Smart Chicks Kick It Event

Last week I went to the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour. Being in the same room with so many awesome YA writers was fantastic! My friends and I drove two hours to San Diego so we could attend the event. I brought along my backpack filled to the brim with books to be signed. I also took the opportunity to buy a few I didn’t already own. If my husband hadn’t put me on a budget I probably would have needed another two backpacks to carry the books home.
The library was filled to the brim, all the chairs were taken, people were standing and several ended up sitting on the floor. The whole event was very casual and fan friendly. I was able to meet all of the authors and I didn’t bother trying to reel in my fangirl. She was flying free and proud. At our stop for the tour we had Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Rachel Caine, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, Mary Pearson, Carrie Ryan, and Rachel Vincent. It was all-star line up.

The authors had some fun games and a brief random question segment. After that portion of the evening they opened up the signing lines. Every author was able to take a few minutes to talk with us fans. It was fantastic! I was able to talk with Mary Pearson about her book The Adoration of Jenna Fox. She announced that night that there would be a companion novel to it.

I was able to tell Carrie Ryan that she wrote a fantastic love triangle. I wasn't surprised when she told us she originally wrote romances. I could totally see that.

It seems a little odd to talk about the love triangle in a book about Zombie attacks but there it is. Her characters were fighting for their lives against Zombies, but I was more concerned about the romantic entanglements than their life and death peril. :)

I hadn't read any of Rachel Caine's books but after listening to her talk, hear several of my friends sing her praises and see the desire of those around me to get the ARC she was giving out, I quickly added her to my list of authors to read. I'm just about to start Glass Houses. She was very friendly and when I told her I hadn't read her books but planned to change that, she gave me a quick blurb that hooked me.

Alyson Noel was also at the signing. I confessed to her that I started Evermore at seven at night while soaking in the tub. I was totally sucked into her story.

When I became aware of my surroundings again I was sitting in freezing cold water, my skin was water logged and looking like an old prune and it was four a.m. She also told my friend we'll learn in the next book that some of the mistakes Ever made in the past may not have been mistakes at all.

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl were there as well. May I just say that Margaret was hilarious? She had so much personality! I loved it! The two of them together were so fun. You could tell by the way they interacted they were really good friends. The story of why they wrote their book was great. (It was a dare from Margaret's daughter. She said Margaret never finished anything and there was no way they would ever finish writing a whole book.) Their book Beautiful Creatures was just that: beautiful. Everything in it was perfect: the characters, story, even the town had so much rich history it became a character. I 'm really looking forward to Beautiful Darkness. Since Melonie and I are writing a book together we were totally inspired by them.

Melissa Marr was fantastic as were her honest answers. Melonie and I were really digging Melissa's tights but only Melonie had the courage to ask her where she bought them. :) I read Wicked Lovely when it first came out and have been a fan of Melissa ever since. When I read first read it I was hoping there would be a sequel. I was so happy when it became a whole series. I can't wait to read Darkest Mercy! I'm totally in love with the cover to that book. She had an ARC at the signing and Melonie and I were half a second too late raising our hands to win it!

One of the authors I was most excited to meet that night was Rachel Vincent. I seem to go totally fan girl when talking about her Soul Scream books. Melonie informed me I talked really fast when it was our time to get our books signed. I tend to do that when I'm nervous. My face also flushed like crazy. Yep, I do that when I'm nervous too. I'm not sure I made the best impression but she can't deny my enthusiasm for her books. I'm way to invested in her characters. LOL. She was incredibly nice and I think the depth of my fan-ness amused her. I just reviewed My Soul To Steal in my previous blog post. I'm excited for the Tod online novella she has coming out soon. And in case you missed it there is also a free novella prequel to her Soul Screamer series online entitled My Soul To Lose. Make sure you check it out. It is wonderful when authors provide bonus material for us fans!

When I heard Kelley Armstrong was appearing at a signing within driving distance from my house I knew I had to come. Kelley is easily one of my top five favorite authors of all time. I've read all her books. I love Clay and Elena! I love Derek and Chloe. I also love Nadia and Jack. . . and Nadia and Quinn. I'm a bit torn on the love triangle, but I think I'm leaning toward Jack. One of my favorite things about Kelley is how good she is to her fans. She writes free novellas for us, we've been allowed to vote on which novella she should write next, she really tries to keep up with her emails, and when she can't her sister Alison is quick to reply to let you know it will be a while before Kelley can reply. Every time she does something like that is makes me feel like she values me as a reader and makes me a lore loyal fan. I love how good she is to us but obviously the fact that she is a wonderful author is important too. Of all three of her series the Nadia ones are my favorite. My heart was happy when she confirmed she planned on writing another Nadia book! Yay!
It was a wonderful night not just for me but for my friends as well. Carrie Ryan recognized one of my friends from a teen writers convention where she had won an award! How cool is that? I was so happy for her! We left in a great mood! I hope there are more great tours like that in the future. I know I'll be going if there are.