Waiting on Wednesday: Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy

Waiting on Wednesday recognizes that we as bookies pine for books. This post is about what I am impatiently waiting for right now. It was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Today I am featuring someone very important to me. In my former days as a teen program coordinator for a public library, I often got to attend author events hosted at other branches. At the time I was toying with the idea of starting a book review blog since I've been writing book reviews (for my personal use) for years. Terra Elan McVoy happened to be the author event that I got to attend. With her speech about her debut novel Pure Terra captured my attention. Since it was a small event, there was plenty of time for chit chat afterward. Terra really encouraged me to give blogging a chance & to allow my voice to be heard. Three and a half years later, I'm still at it! I will tell you, I was fortunate enough to see Terra a little over a year later & it's amazing the difference a year makes! There was a large crowd gathered at the book store to hear her talk about After the Kiss. 

Now that you have the backstory, on with the book! Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy is scheduled for a May 7 debut. This one sounds completely different from her other works & I couldn't be more excited about it! I have yet to be disappointed in her work and I'm sure this will be no exception. 

A searing and gripping read that explores the depths of desperation true love can inspire, from the author of Being Friends with Boys.

Nikki’s life is far from perfect, but at least she has Dee. Her friends tell her that Dee is no good, but Nikki can’t imagine herself without him. He’s hot, he’s dangerous, he has her initials tattooed over his heart, and she loves him more than anything. There’s nothing Nikki wouldn’t do for Dee. Absolutely nothing.

So when Dee pulls Nikki into a crime—a crime that ends in murder—Nikki tells herself that it’s all for true love. Nothing can break them apart. Not the police. Not the arrest that lands Nikki in jail. Not even the investigators who want her to testify against him.

But what if Dee had motives that Nikki knew nothing about? Nikki’s love for Dee is supposed to be unconditional…but even true love has a limit. And Nikki just might have reached hers.

From Goodreads

How incredible does that sound? I don't think I've read anything like it before. I'm quite interested to hear this couple's backstory because that is a lo of devotion to another person. What do you think about it? Can you think of anything else like it?

Author Signing: Patricia Briggs with Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson #7)

On Sunday, March 10, something that I have been hoping to happen for 6 years finally came true. I got to meet Patricia Briggs! I happened to see a tweet about her being out on tour & on a lark decided to see if she'd be nearby. Having lived in NC for most of my life, I was accustomed to getting passed over on many author's tours. Now that I live near St. Louis, I was hopeful and boy did I luck out. Patty was making a stop in Fenton, MO at a Barnes & Noble. My adoring husband was kind enough to drive me the almost hour, in the pouring rain, to make sure I could meet her.


While I arrived on time, I had a little snafoo while trying to buy my book. Once that was settled it was smooth sailing. I took my place among the attendees, seated to the front right side on the floor like a school child at story time. Patty was reading a chapter to us from Frost Burned and we all listened completely engrossed. It was quite amusing because as she read, she paced. She also self-edited as she read because, "I just can't help it." I think my favorite part was her pausing to tell us we were "sick" after we giggled at a particularly gruesome scene. Someone shouted out "well you wrote it!" and her reply was "I never said I wasn't sick!" 

Once she let us dying for more, she moved forward into a Q&A session. This is what I learned from that:

• Night Broken will be the title of the next Mercy book in 2014; there will be another Mercyverse book (she's not sure if it will be Mercy or Alpha & Omega because she feels like A&O is just at a good holding place
• There is no end in sight for either series; she promises to stop writing them 1 book before she gets tired of it.
• In her upcoming short story collection we'll get to see Ariana & Samuel's story, Asil & Kara's story, and we'll finally get to hear about Bran's werewolf transformation.
• She wants to write something with Moira & Tom
• As far as her writing style is concerned she's a pancer which mean she doesn't outline.
• She wanted Mercy to have tension & extra reality so she gave her the garage. It doesn't matter what happens to her, she still has to get up in the morning and go to work to earn her living. Mercy's garage is based on real garage practices that actually happened to Patty & her husband.
• Dan dos Santos (the INCREDIBLE artist who does the Mercy covers has partnered with the Briggs to sell quality, affordable prints of the covers. I'm super excited!

After all that questioning it was time for the big event: the signing! I followed my signing etiquette & since I was one of the last to arrive, I made sure to stick towards the back of the line. Little did I know how fortunate that would make me because Mike (Patty's super awesome husband) decided to keep us company by hanging out, talking, and answering more of our questions. It was so much fun to hear personal stories about his view on the writing business. These two are the most genuine, down-to-earth people I have met that are pseudo-celebrities. They were very real and very open to discuss just about any topic imaginable. 

I was so excited when I finally got my book signed. Patty was even awesome enough to take a few minutes to talk to each of us & she even let us choose what color she used to sign our book. When I told her this made been a dream in the making for 6 years for me, she was flattered and shocked that it took so long. When I explained about never being near enough to a tour stop she let me and everyone in the group know that if we'll tell them where we want to see her, that her manager will try to take that into consideration the next time they're working up a tour schedule.

I was over the moon and beyond appreciate to my husband for sticking it out the whole time. I want to thank Patty & Mike for making my trip more than worthwhile and for being so wonderfully attentive.

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!

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater review

MAJOR SPOILERS for Shiver & Linger ahead. Please don't read if you haven't read those. If you'd like a refresher of those books, please read my reviews of Shiver & Linger.

Grace is lost to the winter as a wolf & Sam is annoyingly still human, despite the cold. His longing for Grace is only mitigated by the frustration he feels towards those who accuse him of having something to do with Grace's disappearance. Yes, technically, he did have something to do with it, but not in the nefarious way that everyone seems to want to believe. Now he's stuck in this endless cycle of waiting for it to warm up enough so Grace can shift back to being a human & they can plan their next steps.

Cole is not making her absence any easier to bear. He spends most of his time seemingly aimless in his wanderings in & outside of the Beck's house. It turns out though that Cole is on to something. He's trying to figure out the trigger to becoming a wolf so that he can reverse the process.

And mixed in with this party of fun is Isabel. With her brother Jack still very dead, her father is still on the hunt for suitable retribution. Luckily another girl shows up dead in the woods by the wolves' paws. The aerial hunt, and the obliteration of the pack, is imminent. Can these three unlikely teammates pull off the greatest miracle or is it already too late to save the wolves of Mercy Falls?

What an ending to one of the most memorable & inexplicably captivating series I have read in quite some time. Maggie Stiefvater is, in my opinion, the supreme queen of character development. Each character was carefully built to give as much vitality to the book as possible. Their dynamics & interactions were so full of emotion & feeling that I truly felt an understanding with them. I absolutely adored the ability to watch these characters evolve & establish themselves as individuals.

Grace may have started as a too-good-to-be-true kind of gal with a serious penchant for the wolves, but she really blossomed into an authentic adult making the best of the situation she was dealt. And while emo boys do have some appeal, Sam really broke my heart from the very beginning of this series. Maggie crafted the most beautifully heart-wrenching scenes for Sam's transformation from scared & scarred follower to a fear-fighting leader doing the very best for everyone, despite the cost. Even Cole & Isabel, despite not having to change as much, really did become better versions of themselves.

As always, the storytelling was divine in the way that I couldn't put the book down. Maggie has noted that she feels more satisfied when writing from multiple characters points of view because they all see things differently about the world than each other, allowing a greater understanding of the situation. And also, you want to use the character that will change the most during the scene in order for the story to progress. This style of writing really lends itself to the way this series unfolds. There is so much going on & so many people involved that I really think the reader would lose something if it had only been told from one (or two) people's points of view.

While I am probably among the minority of people who didn't technically "like" the ending (I'm a big believer of the "tidy little bow" concept) I think it worked perfectly for this storyline. There is no easy way to leave a world behind (even a mythical one) once you've become so invested in it. The way Maggie left things allows the reader to use their own understanding of the series to drawn their own conclusions.

So now that so many people have read the book, I want to hear your thoughts. Did you enjoy this finale? What did you think about the ending? What would you like to have seen happen?

A big thanks to Around the World Tours for the ARC & Maggie Stiefvater for the wonderful event night in Raleigh!

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.

I LOVE author visits!!

I am SO very lucky to live in a larger city in North Carolina that is blessed to have one of the GREATEST indie bookstores ever. Why am I so excited? Because Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC is hosting the Breathless Reads Tour featuring:

* Ally Condie with MATCHED

* Andrea Cremer with NIGHTSHADE

* Kirsten Miller with THE ETERNAL ONES

* Beth Revis with ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

* Brenna Yovanoff with THE REPLACEMENT

How awesome is that?! So if you'll be in the Raleigh area on Friday February 25th, let me know & we'll plan to meet up to welcome these FABULOUS authors to Raleigh, NC!!

Author Signing: Terra McVoy!

I was fortunate enough to get to attend another signing of the AMAZING Terra McVoy. Apparently I never wrote about the first signing I went to for her debut novel Pure, but she is really the person you have to thank for my blog. Back in July of 2009, I attended her signing at a local library. When I walked up to have my book signed, I told her my plans of doing a book review blog. She was so kind and supportive, considering she offered to be my very first author interview! So, in short, thank her for pushing me to do this blog. :)

Back to the current subject at hand, I went to the ever fabulous Quail Ridge Books to see Terra for her second book After the Kiss. It was a small event, with only about 15 -20 people in attendance, but I find those are the best kinds of events. They seem more personal since the author is right there! Terra was all big smiles & giggles for most of the event, except when she was reading aloud from the book. Let me assure you, that was the most amazing thing I have ever heard at an author event.

For those of you who don't know, After the Kiss is written in prose. Some pieces take the form of poetry, while others take on the form of free-flowing thoughts. While I am a huge fan of poetry, I have always had a tough time reading it; unless it is read out loud. Terra graced us with several pieces from the book so that we could get a feel for the two very distinct voices of Camille & Becca. Listening to Terra read was like listening to a favorite song. She knew where the pauses went (and later explained to me how to discern their location as well) and spoke so eloquently that I could have listened to her speak all afternoon.

To say the absolute least, Terra is charming and delightful and very animated. She makes you feel very welcome and comfortable in her presence. Her excitement about her books and her enthusiasm for life in general make her signings a nice pick-you-up in tough times. If you ever get a chance to see her in person, be sure to take it. I expect to see more great things from her in the future.

Author Event: Estevan Vega at my library!!

Can I tell you all how amazing and wonderful it was to host the enigmatic, witty, & amusing Estevan Vega at my local library?! This guy was on fire (no pun intended) about his book Arson. He talked about his writing style, how he came in to writing (who knew parents could use peer pressure in a good way?), what he's up to in college, & what he foresees in his future work.

After writing short stories with his father, Estevan decided to write out his first novel at the tender age of 12. He was fortunate enough to have Servant of the Realm published at the ripe old age of 16. His next endeavor, The Sacred Sin, was published just two years later. Finally, his first teen novel appeared this year and is the subject of much acclaim. While he is considered by many a rising star that audiences should keep an eye on, Estevan is very humble about his work. He says that sometimes "there's just a story itching to come" and that sometimes it's "just not time for the story to be written yet." The time for Arson began four years ago & he is thrilled to have come full circle on his wish to have it published.

Estevan was very engaging with the audience as he would ask and answer questions all over the place and really made his visit more like a friendly chat. It was quite informal and the audience just ate it up! There were questions regarding the "metaphor of the mask on the book cover" and more basic questions like "do you use pen and paper or a laptop". He even brought a gift for two lucky audience members. They received a signed movie poster of the Arson cover!

Overall it was a wonderful event and I truly appreciate Estevan (and his driving cohort Travis!!) coming all the way down to Raleigh. Hopefully I can have him back down here when the sequel to Arson gets published. :D Check back for my review of Arson soon!!

Maggie Stiefvater Signing

As many of you know, I was fortunate enough to go to Charlottesville, VA this past weekend to go see Maggie Stiefvater. My ever-adoring husband road the four hours through small towns in NC and VA to get to Charlottesville with me and promptly drove to Richmond to come home via a real highway.

I was a bit confused as we arrived about 5 minutes late, but I figured I would just miss the introduction. Imagine my surprise to see Maggie taking questions from the audience. After that she simply signed books. It was over and done with in 15 minutes, but that's where the fun just started.

After getting my books signed, I took a seat and waited for everyone to file through the line to see if there was going to be anything else afterward. I picked up on a conversation nearby and discovered fellow book bloggers S.F. Robertson from Wastepaper Prose and Monica from Bibliophilic Book Blog. These ladies are wonderful and their sites are amazing. Check them out if you get a chance. After chatting with them for a few minutes and after the line dissipated, we all moved up closer to just hang out and chat with Maggie. She was signing stock and book plates and then just wanted to chat.

She regaled us with stories of airport mishaps (I'm sorry ma'am, we need to scan your sketch book three more times, just in case there's something funny with the buckle) and information on her upcoming international trips and book ideas. Don't worry, she didn't give away anything she was supposed to, but we did enjoy debating the merits of zombie stories with her. I even got her to draw a wolf in my book after seeing her quickly sketch one in the a stock book. ------------------------------------->>

After a rousing afternoon of jokes, laughter, and general misbehavior, it was time to part. We all went on our merry ways, hoping to meet again some time. I have to say that of all the signings I have been to, this one was the most informal and most fun. Don't get me wrong I love that at most signings we hear about the books, have a passage read, and then get to ask questions before getting our books signed; this was just different. I really enjoyed it and had a blast. I can't wait to go to my next one. If anyone knows of any author signings around NC, just let me know.

Author Signing: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Words cannot fully capture the amazing event that was the Beautiful Creatures signing. Kami & Margaret are the most gracious women I have met in quite some time and are an absolute hoot in person! Very real and down-to-Earth, these women were an absolute pleasure to listen to.

They let us know some exciting facts about Beautiful Creatures and how far it has come already: to be published in 25 countries, 18 languages, and multiple fansites in different countries. They describe it as a "Southern Gothic supernatural romance" and "history and mystery." The story is set in the South, not only because Kami hails from the South originally (and has family still here who came to the signing!) but because they feel like the South is a place where magic can still happen. I thought that was a wonderful compliment. There is something to be said for the mysteriousness of my dear beloved South. Kami & Margaret even mentioned that some town that inspired Gatlin in both look and feel were Beaufort, North Carolina, Summerville, South Carolina, & Monck's Corner, South Carolina.

Kami & Margaret also elaborated on their writing style. While it only took them 12 weeks to write Beautiful Creatures, it took them 9 months to revise it entirely. Taking turns, one would write a chapter and then hand it over to the other. The second person had free reign over what they did with the chapter while it was in their possession. Each chapter went back and forth between the writers 5 or 6 times before the final product was produced. Obviously, there is no real way to tell who wrote what in such a chaotic system, so they both take credit for it all. They self-describe their work as "the perfect storm of Southern writing and fantasy that we read as teens." As for why they wrote from a boy's point of view, the ladies explained that it hadn't been done much in the teen fantasy realm because while male characters are usually love interests, we as readers never really get to see what's going on in their minds. Kami & Margaret decided to shed a little light on that subject.

Notice the pin on my sweater? :D

I think the most exciting news was the fact that Warner Brothers has optioned the book for a movie deal!! Richard LaGravenese is set to be the director, so far, and it is shaping up to be a 2011 release. Nothing major has been nailed down yet, but keep your ears and eyes open for news throughout the year.

The book signing was a great experience and something that I absolutely love taking part in. I want to give a big shout out to Georgia McBride, a local author & online sensation I met at the signing & Vania who is lucky enough to be traveling with Kami & Margaret to document their journey. Ladies, it was fantabulous to meet you & I hope to see you again.

Vania & I at the signing