The time it was my birthday {2}

Posted August 11, 2014 by Stacee in Signings | 3 Comments

I just happened to see the tweet from either Kasie West or Shannon Messenger about the quick summer tour with Amy Tintera and Debra Driza. I immediately added it to the calendar and figured it was a sure thing because the LA date was the same as my birthday.

On the day of the event, I left work early and headed up to the Barnes and Noble it was being held at. Traffic on the 5N was a total hooker and it took me almost 3 hours to get there.

a aa

Since I had skipped lunch, I arrived at the bookstore famished. I grabbed books and headed up to the cafe to grab a snack and pay for my books. The person at the cafe said they couldn’t ring up books and suggested I go to the third floor for checkout. I paid and went up to the third floor, but there wasn’t a cashier at the register area. I headed over to customer service and asked if the register area was open. She told me that it wasn’t and the only place I could purchase was at the main register area on the bottom floor.

When I got to the bottom floor, there were 5 different people around the register area, but only 2 people ringing anyone up. One man was explaining who knows what to a lady with kids and the woman was trying to find out how to ring up batteries that were needed for the event. The other 3 people were a combination of watching the other two or moving magazines around.

Needless to say, I was finally able to get my things paid for and eat my snack before it got too cold.

The event area was set up and I was told that it would officially open around 6. I took a seat at the back and proceeded to eat, people watch a bit and read.

b

They let us into the event area around 6:15 and I was able to grab front row. I finally got to meet Stacie and we chatted for a few minutes.

And then there was more waiting.

c

The ladies got in at 7:20 because there was an accident on the freeway. There was a moderator and she had the ladies introduce themselves and talk about their books.  After a brief synopsis, they played two truths and a lie:

1

S: When I was a film student, we almost burned down the high roller room, I was on a flight next to Steve Carell and made Get Smart joke on the way to the bathroom, met David Spade and told him he had really nice hair and asked what shampoo he used.

Lie: Was next to Steve Carrell but refrained from making the joke.

D: Got sent to principle”s office in 3 grade for pretending to be a frog and jumping all over the tables, handed an author a book soaked in cat pee, {I didn’t get the third one}

Lie: The book was given to Shannon and it was actually puppy pee.

{At some point while this was going on, I did get called out for being at the events so frequently, that I wasn’t allowed to guess because I knew the answers}

K: Teenager talking to cute boy and sucked in hair when taking a deep breath and then walking away when he asked if she did that all the time, while out of town chipped tooth and dentist said to super glue it back on, walked around all day with a Ghirardelli chocolate square stuck to my behind.

Lie: It wasn’t chocolate, it was junior mints

A: Used to be a bus driver, had an epic meltdown because of crickets, worked at a talent agency and was promoted to agent in under 6 months.

Lie: Demoted at a talent agency

2

What comes first: world or character?

A: Wren was talking in my head.  I realize that makes me sound like a crazy person.  I built the entire book around her. Romance came next, so right after Wren was Callum.

K: All of them were different. For The Distance Between Us, it was setting. I was waiting for my daughter to finish with guitar lessons and saw a porcelain doll shop and thought it would be a great setting. For On the Fence, it was plot, I’ve always loved the boy next door story. For Pivot Point, it was also plot.  I liked the idea of the Sliding Doors story.

D: For the book I wrote that was unpublished, it was a scene. It was all about a girl at the party and thinking that she’s there to kiss her crush, but instead stabs him in the head.  For Mila, it was thinking what it would it be like if there was an android with emotions like a teenage girl.

S: I wanted to write a fantasy book without magic because all of the awesome magic stuff was already done by JK Rowling. I got stuck and ended up writing a short story about a side character. {There was a lot more to this, but Shannon talks a lot faster than I can type.}

For LTSF, I had a dream about the word “wind walker” and that turned into Vane. Then a song came up on my iPod and turned into Audra, but without being a creepy stalker.

Tension and momentum: how do you keep it?

A: There’s a lot of action in my books. It’s often the characters that keep it going. What they’re feeling or what they’re doing. Sometimes I try to make a character do what I want, but I’ve found it’s better if I let them do their own thing.

K: I don’t have people killing people. For contemporary, it’s all about the characters. You have to find other ways to bring in conflict. I find it easier to write than the mummy chasing people.

D: My first book is almost 2 books in 1, so the first part of the book is filled with what teens are going through: she’s grieving her father and meeting a cute boy. Then it’s all action filled and has explosions.

S: It’s going to make me sound like a horrible person, but I was told to find my character’s Achilles heel and then just keep poking at it. Basically I get to torture imaginary children.

4

If you could be any character in another book, who would you be?

S:  Anna from Anna and the French Kiss.  Cute boy plus Paris? Sold.

D and K: That’s who I was going to say!

K: I can think of a ton I don’t want to be, like Katniss. So I’ll say any girl in a contemporary book.

A: Celaena. She’s awesome and wears dresses and eats cake.

D: I’ll say someone from Dune so I can watch sand worms.

Who would your characters be friends with?

A: I’ll say June from the Legend series. They would be plotting to take over the world.

K: I think Addie would be friends with Mila.

D: I’ll say Mila could be friends with Anna.

S: Audra and Vane would be friends with Amy’s characters.

What tv shows do you watch?

S: I’m a huge Doctor Who fan. I love that David Tennat was so dark that he could have let an entire race of people die. I also love Sherlock. I don’t stand in lines for many things at SDCC, but I did stand in line to get my Sherlock shirt.  I bet you all were thinking that I was going to say I stood in line for the panel.  No, as soon as I found out you had to line up 3 days before, I couldn’t do it.  I like to shower.

D: I did stand in line with my son last year to see the Doctor Who panel at SDCC.  We got there the night before and camped out. {She said something about Joss Whedon, but I was taking photos}

K: I like Veronica Mars, but lately I’ve been watching a lot of So You Think You Can Dance. It inspires me.

A: I’m also a big fan of Joss Whedon. I saw him last year at SDCC and it was the best hour of my life.

33

Which YA movies are you most excited for and which books do you want to see made into movies? 

A: If I Stay is one of my favorite books ever, so I’m really excited it comes out in two weeks. I would love for my books to be movies. They’ve been optioned, so we’ll see. I would also love to see the Legend series by Marie Lu be made into a movie.  I think they would look great on screen.  Plus, Marie is so nice and I like to see nice things happen to nice people.

K: The Maze Runner and If I Stay. Any YA book that gets made into a movie I’m really excited for.

D: The Maze Runner because my son read them, so we can go see the movie together. Legend too because I think it would look good on the screen.

S: I’m really excited for the fantastic beasts movie from Harry Potter. It’s so epically far away.

How many cats do you have?

S: I have 6. I’m on the side of crazy cat lady. The only thing is that I tell my husband that he has to stay.

If Sophie was going to date, who would it be?

S: That’s the no comment question. Honestly, I don’t know. It’s going to be Sophie’s choice in the non-depressing way. I know what I’m going to throw at them, so we’ll see who she chooses.

5

How many books did you write before you got published?

I missed all of these answers because I was taking photos and mid answer, Kasie said that I wasn’t allowed to post the photo of her red face.

What coming up next?

S: Book 3 of the Keeper series.

D: I’m finishing up book 3 of the Mila series.

K: The Fill in Boyfriend comes out May 5.

A: Hopefully a fantasy series.

From then, the Q&A was over and we were told that we could just make lines for each author.  I had Jaime and Erin’s books for Amy and Kasie, so I went to Amy first.  We chatted for a bit and then I got in line for Kasie.  While waiting, I was talking over the head of a young girl and discussing traffic with Debra while stealing candy off of the table.

When I got up to Kasie, she laughed at the amount of books I had.  She started out signing my book and then Jaime and Erin’s.

aas ass

After she was done, she stood up to give me a hug and thanked me for coming.  I told her that she was my birthday present and she apologized for forgetting my cupcakes.  She asked me to stay and we would go have cupcakes.  I told her I couldn’t, that I needed to go home.  She hugged me again and said that I couldn’t hate her and sort of shouted happy birthday.  And then my bracelet got caught in her hair and we were stuck together for a couple seconds longer.

I quickly said goodbye to Stacie and started my drive home.  These four ladies are awesome together.  They’re charming and adorable on their own, but together, it’s filled with charisma and laughter.  I can’t recommend them or their books enough.

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3 responses to “The time it was my birthday {2}

  1. Sherry

    Happy belated birthday to you! Despite some frustration leading up to the event, it sounds like you had lots of fun!

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