it is currently under heavy rewrites.

I hope this helped y'all kind of feel like you were there. There was so much going on that I really was amazed that it was only 9:30 when I finally got out of there. Since there were five authors & the publisher (Thanks Penguin!!!) gave out bookmarks AND posters, there was a lot of signing going on at that table. That was fine by me because it meant that I got to spend some fabulous time gabbing with Ren from All By My Shelf & Zombie Girrrl (her post here). It was WONDERFUL to get to meet other book bloggers & strange to think that I thought I was the sole one in NC. Huh? Imagine that! It was so great to finally get to meet these wonderful ladies, I really do love their blogs. Good to know I have fun, book-loving neighbors!

P.S. Leave a comment with your e-mail to be entered to win the signed poster from the event. Open to US only. Closes next Friday 3/11.