Meeting Morgan Matson!

Morgan Matson is one of my all-time favorite contemporary authors. I never thought I’d get to meet her because she lives in California, so when I found out she was coming to Princeton for a signing, I flipped! She’s one of the most genuine writers I’ve ever met, and her event was the best author signing I’ve been to so far. Want to know why? Read on…

 

1.       She loves Twitter like the rest of us! Before the signing, I tweeted her this picture:

And she immediately tweeted back, prompting a discussion about soy milk in lattes (more on that later). During her talk about THE UNEXPECTED EVERYTHING, she said she came up with the idea for the book when Twitter went down for two hours and she was forced to go outside and walk around (“I kept trying to go on Twitter to complain about Twitter being down…”).

2.      She’s obsessed with Starbucks. The reason I drank the latte was because Morgan Instagrammed her usual Starbucks order, and I wanted to try it. It was delicious, of course, and Morgan talked me through the particulars (how many espresso shots for each beverage size, how the soy milk makes it sweeter...girl knows her Starbucks! I told her she’s now my Starbucks guru, and she said she was happy to take on that role) when we talked at the signing.

3.      She brought presents and prizes and Polaroids. She raffled off t-shirts and mix CDs and posters, gave everyone an UNEXPECTED EVERYTHING pouch, and took Polaroids with anyone who wanted one. You can tell she had SO MUCH FUN every second of her book tour.

 

4.      She took TONS of questions. “Guys, it’s my last stop! You guys probably have places to be, and I’m like ‘no!’” I asked her which item on the SYBG list would be the most difficult for her (“Kiss a stranger is a really bad idea! Like, I put that in the book so blithely, and I’m like, I really hope people aren’t going around doing this. You could get yourself in trouble! Or stealing something. I probably should’ve said that first.”) and the easiest (“Riding a horse would be easy for me, I used to ride horses.), and her top road trip tips (A solid playlist, the right kind of snacks—nothing that makes you sleepy-full, like donuts—and the right route. The drive needs to be nice to look at, or you’ll be miserable).  

 

5.      She was super honest about how tough it was to write children’s/YA in an MFA program. The New School, where she did her Master’s (and met Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian), has a great reputation for launching successful YA authors, but Morgan said the children’s writing program was not well-respected—or even acknowledged—by the fiction students.  I ran into the whole issue of genre snobbery during my MFA as well, and even though I’m a year out from the program, it still makes me doubt myself sometimes.

6.      She treated me like a real author. When I told her about my MFA, she kept saying, “That’s amazing! Congrats!” and asking what I’m writing now. We had a moment of appreciation for writing that “palate-cleanser” book, where you write it for yourself and then realize it might not be publishable. Morgan actually talks more about this in her episode of First Draft with Sarah Enni (an AMAZING YA writer podcast). She also told me to enjoy the writing process for my first book, because after you publish, you can’t get that back. Readers and editors and reviewers will always expect something from you after that. With your first book, she said, you can take your time and write it just for yourself. I respect Morgan so much as an author, and for her to treat me like a writing peer felt incredible. <3  

 

 

Other fun things I learned during the Q&A:

The girls on the cover of SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE are wearing Morgan’s actual clothes! She sent the cover designer a box of her stuff to show the vibe she was hoping for, and then they wound up wearing them for the shoot! The heart sunglasses, friendship bracelets, the shirt she “borrowed” from her grad school bestie and still hasn’t returned…guess the secret’s out! “When you’ve stolen something and it’s on a book cover, you really can’t pretend you lost it, like I’ve been pretending for the last two years…”

During her AMY & ROGER research road trip, she went to Graceland (by herself), and she said it’s like Disneyland—they make you pose for a picture on your way in. “But it was just me, so I’m standing by myself in front of this picture of the Graceland gates.” But she bought the deluxe pack and now has her solo Graceland picture on magnets, a postcard, and a ton of different sizes.

 

Morgan asked if she could take pictures of my annotated SYBG!

 

I had the best time at the signing. If you ever have the opportunity to see Morgan, go! You’ll leave with the biggest smile on your face and an overwhelming desire to take a road trip!

Marissa Meyer STARS ABOVE book signing

I was lucky enough to attend Marissa Meyer’s PA signing for her collection of Lunar Chronicles stories, STARS ABOVE, on February 8th. When they announced her list of tour stops, I was on Twitter in the gym and almost screamed! Marissa is from Washington (state, not D.C.) so I never thought she’d come all the way to Pennsylvania.

She brings her own Luna tapestry (the art from FAIREST) on all her tour stops!

The STARS ABOVE tour stop is the biggest book event I’ve been to so far. The Barnes and Noble put a ton of effort into planning activities (themed food and drink specials in the café, dance lessons, crafts), partly because Marissa’s books attract a younger audience, I think. There was plenty for everyone to do while they waited for Marissa.

Marissa’s bubbliness is infectious! She’s someone you want to go out to lunch with and chat for hours. She talked about the short story she wrote before CINDER’s release, and each of the companion stories for the books that followed. STARS ABOVE kind of snowballed into existence when, instead of writing one new story for a bind-up of the previously released ones, she wrote four others…not to mention an epilogue to WINTER!

Then she told us a fairytale, oral tradition-style. She let us pick (from Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid), and Rapunzel won by a landslide. Marissa was happy about that, because she’s been telling The Little Mermaid all tour, and she confessed it’s her least favorite. She said she loved the movie growing up (it was the first movie she saw in theaters) but then her grandmother gave her a book of original fairytales, and she realized the ending was less than happy (“Thanks, grandma. What else has Disney been hiding from me?”). She told the Brothers Grimm version with her own snark woven in (“One day, a prince was wandering through the woods…which, if you read fairytales, seems to happen a lot.”), and it was so fun to listen to!

Lastly she took some questions:

• If she ever did another fairytale retelling, she’d be interested in writing about Rumpelstiltskin.
• She loves her book covers, but she didn't have any input on the designs for the first three books. "It was pretty much like, 'This is your cover. YOU LOVE IT.'" But FAIREST was the first cover her publisher asked her opinion about, so she's had more input lately.
• Her next projects include a story in the anthology A TYRRANY OF PETTICOATS and two Lunar Chronicles graphic novels starring Iko. Not to mention HEARTLESS, her Queen of Hearts retelling, coming in November. She raffled off an ARC at the event!

Marissa’s people and the B&N staff had the signing line down to a science. One person stacked your books on the table, another opened each and passed them to Marissa, and a third person took photos. The line went pretty quickly; I was number 36 and met Marissa at 7pm, probably 20 minutes into the signing. She took her time talking to everyone and signed any books you brought…so naturally I brought all of them! I told her how satisfying the end of WINTER was for me, and how clear it is that she treats her characters with love. Then we talked about writing every day, which she said she tries to do when she’s drafting (and not in book tour mode), but she takes weekends off for family time.

And that’s that! Marissa’s talk/presentation might be my favorite of any author I’ve seen so far. She was well-prepared and so enthusiastic! A huge shoutout to the Neshaminy Mall Barnes and Noble staff for a calm, organized, and enjoyable event. Just like the Sarah J. Maas event I attended last fall, there was no stress, and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. I know I did!

She really did luck out with her covers...GORGEOUS!

 

Marissa could personalize one book, so I picked my favorite - the grand finale!

 

Meeting Sarah J. Maas! (and why you'll want to meet her too...)

I am a huge fan of Sarah J. Maas and her Throne of Glass series. When I found out she was signing copies of her latest, QUEEN OF SHADOWS, at a Bensalem Barnes and Noble (an hour from my house), I jumped at the chance to meet her.

In case you haven't been swept up by the THRONE OF GLASS craze yet (in which case, where have you been?) the series follows Celaena Sardothien, the kingdom's most deadly assassin. In the first book she enters a competition to become the King's personal assassin in order to gain her freedom from the salt mine where she's been imprisoned.

The latest installment, QUEEN OF SHADOWS, came out September 1st. It. Was. AMAZING. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say it's my favorite of the series so far. It's action-packed, and many of the events tie back to the prequel novellas (THE ASSASSIN'S BLADE). I love the novellas so much, and revisiting some of those characters and plotlines was fascinating. Sarah J. Maas has such a solid grasp on the world she's created. Every character, every reference, every seemingly random piece of information has its place, and this lady knows EXACTLY where it is. Stellar worldbuilding and character development!

The Bensalem stop was toward the end of her book tour, and she'd just flown in from Albuquerque. So she was tired but full of things to say. About Celaena, about Chipotle, about OUTLANDER (which I think I need to finally add to my TBR after all this talk about Jamie). Not to mention, her Disney princess hair looked FLAWLESS, and she was sporting this super sparkly leopard ring:

Leopard ring is officially ON. Headed to the 92nd Street Y for my NYC launch event with the amazing @sashaalsberg!! Can't wait!! Thanks so much for all the support and love today, you guys!!💍🎉🎉💖💖😎😎 #QOStour #queenofshadows #iwearthisringtoeveryevent #toremindmyselftobeaBAMF #alexisbittar

A photo posted by Sarah J. Maas (@therealsjmaas) on Sep 1, 2015 at 2:33pm PDT

Sarah did a half-hour Q&A moderated by the fabulous Steph from No BS Book Reviews, and then the signing line started. Since I'd arrived suuuuper early I was lucky enough to be number eleven in line, so I was one of the first to talk to her. And she is FANTASTIC.

Here's why you should run to the bookstore next time Sarah comes to town:

Talking about Sarah's time-traveling/insane writing schedule

1. She took her time talking to everyone. I respect authors SO MUCH when they actually make eye contact with you while signing your books. Sarah not only did that, but she asked me as many questions as I asked her. She wanted to know where I'm from, what I write and if I'm looking to send my work out. We probably talked for a solid two minutes, which is actually a long time for a signing line.* And from those two minutes, it's apparent how genuine a person she is and how much she cares about her readers.

*MAJOR points to the Neshaminy Mall B&N staff for not rushing readers through the line. I was in the first group to go through, so I don't know if it continued, but they let Sarah take her time talking to everyone I saw. When the facilitators have a low-stress attitude, it makes the event a thousand times more fun. Thanks, B&N!

2. Sarah is HILARIOUS. Between referring to her teenage years as "back when we still drove oxen up and down the roads" and calling her husband Dobby, she had everyone cracking up.

3. Relating to my second point, I burst out laughing (see photo evidence) when Sarah and I were talking. I asked her how she's managing to write two books a year, one THRONE OF GLASS novel and one A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES novel, both of which are enormous beasts of books. "I have a time-turner," she informed me. We started talking about how her life has become so scheduled and filled with deadlines, and she insisted that was why she was so pale. "Because of the time travel?" I asked, figuring time travel had to be pretty exhausting. "No, because I never leave my house." She said it's okay, though, she'd much rather be inside anyway.

4. You will want to be part of her squad. During the Q&A, Steph asked Sarah who would be in her "Bad Blood" squad, a la Taylor Swift. I'm pretty sure everyone in the room was about a second away from volunteering as tribute. Sarah has a posse of writer BFFs, including Susan Dennard (the SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY series, and TRUTHWITCH coming January 2016) and Alexandra Bracken (THE DARKEST MINDS series, and PASSENGER coming January 2016). Writing is such a solitary job, and having a group full of supportive writer friends (especially ones you can sometimes do book events with, like these ladies do) is awesome.

5. She's so motivating. She started writing THRONE OF GLASS when she was sixteen, and now there are six books on my shelf with her name on the spines. I left the event ready to get back to my own writing.


In case you couldn't tell, I had a little bit of fun at this event! Thanks again to Sarah for being wonderful and the Neshaminy Mall Barnes and Noble for facilitating the signing in such a friendly manner. And if you haven't started THRONE OF GLASS yet, what are you waiting for? Check out my spoiler-free reviews of THRONE OF GLASS and THE ASSASSIN'S BLADE (the novella bind-up).  

After I wrote this post, Sarah announced on Twitter that THRONE OF GLASS has been optioned for TV! *happy dance* Who else would LOVE to see this story on their TV every week?

Meeting Sarah Dessen!

If you've read my blog at all, you probably already know I'm CRAZY for Sarah Dessen. She's my favorite author and the reason I write about girls and their families. Her books taught me how to tell stories. Basically, she's my writing role model, and I would LOVE to have a career like hers.

She's been on tour for her newest book, SAINT ANYTHING (read my review here!), for the past month. When I saw she was coming to Pennsylvania, my heart leapt and then immediately fell. The day of her event I'd be traveling in South Africa with Chatham. 

I was so upset, but my mom went to the signing for me. She got some of my books signed and gave Sarah a letter I'd written. I remember waking up in Cape Town the following morning to tons of Facebook pictures from my mom of the event. 

That same day, I was scrolling through Sarah's Twitter feed and saw she'd just added an event in Princeton, NJ, less than two hours from my house. I immediately messaged my mom (although she was 6 hours behind me and still sleeping at the time), and over the next day we made tentative plans to go to this signing as well. 

And on May 28, we drove to NJ for the event! We got there super early to get a line number and then hung out at the mall where the Barnes and Noble was. The store was so relaxed and we got seats in the front row for Sarah's discussion. 

GUYS. Sarah is EXACTLY like I hoped she'd be. Friendly, funny, normal, and adorable! She immediately started joking about the traffic (she was a couple minutes late because she came from NYC) and told us how her grandparents used to live in Princeton. Then she talked about SAINT ANYTHING and the book she put aside before writing it. She also read the first few pages and said she wrote them on January 1st because she heard that whatever you do on the first of the year, you'll do every day after that ("I'm superstitious, and whatever anyone else believes, I automatically believe too."). 

She took a few questions before starting the signing line. I asked her about the essay she wrote for Seventeen about how she hung out with an older guy in high school who made her uncomfortable. It's a great essay about being "nice" vs. sticking up for yourself...definitely check it out! She said it was weird to write nonfiction and she was nervous when it was published, but the response has been super positive. But she said she probably won't write more nonfiction for a while after this!

Then it was on to the signing line! I was fourth in line, and as soon as I walked up, she said she loved my dress. I told her I loved hers, too, then went on and talked about missing her signing in Haverford and sending my mom instead. She remembered my mom and hearing about me and went, "You're the girl from Africa!" :p We chatted about that for a minute, took a picture, and then I told her that her books started me on my serious writing path. 

She thanked me and said, "Keep writing!" and then I went "You--" and rapped my hand against the stack of her books in my arms. She laughed and said, "I'm trying!" She is the sweetest! THE. SWEETEST. 

I've wanted to meet Sarah for YEARS but never thought she'd have an event close to me. Thursday night was so wonderful! Thank you Sarah! And thanks to my mom, who rode along and hung out with me all day and navigating when I got lost in the parking lot! :)

Surprises and Emily Giffin.

Emily Giffin came to Chester County Book & Music Company on Tuesday night for a book signing of her latest book, Where We Belong, which was released a week earlier. I decided at the last minute to ditch my night class (earth science…need I say more?) and attend the signing with Shari, who is a huge fan of Emily. I paid cover price for the book ($29, yikes!) because I bought it at the store the day of the signing (they’re super picky about that), but that meant I had a reserved spot in line for Emily’s signing.

We had really good seats for Emily’s talk. Listening to her talk about her inspiration was fun because I love hearing where other writers get their ideas. She said she wanted to explore the idea of a secret and whether or not “the truth will set you free.” Her process is definitely different than mine (I usually start with a character or specific situation instead of an overarching theme/idea of the story), so it was interesting to hear her take on it.

My favorite part, though, was when she discussed writing her first young adult character, Kirby. Without spoiling anything, Where We Belong flips back and forth between two different points of view: a woman in her late thirties and an eighteen year old girl. Kirby, obviously, is the teenager and the reason I picked up the book in the first place. YA is my favorite genre and the reason I’ve stayed away from “grownup” books. I’m not married, I don’t have a career, no kids…what’s the point of reading adult books I can’t relate to? (Sidenote: I’m getting better about this lately) So Kirby’s character was perfectly placed in the book for me and gave me something to grasp onto. Emily was worried about writing a convincing YA character at first, but she admitted Kirby has become her favorite character she’s ever written.

All you writers out there, has a character you’ve written ever become your surprise favorite? And readers, have you ever become interested in a character you didn’t expect to?

P.S. I spent ALL DAY yesterday reading Where We Belong. It's a good one!