A Tour That Left Me Breathless

Last week I was privy to attend another YA tour hosted by one of the area's popular Barnes and Nobles. This one featured four very talented ladies promoting their latest (or first) publications. Now, this tour was split up between the coasts, so I got to see the West Coast leg of the tour, which featured Andrea Cremer, Jessica Khoury, Marie Lu, and Brenna Yovanoff.

The last time I attended an event at this store (with Laini Taylor), it was hosted upstairs in the children's department and it was woefully cramped. This time, thankfully, they moved the event down in front, which allowed for a little more space but was still a bit on the small side. B&N just doesn't have much open space in their stores, but I guess they manage alright.

The evening started out with the four authors making their way out of the shadows, but they were also accompanied by a tag-along, and familiar face... If you'll recall from the You Are Next recap, there was a certain red-haired blogger present in the front row. Well, apparently Sara, The Novel Novice didn't find the front row close enough, because for this event she was our lovely and talented moderator!

And if you'll also remember from that other tour, there was a certain hilarious reading exercise... Well, Sara totally ripped off I mean, made tribute to the YAN crew by having the four ladies on the spot follow suit. Of course, it's a whole different matter if you're not prepared - in fact, none of the authors even remembered to bring their own books! Luckily, the event directors were on the ball and speedily supplied the materials. Unfortunately, the authors didn't quite get the same speed in their reading, but that didn't stifle the hilarity as page after page revealed some pretty steamy stuff. I swear, there was nothing else in Andrea's book!

After the speed reads were over, Sara put forth some questions which were answered down the line, including that day's breakfasts, literary crushes, and what other YA book would their protagonist(s) thrive in. And yes, Twilight was a valid answer for one of them, but only because she's immortal and would greatly enjoy the company of other immortals.

And finally we got down to the awkward staring - I mean the audience questions! All four authors gave advice to blossoming writers, emphasizing that the publication of their work shouldn't be the goal, but rather to write the best story that they can (and publication will surely follow). I got a question of my own answered by Andrea, namely which of her series to read first, Nightshade Saga or Rift/Rise. Essentially, if you're in the mood for a paranormal/urban fantasy teen romance, shoot for Nightshade. If you're more in the mood for historical/high fantasy, you're probably going to like Rift & Rise at the moment. Neither should spoil the other. Great to know (especially since the Nightshade saga is getting another installment later this year!).

All in all, a very fun and informative (though not spoilery) evening with five awesome ladies. Though this particular tour has come to a close, if you do get the chance to attend a signing with any of these authors, you're sure to have some fun.

Facebook: Breathless Reads ~ Andrea Cremer ~ Jessica Khoury ~ Marie Lu ~ Brenna Yovanoff ~
Elizabeth Richards ~ Morgan Rhodes/Michelle Rowen ~ Jessica Spotswood ~ Beth Revis ~ Fiona Paul

Blogs/Websites: Andrea Cremer ~ Jessica Khoury ~ Marie Lu ~ Brenna Yovanoff ~
Elizabeth Richards ~ Morgan Rhodes/Michelle Rowen ~ Jessica Spotswood ~ Beth Revis ~ Fiona Paul

Goodreads: Nightshade ~ Wolfsbane ~ Bloodrose ~ Rift ~ Rise ~ Origin ~ Legend ~ Prodigy ~
The Replacement ~ The Space Between ~ Paper Valentine
Black City ~ Falling Kingdoms ~ Born Wicked ~
Across the Universe ~ A Million Suns ~ Shades of Earth ~ Venom

Amazon: Nightshade ~ Wolfsbane ~ Bloodrose ~ Rift ~ Rise ~ Origin ~ Legend ~ Prodigy ~
The Replacement ~ The Space Between ~ Paper Valentine
Black City ~ Falling Kingdoms ~ Born Wicked ~
Across the Universe ~ A Million Suns ~ Shades of Earth ~ Venom

Powell's: Nightshade ~ Wolfsbane ~ Bloodrose ~ Rift ~ Rise ~ Origin ~ Legend ~ Prodigy ~
The Replacement ~ The Space Between ~ Paper Valentine
Black City ~ Falling Kingdoms ~ Born Wicked ~
Across the Universe ~ A Million Suns ~ Shades of Earth ~ Venom

Jan's Paperbacks: Nightshade ~ Wolfsbane ~ Bloodrose ~ Rift ~ Rise ~ Origin ~ Legend ~ Prodigy ~
The Replacement ~ The Space Between ~ Paper Valentine
Black City ~ Falling Kingdoms ~ Born Wicked ~
Across the Universe ~ A Million Suns ~ Shades of Earth ~ Venom

You Should Be Next!

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending another of Powell's outstanding author events. You Are Next features four YA authors who, apart from having recently published supernatural-ish books and similar quirky personalities, I'm not sure why they were grouped together, but regardless made a wildly entertaining night of laughs, photos, and fun.

Though the crowd was very underwhelming (maybe 15 of us attended), it was probably to our advantage as many of the night's activities were made that much more intimate. It was like we were sharing in our own group of private jokes. Of course, this is not advocating for leaving all your friends at home, but if you arrive and don't see a huge crowd, don't you dare chicken out! You won't want to miss these guys.

Now, the event features four authors...

...but unfortunately Cat Patrick caught a bad stomach bug for the Portland stop...

...so the remaining three improvised!

Yes, that's right, Cat was represented by a Bratz Doll bust, pictured on the right, and sat beside her latest book, Revived, on the table top. "Cat" was backed by her clever compatriots, Sean Beaudoin (The Infects), Kevin Emerson (The Lost Code), and Martha Brockenbrough (Devine Intervention) who offered a very welcome change of pace as author events go, despite being a (wo)man down on the night.

The evening started out with trivia. Aided by his daughter's microphone, Sean walked through the audience and had them pull a slip of paper out of his hat, which he read (using the mic of course) and asked which author this factoid was about. A correct answer earned a small prize, like a Thor Pez dispenser or one of Kevin's band's (The Board of Education) CDs. For example, did you know Martha wrote questions for Cranium and Trivial Pursuit? Now you do!

Next up was a bit of information about the authors and their books. Of course, to make it interesting they were strongly encouraged to use a shout-out word from the audience in their response. The word of the night was "Moist". So if they were to describe their book in only 6 words... Boy and girl explore MOIST city (Kevin). There were standard questions, and not-so-standard questions, both informative and funny. And most importantly, everything was spoiler-free!

But next came the funniest part of the evening, the speed-reading section! Each author had their book in-hand, and a 1-minute time limit. Sean (or Kevin) would shout out page numbers, and the author-in-turn would have to flip to that page and read the best sentence (or first they could find) on the page. The object was to get as many as they could within the time limit. As if that wasn't hilarious enough, part two of the challenge was audience-driven. All three authors were to flip to pages that we shouted out and read as quickly as possible. Then they traded books in-between. One page-race was too much for Kevin (I believe, though it might have been Sean) who ripped the acknowledgements page from his book.

We then took a much needed pause from clutching our sides by participating in an audience Q&A. Though the crowd was small, there were no awkward silences (if there were, they were quickly broken by a joke), and we got some good questions in there.

And lastly, before the signing, we were all asked to pose for the authors! First was zombies, then came fish-people, and lastly angels, to go along with each of the books. Unfortunately I'm out-of-frame in this one, but you might recognize local blogger the Novel Novice there in the front row!

So there you have it, the You Are Next Tour features some off-the-wall activities, quirky authors, and a whole lot of FUN. Be sure to catch it in your area if you can!

Goodreads: Devine Intervention ~ The Lost Code ~ Revived ~ The Infects

Amazon: Devine Intervention ~ The Lost Code ~ Revived ~ The Infects

Powell's: Devine Intervention ~ The Lost Code ~ Revived ~ The Infects

Jan's Paperbacks: Devine Intervention ~ The Lost Code ~ Revived ~ The Infects

Of Authors and Teeth

Last Tuesday, something amazing happened...

No, I'm not talking about the election. I'm talking about getting to read Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone (henceforth called Daughter), then getting to see her that night at my local Powell's!

Now, my review will be coming out tomorrow, but I just wanted to give a little teaser post about the event I was lucky enough to go to.

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover...

but come on, people! How amazing is that hair?! Yes, I saw a picture of her on the dust jacket of Daughter above the author blurb, and she had pink hair there, but it's still pretty freaking awesome. (And I apologize for the low-quality picture from my phone - left my good camera at home that night.)

She spoke a little on the writing process of Daughter, read a couple completely non-spoiler-ly passages from the newly released (that day, in fact) Days of Blood & Starlight (henceforth called Days), and then opened it up for questions.

I was especially impressed by not only not spoiling just-released Days, but also not spoiling anything from Daughter. So even if I hadn't literally stayed up all of the night before devouring all of Daughter (like I had any choice in the matter), I wouldn't have had to plug my ears at all! I love it when authors are kind like that.

Also, the writing advice, or rather exposing her strategies for getting things done, was excellent! It's certainly nice to know that even though not all writers are the same, at least a few successful writers share the scattered brain syndrome, the perfectionist tendencies, and the need for escape now and again.

And finally, though it is a custom at Powell's to raffle off swag of some sort, Ms. Taylor was generous enough to offer 2 prizes from the new Daughter of Smoke & Bone jewelry line! You can check out the full site HERE, with nearly everything they're going to be offering (she said a couple pieces are still in the works). PLUS proceeds from sales are currently going toward the Sandy recovery efforts.

But that's not all...I was a lucky recipient of one of the teeth!

Yes, teeth. I'll get more into the teeth in my review, but for those who have read the book(s), aren't these totally amazing?! Not sure what type of tooth it is, other than brass, but I love it nonetheless!

After the raffle, she also had a bunch of Days tote bags, but since I didn't have a copy to sign, I went ahead and took my leave. Overall, a great night without a bunch of political drama or stress.

If you want to go see her for yourself, and help celebrate Days's release, here's her current tour information:

You can bet that if I find a copy of my own I'll be heading down to Clackamas in a couple weeks to get it signed. ;D

Now...back to my review...