Last weekend was the 8th Annual Children's Lit Breakfast hosted by Anderson's. And WOW, Anderson's puts on a nice event! My friends/critique partners/co-bloggers over at Author2Author, Deena and Em, came into town for it and we had such a fun time!
There were a TON of librarians and teachers there-- I think I heard something like 600.
And something like 65 Illinois authors (WOW again-- I had no idea there were so many kid lit authors here!).
The eggs were icky and the coffee non-existent (OMG, I thought I might die. I don't go without coffee. Unless I'm trapped at the top of a mountain in a blizzard. And that rarely happens.). But we weren't there for the breakfast anyway-- we were there to chat with all the fun people attending and listen to awesome speakers. The IL authors moved between tables so we were able to meet with groups of 8-10 librarians/teachers and I have to say that junior high teachers rock! So fun. And the speakers were great! My favorite was Jordan Sonnenblick. He forgot his notes at his hotel and just talking off the top of his head he was amazing enough that I got up right after he concluded and ran to the bookstore they had set up to get his book and have him sign it. Oh, how I'd love to someday be able to make people race to get my book after speaking! And of course, Richard Peck.
I've seen Richard speak several times and he's always amazing. One of my favorite things that he said was: "While Kindle may dwindle, books never crash." Ha, love it!
Just had the BEST writerly weekend with lots of fun people! Will post pics and write up soon but I wants to post the winner of last weekend's A MATCH MADE IN HIGH SCHOOL contest. It's...
DeNiSe MaDnEsS!!!
Yay!! I'll e-mail you for your address Denise! Thanks for entering everyone!
This is going to sound like a lame excuse but I swear it's true-- my 1 yr old chewed up my memory card. That's why there have been no V-Day signing pics yet. But Kristin from Bookworking into the 21st Century was there and took some great pics! Here are a few:
(Our cute little table.)
(Kristin Walker, Kimberly Pauley, and me.)
(Kristin Walker, Kimberly Pauley, Kim's cutie, Me, and Kristin from Bookworking in the 21st Century)
I had a great time at Kristin Walker's launch party for her fun book, A MATCH MADE IN HIGH SCHOOL today.
Here's Kristin signing books:
See the cute little engagement rings in front of her? She was giving one away with each book. Adorable! Weddings were the theme of the whole party (like in her book when the characters have to get "married" as part of a class project) and there was wedding music playing and favors like matchbooks (filled with paper) and wedding cupcakes. Too cute!
Here's me and Kristin:
And here are all the super cool SCBWI-IL writers that came out:
I didn't get a picture but I met this cute elderly woman there who told me that she was a writer too and that she writes short stories, wraps a dollar in them, and then mails them out to her 5 grandchildren. Isn't that awesome? :-)
I had a blast and one lucky blog reader gets some fun too. I bought an extra book, had it autographed, and grabbed some schwag (paper matchbook, bookmarks, engagement ring).
For a chance to win the above, comment on this post.
+1 = comment +2= comment and follow me +3=comment, follow me, and tweet/facebook/whatever about the contest.
I'll pick a winner and post next Sunday! Good luck! :-)
Yay! First I have to announce that I joined the Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit. What's this? A virtual tour of female authors. And I have to say, there are some really rockin' authors in this group! I'm so excited I'll get to interview and post about them as their books come out! Starting today with Suzanne Young:
About Suzanne Young:
Suzanne Young is a brilliant scientist. Not really. But she is a former middle school teacher turned zookeeper (mother). When Suzanne's not fending off zombie squirrels or narrating her daughter's Barbie soap operas, she can be found camping on the Oregon coast or writing obsessively.
Suzanne is the author of The Naughty List series coming February 4th, 2010 from Razorbill/Penguin. The Naughty List is about a group of cheerleaders who investigate cheating boyfriends. Which Suzanne never did. Or at least, not that you can prove.
And here's the first of her fantastic new book series:
As if being a purrfect cheerleader isn’t enough responsibility! Tessa Crimson’s the sweet and spunky leader of the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens), a cheer squad–turned–spy society dedicated to bringing dastardly boyfriends to justice, one cheater at a time. Boyfriend-busting wouldn’t be so bad . . . except that so far, every suspect on the Naughty List has been proven 100% guilty!
When Tessa’s own boyfriend shows up on the List, she turns her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as all the rest, or will Tessa’s sneaky ways end in catastrophe?
Look out for series: The Naughty List-2/4/10, So Many Boys-6/10/10, A Good Boy is Hard to Find-10/2010
And here's our interview:
In my book, THE ESPRESSOLOGIST, Jane, a coffee barista, matchmakes people based on their favorite coffee drinks. What’s your favorite coffee drink? (If you don’t like coffee, tell me what your favorite drink in general is. But I am sorry, you’ll never find love. Kidding!)
Haha. Well, I like Vanilla Frapps with whipped cream. Got someone in mind for me???
Ooh, I'd say you are a sweetie pie and young at heart. If I didn't already know you were married with kidlets I'd hook you up with a Jonas. :-)
I am always curious about when and where writers write. Can you tell me about your schedule and your favorite place to work?
My office is the couch. Haha But occasionally, when I’m on a short deadline, I’ll move to the kitchen table. Glamorous, huh? I usually write between 9am and 3pm while my kiddies are at school. Although I try to keep my schedule open to write whenever I’m feeling inspired.
Wow, you rock! And put me to shame!
So, what are you reading right now?
I just finished Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver—both of which I LOVED! Now I have an ARC of Adam Rex’s Fat Vampire and Carrie Ryan’s Dead Tossed Waves.
So excited for this weekend (and not just because it's Valentine's Day!)! On Saturday I'm going to Kristin Walker's (A MATCH MADE IN HIGH SCHOOL) launch party here:
Date:
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Time:
2:00pm - 5:00pm
Location:
The Little White School Museum
Street:
72 Polk Street
City/Town:
Oswego, IL
and all are invited. Hope to see some familiar faces there! And then on Sunday I'm doing a signing with Kristin and Kimberly Pauley at the Bolingbrook Borders. Can't wait! Looking forward to meeting readers! And being goofy with Kristin and Kimberly of course. I plan on taking pics and posting about it all next week. :-)
We have a winner! Beverly Stowe McClure, please send an email to rhonda at rhondastapleton dot com -- include your mailing address so we can get your signed books and valentines out to you.
Bonus! Here's Beverly's flirty poem from her winning entry (drawn at random):
Roses are red. You are so sweet. Winning your book Would be quite a treat.
Congratulations, Beverly, and thanks to everyone who entered!
Hi and welcome to my blog! I'm the YA/MG fiction author of The Espressologist, My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours, Just Your Average Princess, The Paparazzi Project, and Boy Swap. I'm also the mom to four little ones and a coffee fanatic. Find me on twitter @TinaSpringer.
