UPDATE: UN-Mark Your Calendars!

UPDATE: Unfortunately, due to the recent weather-related events here in NJ (Hurricane Sandy and then the snowstorm--which I learned was named Athena)--the Ellen Hopkins event at the Toms River Branch of the Ocean County Library has been cancelled. No word on a rescheduled date; I'll let you know if I hear anything.

Hey, all my NJ peeps! The one and only Ellen Hopkins will be visiting the Toms River Branch of the Ocean County Library on Tuesday, November 13 at 7pm to promote her newest adult verse novel, Collateral.

I've seen Ellen twice before, for both a YA release and her first adult release, and I do have to stress that there is a reason some of her books are considered...adult. The tones and language of these novels are decidedly...racier...than her YA stuff. This won't be a book talk for younger teens, let's put it that way.

Still, having said that, if you're in the area that evening and you're...not a younger teen LOL, you should definitely plan to attend! Here's the link to the event on the Ocean County Library website where you can get more info and register:

http://engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtended.cfm?SiteID=2161&EventID=147031 

Let me know in the comments if you'll be there, and we can meet up! It's refreshing to be able to attend an author event that I won't have to drive an hour plus to get to!!

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

Author Event: David Levithan and Friends

So last month my colleague and I made the trek out to Princeton (it was so nice to have company!) to see David Levithan, Adele Griffin, Alyssa Sheinmel, and Deborah Heiligman. We were super early and got great seats. This was a really laid-back, fun event. Each author read a little from their books:  Every Day by David Levithan, Stone Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel, Intentions by Deborah Heiligman and All You Never Wanted (coming soon) by Adele Griffin*. Then David kind of led the discussion and each author spoke about how their choose point of view and where their book ideas came from. They took questions from the audience and really interacted really well with each other and with their adoring fans. After they were done speaking, amazingly, the line to get books signed was not that long at all--I think a great deal of the people in the audience were family members or friends of the authors. Plus, Molly Ringwald was speaking at the Princeton Public Library at the same time.

So I was able to get my books signed (I already had Tighter by Adele from last year's Collingswood Book Festival) and I actually spoke to David Levithan! He had visited my library system some years before and my branch manager took him out for dinner, and he totally remembered that event, and her!

I didn't get a ton of pictures:

A colleague from another library was there also, and I noticed Eireann Corrigan in the audience (author of Accomplice and the just-released Believing Game--amazing, definitely pick it up!) and spoke with her for a while. She's pregnant with twins (actually, by this time she's probably just about ready to have them) and also has two dogs (all of us have big dogs LOL), so we shared some stories and visited. 

THEN, when we were done, we stopped at Joe's Crab Shack for some fantastic food before heading home. It was a great night!


*I have, since this event, read an eGalley of Adele's latest release and really enjoyed it.


Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Christi's Adventures: The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee Launch Party!

A while back I discovered that the amazing Tom Angleberger would be having a launch party for The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee, the third book in the Origami Yoda series, on it's release day, right at my favorite (although too-far-away) Barnes & Noble in Princeton, NJ. Yay! It was scheduled for 2pm, so I had to take the day off of work (double yay!), AND I kept Best Girl home from camp (triple yay!), and Laura, the children's librarian at my branch was able to take the day off and come with us (quadruple yay!).

We left my house about 10:30am and stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch--yum! There's just something about that place, and it's a little more than halfway from home to Princeton so it's a logical place to stop for a bite. We arrived at the B&N about 1pm and there were only a few people seated already, so we purchased our books and got second row seats. I let Best Girl get all three Origami Yoda books and Fake Mustache, which she read earlier this summer and absolutely loved. And I was so excited to see that Tom dedicated Fortune Wookiee to Jay Asher--Jay mentioned at his book signing that he had inadvertantly given Tom the idea for this book, and Tom told us about it at BEA. It was just a really cool author-full-circle kind of thing.

Most awesome book display ever.

Tom came out right on time and got right into it. He was so energetic and engaged the audience right from the start. He had one of those giant pads of paper on an easel and started a game--he would start drawing a character from one of his books and the first person to guess it correctly would get to win the drawing. He also said that not to yell out Origami Yoda right away, because that wouldn't be the first character. So, natural wiseass that I am, as soon as he put marker to paper I yelled out "Origami Yoda!" LOL

He started drawing and people started guessing characters from the Origami Yoda books, but it was Best Girl who realized it was Casper from Fake Mustache--before Tom even drew the fake mustache! He was pretty impressed. He talked about the book a little, and then asked for suggestions on what the kids would do if everyone thought they were adults. Most of the answers were pretty reasonable, coming from children ("I'd drink coffee and watch TV all day!", "I'd drive a Lamborghini!") but one was...not ("I'd get drunk!"). That response was met with gasps from the moms, but Tom simply laughed it off and moved on. AND Best Girl got the drawing!

The drawing of Casper that Best Girl got to take home. Tom is displaying a fake mustache, similar to (although not nearly as awesome) as the one Casper wears in Fake Mustache.

He played this game for a character from each of his books and kept the audience engaged and laughing for a full half hour.

Drawing Dwight from Origami Yoda.

He gave out green paper and showed us how to make Emergency Yodas, then handed out paper to make our own Fortune Wookiees (which, if I'd ever posted a BEA recap, you would realize that I already had, because I'd seen Tom there).

Fortune Wookiee!

He gave out green paper and showed us how to make Emergency Yodas, then handed out paper to make our own Fortune Wookiees (which, if I'd ever posted a BEA recap, you would realize that I already had, because I'd seen Tom there). Then we lined up for pictures and signatures. Tom connected with every single kid there, asking about their favorite Star Wars character, or what they were into if they didn't really like Star Wars. Best Girl made sure to tell him that Fake Mustache was her favorite book. :)

So awesome, right???

After we got our books signed, Laura and I decided to grab copies of Horton Halfpott, the one Tom Angleberger book that Best Girl didn't like. She was so impressed with Tom talking about it that she decided to give it another shot. So we purchased them (unfortunately, only paperback copies were available) and got back in line. Tom was only too happy to sign more books!

We made a connection with the interim person-who-does-author-bookings, and we're super excited because she's really interested in getting more kids and teen authors to come to Princeton, so I will hopefully be making even more trips to Princeton! Their website says there will be an author panel on September 14 featuring DAVID. LEVITHAN. So you know I'll be there!!

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Guest post from author Elana Johnson

Join me as I welcome Elana Johnson, author of Possession and its sequel, Surrender! Elana has a guest post on relationships (and just maybe a giveaway, too!)--enjoy!

Relationships in YA—they don’t all have to be romantic! How I crafted the best friends Cannon and Raine in SURRENDER

A guest post by Elana Johnson

Okay, so it’s no secret that I like a little kissing in books. All books. If there’s no kissing, I want there to at least be the kindling of a flame. The hint of future kissing. Ha!

But, I will say that not every relationship needs to be romantic. Because how unrealistic would that be? 

I’ll admit that non-romantic relationships are hard for me to write. They take much more control, and careful planning, and a whole heckuva lot of backstory that probably won’t even make it into the novel. Enough history has to be established, but not too much.

So when I was working on SURRENDER, I needed to insert bits of history, years worth of best friend relationship between Raine Hightower and her match, Cannon Lichen, without bogging the reader down too much. 

This can be a tricksy thing to do. I think one of the keys is to make their relationship feel like home. For Raine, the narrating character in SURRENDER, Cannon is the only person in the world to soothe her fears. He’s the only one who knows her secrets. He’s the one who’s always been there.

A platonic, best friend relationship that isn’t going to develop into something else has to feel authentic. Moments have to be inserted in the right places. Sometimes words have to go unsaid, because after all, these people have been friends for a long time. They know each other well enough to know when to speak and when not to. 

So crafting a best friend relationship has to mostly happen off the page, inside the author’s own head. They have to know a lot more about the relationship than the reader sees on the page. Otherwise, it can come off feeling shallow and cheap, and we don’t want to read books like that.

What books have you read with perfectly developed best friends? One of my favorite examples is Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. I also loved the relationship between a girl and boy best friends in Tera Elan McVoy’s BEING FRIENDS WITH BOYS, a fabulous YA contemporary novel. 

Share some of your favorites!

This week’s giveaway has everything to do with characters. Participate in any of the blog discussions this week and you could win one of three books with complex characters I loved. VARIANT by Rob Wells. THE LIMIT by Kristen Landon. THE DROWNED CITIES by Paolo Bacigalupi. All you have to do is fill out the rafflecopter widget below for a chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for stopping by, Elana! For more information about Elana or her books, please check out these links:

Blog: http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/possessionthebook

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/elanaJ

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

Christi's Adventures: SE Hinton Author Event

Last week I made the trek out to Princeton, NJ, once again--this time to meet SE Hinton, author of many novels, including The Outsiders! And, here's the absolute best part about the whole night: I. Did. Not. Get. Lost. I can't tell you how embarrassing it is that I can't get from my job to Princeton without getting lost! But! I did it this time!

So thankfully I rolled into the Princeton Barnes & Noble at around 6:30pm (the event was scheduled to start at 7pm). I got in line and purchased my 3 copies of The Outsiders, and was handed a signing ticket. This was my first indication that this event was going to be way different from any others I'd attended here.

I was told to head out into the mall to get in line, and wait for the "B" tickets to be called. I waited about 20 minutes with tons of other people, and then we were led into the author area. It was already standing room only by the time I got there, but my standing room was  dead center. At about 7:10 SE Hinton came out:

Here's my awesome SRO view. Except for that annoying woman in the gray sweatshirt who was constantly moving around taking pictures like she was a professional and was totally getting in everyone's way.

She spent the next hour walking around the area, taking questions from students and teachers. Some of the teachers got really emotional talking about the reactions their kids had from reading The Outsiders, and some of the kids weren't paying attention because they asked the same questions that had already been asked, but SE was always gracious with her responses. She wrote The Outsiders for 3 reasons: 1. she loved to read, 2. she couldn't find books that she wanted to read, and decided to write her own, and 3. the social tensions going on in her life were not being addressed in fiction at the time. She said if she had to pick just one character that she related with, it would be Ponyboy, but she couldn't pick a favorite character. And she shared that not only was she still close with the actors from the film adaptation, she'd just had dinner with Matt Dillon just a few nights earlier! *swoons*

At one point she was standing directly in front of me answering a question. I thought it would have been weird to hold my iPhone up literally in her face, so I didn't take a picture of her then. I did, however, snap one of the back of her head as she was walking away, a la David Levithan:

She would have answered every single question, but at about 8pm the woman in charge of the program started frantically signaling that it was time to start the signing. There were at least 200 people there, and I was pretty much right smack dab in the middle, so I parked myself on the floor and started to re-read The Outsiders. It took almost an hour for me to get to SE, and by that point the program lady decided that SE wouldn't be taking the time to pose with people anymore, so this is what I get after 4 hours of waiting (including my drive out there and wait time):

You should see the other picture: I'm blinking and SE Hinton is looking off to her right. It's awful, really.

Not the greatest shot, but I can't really fault SE Hinton for that. I've been to a lot of events at this bookstore--and will continue to attend them--but it seems that the store was ill-equipped for an event of this magnitude. This B&N was hosting Martha Stewart the following afternoon--I can only imagine what a circus that must have been! All in all it was nice to have the opportunity to meet SE Hinton--something I'm sure not that many people can claim!

And I will have a giveaway coming up soon, I promise!!
Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Author event TONIGHT: SE HINTON!!!!!

That's right, S.E. Hinton, the author of The Outsiders (considered by many to be the forefather (forebook?) in the YA genre), will be at the Princeton Barnes & Noble tonight at 7pm. And yes, I'm well aware that Hinton has written many other works--but The Outsiders is the most awesome. As a book and a movie.

If you're planning on going, I will be there--look for the woman with the curly hair who shows up just on time or even late, and looks completely flustered because she got lost--AGAIN. Seriously, I cannot get to Princeton Market Fair from my job without getting hopelessly lost first. Anyway, I'm planning on buying at least three copies of The Outsiders--one for me, one for a summer reading giveaway, and one for a giveaway here. Stay tuned for a full recap!

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Christi's Adventures: The No-Foolin' Mega Signing at Books of Wonder!

Apologies in advance: this is a very lengthy post. I don't feel too bad about that because 1. it was a very long and busy day, and 2. I'm posting! 

This past week was the NYC Teen Author Carnival in, duh, NYC. I was unable to get up there for any of the panels or events during the week, but I was definitely in for the mega signing at Books of Wonder on April Fools' Day! My friend and colleague Courtney was in for a day of fun, so we took the bus into the city nice and early. First we stopped at Schnipper's for a quick bite to eat--I've walked past here a million times but never stopped. I thought it was a decent meal for a quick, reasonable inexpensive price (I had a grilled cheese and Courtney had a burger). Then we hopped in a cab (we were too dumb chicken to figure out the subway) and headed over to Books of Wonder.

As I'm walking towards the door, who do I see? David Levithan, of course. You might recall that our paths have crossed more than once before. And of course I knew he was going to be at the signing (he's pretty instrumental in the whole week), and of course I was planning on getting books signed by him. But I wasn't expecting his face to be the first one I saw at BoW, so I immediately veered away from the door to get my bearings. And run into another librarian from NJ! I only know Carolyn from association meetings, but we have talked a few times, and we've unknowingly been at several of the same author events. Introductions were made, my resolve was set, and we entered the store.

It was crowded already, but not overly so (I'm always amazed at how well Books of Wonder manages to contain such large groups of people). Of course I had the entire schedule printed out, with books I needed to buy highlighted, so I was literally on a shopping spree. No joke, I bought NINE books--and brought five from home! Courtney was so much better about staying on her budget, and only bought 3. Carolyn bought a bunch for the summer reading program at her library. Um, I spent enough money that I qualified for a free coffee mug. :)

Once we were all purchased, we joined the line to get into the gallery section of the store, where all the signings would take place. I really appreciate how well Books of Wonder organized this humongous event. There were 15 or so authors for each 45 minute time frame, with five or so authors at one of three tables. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to see all the authors I wanted to (the 1:45 slot had me visiting six authors), but I shouldn't have. 45 minutes was plenty of time to have seen every author, had I been able to afford that many books. 

For the first section I headed right over to Daisy Whitney, author of The Mockingbirds and The Rivals. She's been really sweet about sending swag and books to share with my teens, and she's always so pleasant to talk to on Facebook, so it was really nice to introduce myself in person. Then I met Gayle Forman (Where She Went). OMG. She's amazing, and I was so happy to tell her how much my teens enjoyed reading If I Stay for book club last year.

I thought I was done for that time frame, but they had changed things slightly, and Stephanie Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door) was signing now, instead of later, so I got on that line. And waited. And waited. It was worth it, though, because Stephanie was so sweet to talk to and made everyone feel comfortable. Apparently she doesn't do a lot of signings, and that's why the crowd was so eager to see her. The staff actually had to move her to her own table to wrap up her signing, in order to get the next group of authors ready! 

I actually had enough time to say hello to Susane Colasanti (who also happens to be at a lot of the same events as I am) and congratulate her on her new apartment. She was really touched that I said something to her, and she was so very excited about it. She said the online community has been instrumental in keeping her spirits up during the whole stress of home buying. I wish her all the best with her new place, and hope that it's everything she dreamed it would be!

Did I mention that David Levithan was talking to someone in front of me while I was waiting for Stephanie Perkins, and that he actually bumped into me once or twice? I'm such a fangirl.

David Levithan. He may be smiling, but inside he's making a note to get a restraining order against me. LOL

The second group was the one I was worried about, wanting to see so many authors, but it really wasn't bad at all. I got in line for David Levithan right away, and after just a couple of people, was finally able to meet the Prince of YA (as dubbed by me). I stammered just a little, but told him I was a huge fan, and gave him my copies of Every You, Every Me and Will Grayson, Will Grayson. He opened WG up and was going to sign on the page prior to the title page, but then turn the page. I said something stupid like, "Yeah, could you sign on that page, please?" He commented on John Green's signature, because they didn't tour for the paperback, so having a copy signed by both authors is really rare! Woot!

Don't be jealous. Well, be jealous a little.

At the same table was Margie Gelbwasser, who is a favorite on this blog. I'm so excited to have a signed copy of Pieces of Us to go with my signed copy of her debut, Inconvenient. We chatted for a little bit about our kids (she mentioned an upcoming Disney trip and I was totally able to prevent my Disney geek from showing), and then I moved on to the second table, where I chatted with Kody Keplinger. She was promoting Shut Out but I had a copy of The DUFF for her to sign. I explained that I loved both but was partial to this one, and she talked a little about her newest novel and her fans (I said that she had a huge fan base, she argued that it wasn't huge, but they were very loyal). 

Kody Keplinger

Stewart Lewis (You Have Seven Messages, on the summer reading list this year at the high school in the town I work in!) and Sarah Darer Littman (Want To Go Private?) were also at this table. Sarah and I talked for quite a while about WTGP?--I'd said that her book made me terrified to let my 9-year-old have any Internet access at all. She also talked a little about her newest book, which she'd just sent to her agent. She didn't give too many details, but did say it was about parents and moral obligations--like, what does a teen do when they're told to obey their parents, but their parents don't have the best morals? She said the idea came from carpooling her teens. She also offered to Skype with my teens at the library! (I expressed nervousness at that, because my teens are not always...predictable...in their behavior. This is how we got on the whole carpooling-teens thing.)

Stewart Lewis, Sarah Darer Littman

Finally, at Table 3 I had Jeff Hirsch sign my copy of The Eleventh Plague. Here is the ONE book I got for my end-of-summer-giveaway at the library!

As worried as I was about getting everything done in this time frame, I was able to get everything done! And for the third session, I was only getting Trapped signed by Michael Northrop. He was promoting his new middle grade novel Plunked, but I really, really liked Trapped and was so happy Books of Wonder had a copy in stock! I think Michael appreciated that I loved this book so much, and that I was still book talking it at the library. Yay! I also took a minute to say hello to Kieran Scott, who's been so good to me and my teens at the library. And I didn't even realize this until Carolyn pointed it out today, but I'm mentioned in He's So Not Worth It! Check out the acknowledgements--I'm in the same sentence as David Levithan! Swoon! And This is So Not Happening is coming out in ONE MONTH!

Courtney, Carolyn and I headed outside for a few minutes to get some air and chat. As much as I love doing stuff with Best Girl, I know she would not have been happy had I'd come with her today. Sometimes it's just so nice to do book things with other book nerds!

So, the last session. I was ready fort, let me tell you. I met Arlaina Tibensky (And Then Things Fall Apart), Siobhan Vivian (The List), and K.M. Walton (Cracked), and was ready to go. Courtney and I walked with Carolyn a bit, then parted ways and caught a cab back to Port Authority. We had some time before the bus, so headed to the Shake Shack for some yummy Concretes (blended custard and toppings) before getting on the bus back to NJ. I started And Then Things Fall Apart on the way home.

So, that was our day. If you're keeping track, I trucked a total of fourteen books through Manhattan and home. Courtney was laughing at my ginormous backpack (actually, it's my husband's), but it really saved my back.

The five books I brought from home.

The nine books I bought at Books of Wonder.

It wasn't until we got home that I realized I didn't even see Micol Ostow (and she even had her adorable baby with her!), and although Courtney met Sarah Mlynowski, I didn't get a chance to say hi. I also wanted to say hi to Jess Rothenberg and Carolyn Macker, but didn't get the chance. Oh, well, there's always next year!!

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

NJ Author Event TONIGHT!

Hello gang! I just wanted to let you know that Lissa Price will be at the Princeton, NJ Barnes & Noble tonight at 7pm. She'll be discussing and signing her debut dystopian novel, Starters. I have heard nothing but good things about this book and it's definitely on my to-read list. I would LOVE to make the drive out to Princeton this evening, but Thursday is the unofficial Teen Night at the library--and therefore, my scheduled night to work, so I can't make it.

I know Lissa would appreciate any book love, so if anyone's in the area, please stop by and say hello. (And if you are heading there, I would gladly reimburse you if you'd get me a signed copy!)

Here's more about Starters from Goodreads:

HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER 
Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man. 
He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . 

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Interview with Pieces of Us author Margie Gelbwasser!

Did you enter my Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway yet?

I'm delighted to welcome Margie Gelbwasser back to my blog! Pieces of Us is Margie's sophomore novel, and this is her sophomore interview at my blog! You can read my review of her debut novel, Inconvenient, here, and click here to read Margie's first interview. My review of Pieces of Us can be found here.

Can you describe The Pieces of Us in just a sentence or two?

Told in four points of view, Pieces of Us, is an emotional story that tackles cyberbullying, abuse, and dating violence, and how one character's secret impacts the lives of the other three.

What was your inspiration for this story?

When I was in high school and college, some guys spread rumors about me. They were hurtful to me even though they weren't true. The difference between then and now (this was the 1990s) is that I had the safety zone of my house. These days, teens don't have that kind of escape. Bullies post photos (often doctored) on FaceBook. They tweet abuse. They text. They use videos as leverage to keep their victims silent. The heights bullying has reached these days is disturbing and scary, and I wanted to show that, and, hopefully, give victims of bullying and abuse a voice and encourage them to break the silence.

While both Inconvenient and The Pieces of Us deal with dark topics (alcoholism, domestic violence at the teen level), The Pieces of Usdefinitely has a darker feel to us. Did you know it was going to be a darker novel when you started writing it? Do you favor writing one style over the other?

You know, I didn't know it right away, but as the voices came to me and I wrote the scenes, I could see that that's what was happening. I am very proud of both books, but I do like the style of POU more. As a writer, I feel it pushed me to the next level.

How was the experience of writing and publishing your sophomore novel different from your debut? Were there any similarities?

POU took me much faster to right--first draft was done in 3 months and then fully edited about 3 or 4 months after that. The interesting thing was that because I wrote INCONVENIENT so long ago, I had forgotten how I did it. So writing POU was difficult at first. I couldn't remember how to write a book. LOL Then, I started remembering techniques I did with INC (didn't write it straight through but worked on scenes here and there and then pieced together) and that jumpstarted POU. As for publishing, this was easier with POU as well since Flux gave me a two book deal (sight unseen on the second book) with INC. So it was very comforting to know that this book already had a buyer (assuming my editor didn't hate it, which, thankfully, he didn't). :-)

And as always--what are you working on now (and when can we expect it? LOL)

I am currently working on a YA told in 2 points of view. One story deals with a boy who is abused by his girlfriend; the other is about a girl with her own secrets. Their stories intersect in the middle. I'm only 10K words in, so that's about all I can say about it. As for when you can expect it, let's just hope sooner rather than later. :-p

(oh, that's cruel.) Would you like to share a current favorite read?

A few weeks ago, I finished two books that I loved. The first was Sarah Mlynowski's Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have) and the second was Carolyn Mackler's The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things. I ADORED both books. Not to sound cliched, but they made me laugh and cry. They were the perfect, cozy novels and reminded me so much of Judy Blume novels I loved as a teen. The voice in both was phenomenal, as were the story lines. Next on my list are David Levithan's Every You, Every Me and Carolyn Mackler's and Jay Asher's The Future of Us.

I loved ALL of those books! You're in for a treat with Every You, Every Me, let me tell you.

Thank you, Margie, for stopping by! Pieces of Us is out now, be sure to pick it up (especially if, like me, you prefer your fiction a little darker!). Margie will be signing at the Paramus Barnes & Noble this Thursday at 7:30pm--if you're in the area, you should definitely stop by! I will be hosting my Hunger Games Release Party at the library, so unfortunately I won't be able to attend, but am looking forward to seeing Margie at the epic Teen Author Carnival book signing at Books of Wonder on April 1!

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

Christi's Adventures: The Future of Us Book Tour!

Don't forget to enter my Goody Bag Giveaway!

On Tuesday, January 17, I made the trek out to the Princeton Barnes & Noble once again, this time to see the fantastic Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler discuss their first collaboration, The Future of Us.

Of course I got lost, again--I can't get out there from my job without getting hopelessly lost. And it doesn't help that my GPS was laughing at me. Ugh. But I made it just in time to buy 2 copies of the Future of Us (I already have 2 copies of 13 Reasons Why and a copy of Tangled to be signed) and settle in at what is quickly becoming "my" seat at author events at this store. Third row, seat on the inner aisle. :)

Jay and Carolyn actually came in to the store while I was sitting there, but were quickly whisked away until the official start time. I also spotted Megan McCafferty come in and take a seat in the audience. I had seen her here for her Bumped launch party, of course, and then I said hello to her at Ellen Hopkins' event at the Princeton Public Library, but I didn't get a chance to say hello to her tonight. As soon as the discussion ended, she disappeared.

Just before the event started, my cosmic twin Kristie showed up with a friend. It's always nice to see her, and we talked about making plans to hang out at a non-author-event, so perhaps we could actually sit and chat LOL

The event itself was awesome. It was the first official stop on the book tour, so I think Jay was a little nervous (Carolyn, not so much). BUT, the two of them together are just an incredible team! They spoke at length about how TFOU came about, reading snippets of the emails that brought it about, and how the writing process went. I had thought that Jay wrote Josh's chapters and Carolyn wrote Emma's. This is true, for the most part, but Jay and Carolyn were actually so invested in each other's work that they had no problem editing and rewriting their chapters. They spent some time discussing their editing process--how it went from Jay to Carolyn, back to Jay, back to Carolyn, etc.--and the lengthy discussions before they settled on the title. It was really fun, and I could just tell that they really get along well and enjoy each other's company. (How they're faring now, or at the end of the tour, I can't say LOL)

Oh! And Jay finally talked about his doughnut obsession, super fun. Best Girl got a silicone baking set for Christmas that can make a doughnut-shaped cake...I was considering making one for him but figured that would have crossed the line into stalkerdom. Unfortunately, there aren't any awesome doughnut shops around me, or I would have brought him some of those--that would have been OK, I suspect.

Anyway, after the talk, both authors signed for those in attendance. I had a huge stack of books and they graciously signed every one.

See that stack of books on the table? Those are the ones I had signed.

It was a great evening. Thank you to the woman who organizes the events at B&N--her name escapes me right now, unfortunately--she always does such a fantastic job and her efforts are appreciated by this book geek!

And don't worry, I'll be having a giveaway for one of the copies of The Future of Us later this week!

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Library Program: Kieran Scott!

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Click here for Barry's Book Blogger Giveaway!

Waaayy back in the summer of 2010, I approached Kieran Scott through email and asked if she would be interested in visiting my library for an author program. She agreed, and after meeting her at the 2010 Collingswood Book Festival, we were able to schedule a date for January 2011.

Unfortunately, Kieran got pretty sick (and was also pregnant, although that's not unfortunate, of course!) and had to reschedule her visit. She got in touch with me over the summer and we picked an October Saturday for her to visit. 

It just happened to be the nicest Saturday that we've seen in months, so even though I advertised the hell out of this program (through our library's Facebook page, tons of posters around the branch and the system, blast-emailing my teens to remind them, sending press releases), on the afternoon of the program I only had two teens show up. UGH. At least one of the teens had started reading (and was really enjoying) She's So Dead to Us, and the other teens is just so enthusiastic about everything--basically, if I could only have two teens show up, I'm glad it was these two! 

Kieran was very gracious about the whole thing--she spoke at length about her writing process (she outlines everything) and how she develops her characters, and why she writes some titles as Kate Brian (and Emma Harrison before that!). We talked about the differences in the covers of She's So Dead to Us and He's So Not Worth It, and about how, exactly, Privilege spun off from Private (and The Book of Spells was mentioned, too!). She didn't reveal too much about what was going to happen in This is So Not Happening but did talk a little about what she's working on next--although we're not at liberty to reveal that yet!

Kieran was also nice enough to sign the books I'd purchased, and Teen 1's book, and then graciously gave Teen 2 a copy of She's So Dead to Us, which I thought was really sweet of her. Then she posed for pictures and we all enjoyed some brownies!

All in all, it was a great afternoon, and while of course I'm disappointed that the turnout was so poor, I think we still had a wonderful time. I really think the weather worked against us. Kieran is a fantastic author and we were so fortunate to have been able to spend some time with her. Those who didn't come certainly missed out.

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

Christi's Adventures: Meeting Chef Anne Burrell!

Last Tuesday I took my daughter to the Freehold Barnes & Noble to meet chef and food network star Anne Burrell, who's promoting her new cookbook, Cook Like a Rock Star.

I have to say that I was so disappointed with the setup at this B&N. I guess Debbie at the Princeton store has spoiled me! There were only about 20 chairs set up, which were all, obviously, taken by the time we got there at about 6:40pm. So, standing room only shouldn't be too bad, right? Right, except that SRO consisted of standing in a single file line next to the periodicals. My poor kid couldn't see anything.

But Anne was a delightful speaker. She talked about the cookbook for just a few minutes, and then spent the rest of the time answering questions from the audience, particularly from the kids in attendance. She even acknowledged the woman behind me who had a question.

There were a lot of questions on how Anne got into the business, what filming a show is like. What I loved is that at one point Anne said, "If you're in culinary school because you want a food show, you need to drop out right now." She said she didn't want to be discouraging, but take a look at all of the chefs in the world, and look at how many chefs are on TV--it's awesome if it happens, but you shouldn't expect it to!

Ugh, they HAD to have Tyra Banks' book on display right there, right?

Much better, see ASHES right there.

I did like that people with children were allowed to get in line first, so we only had to wait about five minutes for the actual signing. My daughter got all starstruck, though, and we were kind of rushed, so I don't even think I said much more than hi. And this is the first book event I've attended with actual bodyguards--see the gentleman in the snazzy suit in the background? There were 3 or 4 similarly dressed gentleman surrounding the area. OK, she's a TV star, but she's not, like, Emeril. Strange. But fun!

Daughter has decided that we're going to try the macaroni & cheese recipe first. I'll let you know how it comes out!

Enjoy your reading--and your eating!

Christi

Christi's Adventures: Collingswood Book Festival!

http://www.collingswoodbookfestival.com

Yay for the Collingswood Book Festival! I tell you, this is one of the nicest festivals I've ever been to, and it's a book festival, to boot! Daughter & I attended last year after kind of stumbling upon it somewhere. We had an awesome time and I've been eagerly awaiting the 2011 festival ever since!

This year I had a game plan in place. I'd pre-purchased a lot of the books I wanted to get signed from B&N online. I had a list of which authors we wanted to see, and when. I took one of Daughter's backpacks, instead of killing my shoulder with a tote bag. I made sure we were on the road by 8:30am, to be there by 10am. And my cosmic twin, Kristie, made breakfast reservations at the Pop Shop, an awesome eatery in its own right but made even more famous for being on Bobby Flay's Throwdown!

Daughter, Cosmic Twin Kristie and her girls at the Pop Shop

Kristie rocks, because she booked us in for breakfast instead of lunch. Now, I think I could've ordered a grilled cheese at 10am, but I opted for the Bananas Foster Waffle instead. One of Kristie's girls got chocolate chip pancakes that were, no joke, bigger than her head:

After rolling ourselves out the door, it was time to buy the books I hadn't gotten, and to meet authors! I actually didn't take any pictures of the authors I wanted to meet, but I got a few of my daughter:

Dan Gutman (author of the Weird School books, the Homework Machine, and oodles more), me, and daughter

Daughter & Nancy Viau, author of Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head

(every book purchase came with a DIY rock collection--a cute touch!)

But never fear! I did meet tons of authors and got books signed! Here's the rundown:

• Where I Want to Be and Tighter by Adele Griffin (2 copies of Tighter--a giveaway coming soon!)
• The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder--guys, Amy totally recognized me! Like, my face. From Facebook. She was so excited to meet me! *fangirl swoon*
• Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
• Inconvenient by Margie Gelbwasser (so excited for finally meet her in person!)
• Popular by Alissa Grosso
• Starstruck by Cyn Balog
• The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
• The Butt Book by Artie Bennett (OK, this is a picture book, but it's hilarious and I can't wait to read it with my teens!)

Daughter and I each also got a Charming Book Clip, which has a clip to clip onto your book, a ribbon to mark your place, and a charm to keep it all pretty. This company is relatively new and they're from my area (I missed them at the local book festival last week), and the concept is just really cool!

We also stumbled upon Gourmet Popcorn Creations, a nifty little shop that has, well, gourmet popcorn. But it's like nothing you've ever tasted before. Sure, they have "regular," kettle corn, and caramel, but they also have lime, mint chocolate chip, raspberry, bubble gum...wow. We got some regular, salt & vinegar, and caramel apple to take home. Yum!

The weather wasn't especially gorgeous, but at least the rain held off enough so the event could be held outside as planned. And it was nice enough, not too hot, not too cold--as long as you weren't sitting! 

What could be better than spending a beautiful day with my daughter, my cosmic twin and her girls, and a slew of fantastic authors? Well, as we were heading into town this morning, we saw this sign:

which caused daughter and I to start screaming with delight. There used to be a KK not that far from us at home, but they closed down several years ago and we have yet to find another store during any of our many travels. So of course we arranged to meet Kristie and her girls before we headed home!

So that was our fantastic day at the Collingswood Book Festival! I'm already excited for next year's--the 10th! I think it's generally held on the 1st Saturday of October if you'd like to plan to join us next year!

Enjoy your reading!

Christi