"To find out what a story's really about,' the Librarian said,

'you don't ask the writer. You ask the reader."


- SNOW & ROSE by Emily Winfield Martin


Showing posts with label 2013 Wrap Ups. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2013 Wrap Ups. Show all posts

Friday, July 12, 2013

HarlequinTeen #YeahYA Signing Wrap-Up: Julie Kagawa, Katie McGarry and Aimee Carter


Last night was the night! My sister, Sarabeth of The Next Chapter, and I attended Harlequin Teen's Author Fest at Barnes and Noble in Carle Place, (LI) NY and got to meet a lot of people!
Here's a recap of what happened during the event...

When you first walk into B&N they were all set with a wonderful display of books for everyone to grab! As you can see, the stacks were already low when we got there a whole hour before it started :)
Entrance - So many books were gone already!
Here is the signing table!!!
Waiting for the authors!
While waiting for the authors and their editors to arrive...

Harlequin Teen created this wonderful tee-shirt for the event!
However, my preggo belly did not fit in it, lol! So my beautiful sister got to show it off :)
Front
Back
The crowd!!!
SO many people, of all ages, from near and far!
This is by far one of the best turn outs I have ever seen at this location :)
Shout out to all our booknerds!!! 
The awesome crowd at B&N, Carle Place
Our mom tagged along for the ride...
she was trying to stay out of the way and hide from us and the crowd, but we found her ;)
My Mami patiently waiting on the sidelines, lol
The authors finally arrive!!! 
Julie Kagawa, Katie McGarry and Aimee Carter answering questions
Kady Cross, the author of the Steampunk Chronicles, could not make it - she was sick with the flu :(
We missed her and wish her a speedy recovery!!!

A few author Q&A's... 

A few more Q&A's...

I wasn't able to record any more than these two clips...
however, the Q&A continued for quite a while:

A few more Q&A's that were asked/answered:

- Where does your inspiration come from?
Aimee: is inspired by what she wants to read.

Julie: is inspired by video games, anime and manga.

Katie: is inspired by tiny pieces of herself, her own life experiences,
especially from her teen and high school years, are integrated into her books.

- Where do they get their plot ideas?
Katie: from music.

Julie: It is different for every book.
For the Iron Fey series - Meaghan's character came to her first,
and then the rest of the world-building and story revolved around her.
For the Blood of Eden trilogy - Julie has a side of her that loves the dark and doom of a post-apocalyptic world - so the world-building came first and then that inspired her to create a strong main character that can survive this world.

Aimee: One sentence, just one line, or one lyric, can get her plot going in an instant.

- What are you working on now?
Aimee: is working on a new 4-book series called The Blackcoat Rebellion! The first book in the series is called Pawn and it is being released on November 26th, 2013...
the series takes place in dystopian/futuristic America - when a person turns 17 years of age, they have to be evaluated and are placed on a level - I through VII... one being the lowest and 7 being the highest and most privileged since sevens can be 'masked' to take on the roles of high figures that have passed on... {sounds super creative and intriguing! Cannot wait to hear more about this!} 

Katie: is getting ready to release the third book to her Pushing the Limits series called Crash Into You, which is due out on November November 26th, too! {ISAIAH!}

Katie is also working on a new 4-book series, the first book is said to be released sometime in 2014 - this series is being compared to "West Side Story" meets "Sons of Anarchy"...
here is the summary: 
"A teen boy brought up in the rough and tumble world of motorcycle clubs finds love with a girl raised outside of this world, when he’s tasked with not only protecting her for the summer she visits her father (the leader of the group), but also with preventing her from learning the truth about her father’s past and the gang he used to lead."

Julie: is currently working on numerous projects! 
First, the second book to the Iron Fey's Call of the Forgotten trilogy, called The Iron Traitor, is being released on October 29th, 2013! With the last book being released sometime in 2014 - no title or spoilers for this one yet!

Julie is also working on the last book of the Blood of Eden Trilogy, which will be released sometime in 2014 as well, the title is The Forever Song... and there are no spoilers out for this one out either! {She's really, really good at keeping everything a secret, geesh! lol!}

Julie is also hard at work on her latest announcement: a 5-book series that has also been optioned with Universal Studios!!! Everything about this series is extremely tight-lipped! All that she was able to say was that the first book will probably be released in 2015... and that the story takes place in the present day, where mythical creatures hide amongst us cloaked as humans.
{That's it! What a tease!!!}

And then it was time... time to sign all those books!!!
Julie Kagawa, Katie McGarry and Aimee Carter signing
Also bumped into some fellow bloggers!!!
I met Jessica of Step Into Fiction! She came all the way from Maryland :)
Jessica of Step Into Fiction and I
We were so lucky to have some time with all three of them after the signing!
Julie Kagawa, Katie McGarry, Me, Sarabeth of The Next Chapter, and Aimee Carter
My signed books and bookmarks :) 

And of course I had to ask them one important question!
They all have come up with so many amazing names for all of their characters - especially their boys...
since I already have 2 boys, we're having a hard time deciding on a name for baby boy #3,
so of course, I asked them for help :)  And here's what they suggested:

Aimee: Knox
Katie: Jonah 
Julie: Quinn

What do you think??? :)


We had SO much fun!!!
A HUGE thank you to Kismet Book Tours and Harlequin Teen for letting us be a part of the tour!
And another HUGE thank you to the authors for making it such a wonderful event and taking the time to chat with us even more! They are all such amazing people! 

P.S. - there are more dates left on the tour!!!
Take a look and see which one is closest to you and go!!! :)


Tuesday, January 1, 2013

My Happy New Year 2013 Reading, Blogging and more Goals!


Happy New Year!!!
I hope all of you had a wonderful night :)

It's January 1st, that means that most of us are thinking about what we would like to accomplish this year! 

MY LIFE GOALS

So my 'little word' for 2013 is: Harmony
There comes a time in ones life where you have to just sit back and accept most things - for some, that may sound like I would be settling, but believe me, I most certainly not. It's time to stop worrying so much, stop stressing and go with the flow. Having two growing boys running about takes a lot of energy and patience - I must learn to pick and choose my battles ;) 
It's also time for me to get things organized - not only in my closets and bookshelves, but in my life too. I must come to terms that I'm another year older, definitely not getting younger, lol! Must prioritize and come to terms that certain things need to be squared away like budgets, wills, etc. It sucks getting old, but I want to learn to embrace the good parts of it, relax (harmonize!) rather than dwell on the negatives and enjoy every second of it to the fullest!!!  

MY BLOG GOALS

Last year, being that it was my first year of BOOK-blogging, it was all about 'trial and error'! Lots of different things happened here on the blog and it took a while to figure out what was best - 
what meme's to feature? More cover reveals, or less? Book blitz's, yay or nay??? 
But towards the very end of the year, I feel like I found a good groove and schedule. However, I want to expand on it. Obviously, I want to post more reviews! I would like to do more of my own features too and have created a schedule...

Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays: Reviews and Blog Tours
Wednesdays: Waiting On Wednesdays
Fridays: Novella/Short Story Reviews (NEW!) AND #FridayReads
Saturdays: The Beehive Book News (Updates, Recaps and Book hauls)
Sundays: The Bumble Girl's Book Confessions (NEW!)
AND... 
Every 1st of the month: My TBR list for the month (NEW!)
Every last day of the month: My wrap-up for the month (NEW!)


MY READING GOALS

- I want to read what I want to read! It's going to be hard to choose, but I have a lot of dusty books on my shelf that I want to get to AND I want to make sure that I'm still enjoying myself! After all, this is a hobby and not a job, and I really want to keep it that way :) I did manage to read 120 books last year, so this year, I'm aiming for 100. But I don't want to worry about reaching it, if I do, then I do ;)

2013 Reading Challenge

2013 Reading Challenge
The Bumble Girl has read 0 books toward her goal of 100 books.
hide

- I am looking forward to reading more middle grade books this year! For ever 3 young adult (or adult) books I read, I want to read at least one middle grade book ;) 
My oldest son is really into reading, and my youngest is almost getting into chapter books - I really want to enjoy this reading time with them, hold on to it for as long as I can since there is a possibility that once they're teens/adults they a) may not enjoy the same genres as I do anymore or b) {gasp!} may not love books as much as they do now - hope that this may never be the case. But with boys, you never know, lol! 

- I am really excited to start on all the reading challenges I have decided to participate in:

*2013 TBR Pile Challenge




With this challenge, I want to at least read 12 older books off of my own shelf in 2013!

*2013 Dusty Bookshelf Challenge
hosted by Books: A True Story 
With this challenge, I am want to at least read 12 'dusty books' off my shelf in 2013!

*2013 Stand Alone Reading Challenge
hosted by I Like These Books and Icey Books 
With this challenge, I want to read 15 'stand alone' YA or MG books in 2013!

*2013 Debut Author Challenge 
hosted by Hobbitsies 
With this challenge, I want to read at least 12 Debut MG/YA books in 2013!

*All About Middle Grade Challenge 
With this challenge, I want to read at least 12 Middle Grade books in 2013!


And that's it for now, lol!
I'm sure a few things may get tweaked here and there as the year goes one - 
but I'm quite happy and confident with what I have prepared so far :) 

SO, what are your resolutions, plans and/or goals for 2013???

 
Imagination Designs
Images by LabyrinthofDreams