First, the winner of the giveaway hop is… Marsie S.
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Yesterday I went to my first ever book signing. It was in Knoxville at Union Ave Books and was part of the Ash to Nash tour. It was truly a blast! Beth Revis, Myra McEntire, Victoria Schwab, and Alan Gratz were hilarious!
They told stories about their publishing journeys, shared writing tips, and mentioned what is coming up next for them.
Beth Revis even showed off book 2 ARC in the Across the Universe series, A Million Suns. Hot off the presses! (pictured below)
After the questions the authors signed books. I was amazed that they knew of my blog!
It's easy to see that they are all having a blast on this tour and I was so excited that they could come to my area. I wish more authors would stop by!
Thanks to these fabulous authors for taking time to stop by and answer questions! If you missed the previous stops, don't worry! They have one more stop left and it is in Nashville, TN TODAY from 6:30-8:30pm! If you are in the area be sure to stop by the Barnes & Noble in Brentwood.
Here is the author list for tonight.
Rachel Hawkins, author of Hex Hall and Demonglass
Julie Kagawa, author of The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, and The Iron Queen
Today is the release day for The Near Witch and I have the wonderful Victoria Schwab here today to talk about the book.
I am super excited to talk to her because I will be meeting her on August 7th in Knoxville as part of the Ash to Nash tour!
1. You have explored quite a few college majors and careers. Can you tell us a little about what you learned from your experiences? --I learned that physics wasn't for me, drama had too much drama, art history was too quiet to be a morning class, every religion has its own gorgeous stories, the majority of creative writing students are not very creative when it comes to writing (and goodness help you if you want to be a PUBLISHED one *cough*sellout*cough*), film doesn't give you credit for enjoying the films too much to take notes, and art students have perfected a method of staying up all night using only a bag of skittles.
2. How did you first get into writing? --By writing really, really bad poetry. And then by writing slightly better poetry. By the time I decided to try writing a book, I had NO idea what I was doing, but I knew I could assemble words in lovely ways. Next I had to learn structure. That took a little while and a good deal of rejection. Thankfully.
3. What has been the most surprising thing to happen to you since The Near Witch started grabbing everyone's attention? --I have two favorites. One is authors I adore/admire knowing that I even exist, let alone several of them having read (and enjoyed!!) NW. That's just beyond surreal and surprising. The second was hearing from a friend that their non-reader friend suggested my book to her, after the non-reader's mother, a high-school teacher, had mentioned it to her, after having overheard students in her hall talking about books they wanted to read that summer. That was pretty dang cool.
4. If you could tell people one thing about The Near Witch, what would it be? --It's a fairy tale. And it's written that way. It's meant to be airy, and sparse, a bit blurred at the edges, a window into a world, rather than a door. Go in knowing that.
5. You will be going on tour with Beth Revis and Myra McEntire soon. What crazy things do you all have planned? --OH THE ANTICS. There are planned ones, and ones that we couldn't plan if we tried. But rest assured, there will be lots of laughing.We are three loud and largely inappropriate people.
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab Publisher: Hyperion Books (August 2nd, 2011) Reading Level: Young Adult Hardback: 288 pages The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children. If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. And there are no strangers in the town of Near.These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life. But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true. The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him. As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.
Find Victoria Schwab Victoria Schwab | Goodreads | Blog | Twitter
Purchase The Near Witch Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
It has been a crazy month since we moved so I am extremely behind on IMM. This isn't everything from the past month but it's most of the books/swag. Hopefully soon I can get back on track and do them each week again: ) Sorry for the picture overload in this post!
Special thanks to HarperTeen, Penguin, Bloomsbury, Little Brown, Random House, and Sourcebooks. And, big hugs to Deb Caletti for taking the time to sign my books, Jeri Smith-Ready for sending me a signed copy of Bad to the Bone, Nancy Holder and Erin (love you both!), Angeline Kace, Michelle Zink, and Sophie Jordan for the other goodies this week!
Signed Books
Review Audition (ARC) by Stasia Ward Kehoe Circle of Fire by Michelle Zink The Power of Six (ARC) by Pittacus Lore Supernaturally (ARC) by Kiersten White Love Story by Janenifer Echols The Carrier of the Mark (ARC) by Leigh Fallon Don't Breathe a Word (ARC) by Holly Cupala The Fox Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson Vanish (ARC) by Sophie Jordan Sweet Venom (ARC) by Tera Lynn Childs The Dream Catchers by The Predicteds by Christine Seifert Glow (ARC +2 HB copies) by Amy Kathleen Ryan Michael Vey by Richard Paul Evens Hades by Alexandra Adornetto Sweetly by Jackson Pearce Melody Burning (ARC) by Whitley Strieber The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor The Shattering by Karen Healey … and adorable towel from Little, Brown!
Purchased A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells Birthmarked by Caragh M O'Brien The Fledgling Handbook 101 by P.C. Cast
Purchased (Signed)
Bloodlines by Richelle Mead Wings by Aprilynne Pike Spells by Aprilynne Pike
Gifted (Signed) Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie (and signed bookplate)
From Ash to Nash Tour (got signed) Across the Universe by Beth Revis Hourglass by Myra McEntire The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
Swag Firelight and Vanish cards and stickers from Sophie Jordan Descended by Blood bookmarks (signed) by Angeline Kace Card from Deb Caletti
Deb Caletti (Signed) When I worked with Deb Caletti on the Stand Up Against Abuse feature she was kind enough to sign all of the books I had by her! The Fortunes of Indigo Sky Honey, Baby, Sweetheart The Six Rules of Maybe Stay The Secret Life of Prince Charming The Nature of Jade
Something that didn't come IMM!
I got a new car!! It's a 2011 Kia Soul (Alien color!) and I absolutely love it. Technically this is my very first car that's just for me (okay.me and my 3 year old, ha!) But if you are thinking"ya know, this car makes me think of a hamster" you would be correct! It is the car that was featured on the VMAs and I adore their commercial!
What did you get in your mailbox this week?
*IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren and it was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.
Some of my FAVORITE authors are stopping my my neck of the woods and I am so excited! Authors rarely stop in my area so I was thrilled to see that Myra McEntire, Beth Revis, and Victoria Schwab will be here, in Knoxville! If you are not close to Knoxville, no worries, there are several other stops. The other stops are: Asheville Forest City Morganton Spartanburg Sylva Kingsport Knoxville Nashville For dates and more information, just USE GOOGLE to go to their tour blog. Hope to see you there!!
