BEA Newb No More: A Recap Part II & Wait For You Giveaway

Friday, May 31
Again with the butt crack o'thirty. Although it took Jen and I a bit longer to get going this morning, we again hit that 6:20 a.m. ferry and arrived at the Javits around 6:45. After checking our large rolling suitcase, which we shared each day, we got in line to get in to the children's author breakfast. I was very excited for this, because Octavia Spencer, Mary Pope Osborne, Rick Riordan and Veronica Roth were speaking. Talk about an all-star line-up!

Upon entering the event hall, we saw our chairs draped with Heroes of Olympus t-shirts, copies of The Case of the Time Capsule Bandit by Octavia Spencer and Divergent by Veronica Roth on our chairs and a cool Magic Treehouse mug by our place settings. But, before the breakfast started, Jen and I were on a mission. I'm not ashamed to say that we totally stalked Megan Spooner and Ami Kaufman, waiting for them to arrive so that we could deliver the secret password and receive these cool necklaces from their book These Broken Stars. Finally, mission accomplished!

The speakers were all amazing. Mary Pope Osborne read some letters she's received from kids over the years. Rick Riordan reminisced about first getting published and what his life has been like since. And Veronica Roth talked about the importance of remaining humble and appreciating constructive criticism.

Mary Pope Osborne, Rick Riordan and Veronica Roth

 After breakfast, we hit the floor. I met Susan Dennard when she signed my copy of Something Strange and Deadly. Immediately after, I got in line an hour early for the Harlequin Teen Hour. Good thing, too, because when the signings started, it looked like this:

The long wait was worth it! I got to meet Katie McGarry, Amanda Sun, Julie Kagawa and Elizabeth Scott. It was so exciting!

Katie McGarry

After picking up our copies of Frigid by Jennifer L. Armentrout, who wasn't able to be at BEA due to a family emergency, I met Denise Grover Swank, Liliana Hart, Sylvia Day and Mari Mancusi.

This was the longest day for us, but for me anyway, it was the most productive. I met more authors and came away with more books today than any of the other days.

Day 2 Book Haul

Saturday, June 1
For our last day, Jen and I slept in an extra hour and took our time getting to the city. We got in line with Jessica from A Midsummer Nights Read and enjoyed passing the time with her and her cousin. When the doors opened, Jen and I split up right away with her going to the Harlequin booth and me heading to get in line to meet Sylvia Day again and get my copy of Entwined With You. While in that line, I realized I was right in front of Yara from Once Upon a Twilight!

Me and Yara

My wait ensured that I would miss the signings for Reboot and The Ward, which bummed me out. But, not stressing about the books that got away is part of the BEA game, and a part I had to learn quickly. I did manage to meet Jonathan Maberry and Cora Carmack, which was so cool.

Cora Carmack signing Faking It

Then, toward the end of the day, as I was wondering through the HarperCollins booth, I decided to just put myself out there and ask if they had any copies of Reboot or The Ward leftover from their signings. The amazing publicist I spoke with turned around, reached in a cabinet and handed me a copy of BOTH books, saying they were the last ones they had. I think I nearly hugged her, which would've been totally unprofessional. But, in my head, I was thinking, "IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou!"

Jen and I hopped in the car then and drove home where we engaged in much book petting and started nursing a severe BEA hangover.

Day 3 Book Haul

SO... interested in a BEA book giveaway? They say that caring is sharing! So, for my first post-BEA giveaway, I'm offering a signed copy of Wait For You by J. Lynn/Jennifer L. Armentrout.

 

I may even throw in some swag! Unfortunately, I have to limit this giveaway to my US peeps due to shipping charges.  So sorry, international friends - I'll have something for you soon! Fill out the Rafflecopter for a chance to win this awesome new adult book that isn't due out in hard copy format until September!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BEA Newb No More: A Recap, Part I

BEA 2013 has now come and gone. It's hard to believe after all those months of planning and anticipating the big event that it's over now. But, what an exciting and crazy three days it was. Here's a blow-by-blow account of how it all went down.

Wednesday, May 29
I embarked on this whirlwind adventure from the very beginning with my good friend Jen from At Random. She and I arrived in NYC mid-day on Wednesday and immediately headed to the Javits Center to register early and take a look around. This was the first thing we saw when we walked in, and I had a bit of a fangirl moment:

Then, we wandered around New York for a bit, taking in the sites before heading back to our hotel and preparing for the big day the next day. 

Memorial at Ground Zero

Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty

Day 1:  Thursday, May 30

Day 1 dawned at butt crack o'thirty. We stayed in Weehawken, NJ and took the ferry over to the Javits every morning. Jen and I caught the second ferry out at 6:20 a.m. and arrived at our place in line around 6:45. We weren't the first in line (about a dozen back), and most certainly weren't the last. This is what it looked like an hour later, which was still almost an hour and a half from go-time. 

The time passed quickly for Jen and I. We perused the PW Show Daily, chatted with fellow bloggers and channeled our alter steampunk egos, courtesy of some cool 'staches from Spencer Hill Press.

When the doors opened, everyone was off on their respective missions. I headed to meet Jane O'Connor first. My 7-year-old daughter is a HUGE Fancy Nancy fan, and I wanted to do that for her before I got anything for me. After that, I tried to stick as closely to my schedule as I could. Amazingly, due to lots of pre-BEA obsessing and making nice with the incredible people I met in line (like Chaz and Taschima from The Bloody Bookaholic, Lili from Lili's Reflections and Hannah from The Irish Banana), I got to do more than I expected! I met some amazing authors, like Ami Kaufman and Megan Spooner:

Ami Kaufman and Megan Spooner

Sarah Maas, Cinda Williams Chima and Abbi Glines:

Abbi Glines

Day 1 even held a few surprises, like meeting Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon, the authors of Doon and scoring my own signed copy and happening by a galley drop of Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles. Fangirl squeal!! My one main regret from day 1 was missing Antigoddess by Kendare Blake. I should've gotten in her line first, and then jumped to Jane O'Connor, but by the time I realized my mistake, the Antigoddess line was completely REDICK.

By 4 p.m., I was kinda dead on my feet, but the day wasn't over yet. We headed downtown to a party thrown by the fine folks at Kensington Publishing where a good time was held by all.

Me at the Kensington Publishing party

 
By 10 p.m., it was time to stick a fork in me. I hadn't had a proper meal all day long, my feet were killing me, and I was so sleepy. But, before I succumbed, I made time to pet each and every book I brought back that day. Priorities, y'all.

Day 1 book haul

I reset my alarm for 5 a.m. and got ready to do it all over again...