Event: Auntie Heather's Second Chance Tour at The Tattered Cover

Heather Brewer's "The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod" have been on my To-Read list for God only knows how long. So, when I found out she would be at The Tattered Cover this month, I was stoked. I could finally have her books on my shelf, AND they would be signed! Eep!

It was snowing, and ice had coated the ground by the time it was time to go. I had to argue with my dad a little bit to convince him I needed to go to this signing, and eventually, thankfully, got my way.

However, very few people got there way. I got a front row seat, and barely half of the few chairs out were full. Heather didn't seem to mind this at all, though. She actually seemed thrilled by the smaller crowd. We could all be "cozy".

Heather signing books

Instead of doing a major presentation where she explained her books and whatnot, Heather skipped straight to the questions, with this,

"And if nobody has a question, I'm going to start asking you all questions, and that will be weird."

The atmosphere was comfortable-- like chatting with someone you've known your whole life rather than just a few minutes, or through books. The discussions ranged from bullying to cookies and made everything seem calm.

Now, you all have to realize, I am inept when it comes to social skills. Unless the topic is, "Why would you feed that to your dog?" I am not the wittiest person. Obviously I can talk about books for years, but the authors? I clam up a little, making myself look moronic. So when it's time for questions, I usually sit there silently and listen to everyone else speak. So, about mid-questionaire, when Heather looked at me and went, "What about you, you haven't asked a question yet." my brain shut off... Very fun.

Heather signing books

To add salt to the wound of my idiocy, the only question I could come with is as follows;

"I'll just use the 'random' blog question. What's your favorite desert?"

"Ooh, that's hard..."

So at least I made her think. Ha.

"It used to be ice cream... But then I lost 132 pounds and now it is just not appealing anymore. Which is weird, because I love sweet stuff-- Cookies, cake.. Just not ice cream." ~Heather

"See, I am not the biggest cookie hound. I love my ice cream." ~Me

"Oh, I love cookies." ~Heather

She told us that when she's on tour, she will call down to the lobby, and tell them, "You know, I'm an author... And I'm on tour, and I'm feeling really homesick, and I really just need some warm cookies and a cold glass of milk...", "And even if they don't have it on their menu, they're always like, 'I will see what I can do for you.'...And they ALWAYS come through, it's awesome!"And then she will sit back in her 'ratty old slippers' with her cookies and milk and watch TV and everything is okay.

Heather signing books

She gave tips on how to get published, answered my second question (after my brain turned on again and I could think) about if she's more prone to write for males or females, told us "The Legacy of Tril: Soulbound" was a personal challenge to make women the strong role, butting heads with a certain popular book... *cough* Sparkles the Vampire *cough* Aherm...

"When everyone turns around, I'm just a 12-year-old boy, that's all it is." ~Heather

Me and Heather Brewer!

The signing has got to be one of the better ones I've been to. So much fun!

We love you, Auntie Heather! I am officially a loyal minion.. :3

My signed "High School Bites"

Event: Maggie Stiefvater & Brenna Yovanoff at The Tattered Cover

Back in September, I was flicking through The Tattered Cover's website (per usual), when I saw two names that caused mixed emotions (not really, they were both excitement, honestly...); One, was Brenna Yovanoff. I'd been to Brenna's signing in Fort Collins in...autumn of 2010, I believe, when The Replacement had first come out, and I've seen her a couple times at The Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch (although I've never been brave enough to go talk to her--The last thing I need to do is walk up to some random person and freak them out...ha)...and Maggie Stiefvater. Now, I have to admit, I kind of...sat there and stared at the computer for a couple minutes like a dunce, half expecting it to disappear. And when I showed Mel, I'm pretty sure I could've knocked her over with a feather (Mel is a fangirl, yes).

So, yes, those of you who might've been there, I was that girl with two tote bags filled to the brim at the front of the line chatting with Brenna, while my dad (the social butterfly) chatted it up with Satan (more on that later ;P). Do not worry, I got my punishments; as we were leaving the house, I managed to slip on a foot-step-upper-thingy-IknowithasapropernameIcan'tremember!-on-cars and turn my legs a charming shade of black and blue, and nearly twisting my ankle out of joint. So, at least you all know while I was holding up the line, I couldn't feel my legs. Woot pre-Karma...haha. After my Bella Swan moment, we were off!

(yes, it really was that chilly ^)

Now, let me tell you something. No one knows how very girly they are until they are downtown, on a Saturday evening, for the first time. I pride myself in not being a cliche girly-girl, but ugh. I was having issues. I know this sounds really tacky on my part, but I'd never been to The Tattered Cover on Colfax, and.... Okay.. Anyway.

Once I'd gotten in the store, however, there was a sense of calm. This place was huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge! Two whole floors, and if we weren't already running late (you would not believe parking...), I probably would've meandered around (and bought more books, like I really need them). But, as it was, we immediately tumbled down the stairs with my sore ankle, and awaited the signing.

Brenna Yovanoff (left) and Maggie Stiefvater (right)

I can easily believe Brenna and Maggie are critique partners (fact of the day). They were totally comfortable with one another, which made the event all the more enjoyable. They interviewed each other before taking questions from the audience, and Maggie was teasing Brenna good-naturedly for starting every question with, "In The Raven Boys,-". The girls were hilarious.

Maggie [right] showing us the shoe she has been taking on tour 

The girls read "dramatic" scenes from each others books, with Brenna as Gansey from The Raven Boys, and Maggie as Beelezebub ("a role I was born to play," says Maggie) from The Space Between. Maggie gave the audience an option-- They could read from "The Space Between," or they could read from, "Die Blumen des Schmerzes," the German edition.

"You all have to understand, Maggie is fluent in German while I...don't know any German." 

~Brenna Yovanoff

Maggie proceeded to tell us "the part about the bats," with a totally straight face, while everyone in the audience either giggled or died of confusion. For inquiring minds, I was in the in-between.

"'Schläger' means 'bat,' everyone. There. I've ruined the mystery of it." 

~Maggie Stiefvater

As they continued, Maggie told everyone she was nicknamed "Satan" in college. When an attendee asked the obvious question ("Why?"), Maggie answered honestly: "Well, I think it was because I played the bagpipes at all hours of the night..." ...'nough said, huh, ladies and gentlemen?

What I found to be a fun fact was, while both ladies have previous books out, the two books this signing was for, "The Raven Boys" and "The Space Between," were both books that took them the longest to write.

Needless to say, The Raven Boys and The Space Between have hiked their way to the near top of my reading list, and I can't wait to get started on them. Great signing!

Event: Fierce Reads Tour, with Ann Aguirre, Elizabeth Fama, Lish McBride, and Marissa Meyer,

When The Tattered Cover does book signings, they never do them scattered throughout the year. Or, at least, they never do this with authors I'm familiar with. Not even a week after seeing Ellen Hopkins there, on September 13th, I was back for the Fierce Reads Tour on September 19th. I left my wallet at home this time-- I've spent enough money on books lately, as is...

I've never read anything but Ann, Beth, Lish or Marissa when I found out about the signing, but that didn't stop me from going. A book signing is just an excuse to buy more books, in my opinion. ;) 

Surprisingly enough, I was there early. Wow. I meandered around the store for a few minutes, read a bit, added more books to my list, and then, finally, I got a REALLY good seat. Which, since I'm always there all of thirty seconds before the authors arrive, is rare for me. The ladies were already present and seated, and discussing amongst themselves-- It's easy to tell they're all friends, which made this signing even more fun.

Marissa Meyer

Marissa, author of Cinder, was adorable. She revealed she got started writing by posting fanfictions on Sailor Moon (so glad I'm not the only one who watched that show when I was little...), and began to get the idea for Cinder while entering a contest. Out of the options given, Marissa wrote a story that was, basically, "A sci-fi version of Puss In Boots". Later, she found out only two people had entered that contest, and she didn't win. But she liked her thought, so she continued on, and eventually, Cinder was born! (Yay!)

Lish McBride

Did you you know Lish wrote Hold Me Closer, Necromancer so she could get her masters degree? I didn't either. Can you imagine? Hitting up your teachers with a horror story with a necromancer/burger flipper and a talking head being a major role? Lish admitted she had a lot of push-back, but she fought for Sam to be her character, even though her teacher insisted her selected genre was 'crap' and 'no one' reads it. *ahem* 

"I eventually had to go and get a New York Times best seller list and show her. 'Oh, look! Mystery, thriller, thriller, romance, mystery, thriller, YA, YA, thriller, oh, there, one of your genre...' And she was genuinely shocked about this! I was like, 'Do you live under a rock?" ~Lish (paraphrased, I'm sure I screwed it up. Derp.)

Lish was hilarious, and I cannot wait to get into Sam's story.

Elizabeth Fama

Elizabeth was a doll. Very soft spoken and comfortable with her surroundings, she got me VERY excited by telling us that while it has an innocent looking mermaid on the cover, Monstrous Beauty is actually quite "dark and tragic". I won't lie, I did a fist pump at this, and I'm sure this weirded several people out, but I really don't care. The dark stuff is my favorite. She told us the last thing she wrote was a book for a Write-Off with her son. The judges being an unbiased college friend (who called tie), herself (who voted her son), her son (who voted her), and her husband... Who voted her son. Queue the "Oooooh's" and giggles from the audience. She is currently reading her sons, and while "the grammar is a mess", the story is insane. I kind of want to read it....hehe

Ann Aguirre

Ann was probably the chipper-est person I have ever encountered. She was telling us of her obsession with zombies, which I've never been a massive fan of, and even reenacted a scene from a trailer she saw. For the life of me I cannot remember the name of the movie, but I really want to. The trailer alone sounds hilarious, and just from her description, I kind of want to see it. My first zombie flick, oh boy...

Lana (me!) and Ann Aguirre

When I got up to the signing line (which turned into a mad rush near the end, I might add), Beth had a notebook with her, for fans to sign their name and emails in if they wished. As I was doing so, I heard the person behind me (obviously) begin talking to Elizabeth as I was talking to Ann (who likes my hair, EEP!). I was expecting to meet four authors, and I met five.

"Hi! I'm gonna be with you guys tomorrow- I'm Jessica Brody."

Jessica Brody. You know her- She wrote The Karma Club, My Life Undecided, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father...? You know who I mean. Needless to say, I, grace in action, nearly fell over my book bag. After getting a picture with Ann (who was awesome, thank you), I told Jessica I was a huge fan, and she was kind enough to take a picture with me. Yay, proof! 

Lana (me!) and Jessica Brody

The event was FANTASTIC and I'm so happy I went! I will have to start on ALL of these books soon (and you all know you'll get my opinions on them, sooner or later). So much fun!

Event: Ellen Hopkins Signing at The Tattered Cover

Ellen Hopkins reading from "Tilt"
Photo taken by Lana

In July, I was at The Tattered Cover's website for my weekly visit, checking to see if there were any authors I wanted to see stopping in Highlands Ranch. I hadn't been to a book signing for a while, and I was desperate to see someone. When I saw that Ellen was coming, I choked. After that, I checked back every day to make sure it didn't disappear- I just couldn't believe it!

I've been a fan of Hopkin's book since I read 'Crank', about two years ago. I hadn't been able to get any of her other novels, unfortunately, due to time and money, but when I saw she was coming, I ordered every single one. Figuring it would be good to have read more than one of her books, I started 'Burned', and finished it in all of three days. I am currently half-way through 'Triangles' and enjoying it much.

Ellen reading from "Tilt"
Photo taken by Lana

 Ellen was full of life and very sweet. As she was reading 'Tilt', I found myself wanting to finish 'Triangles' all the more quickly. Each character sounded different, her facial expressions told more than just words could. I almost wished she'd just finish the book right there, and stop tormenting us.

Ellen taking about Shane and Alex in "Tilt"
Photo taken by Lana

Like she just so happened to do when asked about "Smoke", the sequel to "Burned". 

"All I can tell you is the book opens with Pattyn's father dead on the floor, and she is on the run... Tease, tease, tease!" -Ellen Hopkins on "Smoke"

As if the wait wasn't bad enough...? I'm just glad I wasn't one of the people who read it when it first came out- I would've died waiting so long!

Ellen Answering Questions

 "The reason I wanted Alex to have HIV is because everyone seems to think we have it completely under control, so no one is talking about it anymore... Well. I'm talking about it." -Ellen Hopkins on Alex from 'Tilt'

Ellen talking about Collateral

 She also let us all in on a few secrets about Collateral, her latest adult novel (due out November 13th, 2012!). I am very excited about this book, though I am almost 100% positive Hopkins will make me cry (that's just what her books do- Which is a reason why she's on of my favorite authors). She told us she spoke to several military families; the spouses, the kids, the survivors. She dug deep, and it makes me very excited to dig into this!

Ellen reading from Collateral

"This book is gonna freak people out- That's what I'm good at." -Ellen Hopkins

While waiting in line to sign my whopping thirteen books, I had the pleasure of meeting two very awesome girls, Bridget and Rahie, who were freaking out just as bad as I was. Which, honestly, I was thankful for. We fangirled in line for the entirety of the wait, and yet, when I got to the line, I was still having a hard time...you know...inhaling?

[Left to right] Ellen Hopkins, Tattered Cover Employee (I did not catch her name), and me.
Taken by Bridget (Thank you!)

 I usually have some sort of social skills at these things. Now, I am well-aware I always sound like some creepy fangirl, but I can usually get out more than a, "Hi!" ...Well. That's not the case here. I was standing there stammering like a total nincompoop. Thankfully, Ellen didn't seem to mind. *phew* (Told you she was a sweetheart..)

Ellen Hopkins and me!
Taken by Bridget (Thank you!)

I haven't had this much fun in a long time, even if my brain wasn't working right. Ah, well. It was great meeting Ellen, Bridget and Rahie! Definitely a great event!