Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The time we were unsupervised

Embrace has been on my TBR list for a while. A long while. When I saw that Jessica Shirvington was going to have the release party for Entice at MGRB, I was pretty sure I was going to go.



We got up to the store early and bought books. We also got a spiffy reusable bag. After killing time, we got back to the store around 6:45 and proceeded to stand behind Jessica and her friend [handler? assistant? manager? agent?] at the coffee shop inside MGRB.



We sort of run amok in the store. Quietly, of course. *cough* LeAnna wasn't at work, so I raided the bookmark table while Hubs tried on leftover Carnival of Souls masks. A snack table was set up and we were told to help ourselves.

Jessica got there just after 7:30 as she was doing an interview. There were only a couple of people at the event, so we decided to put the chairs in a circle and chat like friends.

Jessica started taking about how she didn't plan to write Embrace. She was on a book binge and after reading one book a day for a few weeks, she decided to open up her laptop and start writing.



She had printed out over 400 pages and after storing it in a package from the ream of paper she used, she very casually told her husband that she wrote a book. From there, she talked to a colleague of her husbands [who works in media] about contacting the woman who would become her agent.

Jessica then read from Entice. She said it was hard to pick the scene to read, mostly because she doesn't like hearing her words in her voice.



After the reading, it was time for the Q&A. It started as a regular Q&A, but quickly turned into a comfortable conversation among book lovers. Topics were all over the place: from Jessica's first time on the west coast, to her writing style, to the exciting tv news announcement about Embrace, to my driving to San Francisco for an event.



We also touched on the topic of how YA has become mainstream and Jessica's theory is that young love is the reason it's so popular. Everyone can relate to young love and the choices that teenagers make, whereas if it was an adult making those same choices, people would wonder about the character's mortgage and job.

The signing started after we talked for about 40 minutes. I got my books signed and Jessica went to date them, but had to think about the American way of dating it. I told her she could date it the European way. And then she asked if people here jaywalk, that she had been jaywalking all the time and noticed that no one followed her. Hubs told her that she'd get a ticket in Santa Monica.



After she signed my books, I thanked her for coming, wished her well on the rest of the tour and said I hoped to see her again for the third book. She really is so adorable and friendly.

Annnnnnnd....

I got a couple of books signed for a giveaway. Up for grabs are a signed paperback copy of Embrace, a signed hardcover copy of Entice, 2 bookmarks and the spiffy reusable bag.



The Fine Print:
1. US Only.

2. Must be at least 13 to enter [Besides, if you're under 13, you shouldn't be reading this blog with the amount of swearing I do].

3. I'm not responsible for lost or damaged items. I don't have replacements. Rest assured, I am ridiculously anal about my books. They will be sent in safe packaging and will leave my hands as near to perfect as I can get them.

4. I reserve the right to suspend or end the giveaway at any time, for any reason and without a winner being chosen.

5. Winner will be notified by email and will have 72 hours to respond. If there is no response, a new winner will be chosen.

6. Winners are chosen at random by Rafflecopter.

I'm not going to make you follow me here or on Twitter to win. If you'd like to follow or pimp me out, that would be great. If not, that's cool too. Good luck!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

24 comments:

  1. Yay! I'm super-duper happy you had a good time, SHBee! <3!

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    Replies
    1. I had a blast, Sweets. Jessica was absolutely adorable.

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  2. She seems adorable! I bet you liked it better just having a small group, that way you could interact with her more. I feel like an idiot because I only thought she'd have Embrace there. I would've loved to have gotten myself a copy of Entice.

    Also, I think these books would make a really good T.V. show. Hopefully it works out well for her!

    Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!

    ~Christina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She's really animated and that made for excellent storytelling. I'm really glad I decided to go.

      And UGH. I almost asked if you wanted me to pick you up a book. Well, there aren't many entries and they're almost all Ava, so you just have to beat her. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting and entering and being awesome and supportive.

      <3

      Delete
    2. I'm really glad you decided to go as well. It sounds like it was a really good time. No worries, I should have thought to ask (but then I have that whole issue of that "assholery book-mooching" feeling to contend with, lol).

      As for the contest, challenge accepted. :)

      For all the rest, I take my stalking...er, camaraderie seriously.

      ♥XO♥

      Delete
  3. Jessica's theory of why older readers are reading Ya is spot on. I'm way out of the YA demographic, but it's all I read. I have my own life dramas, I don't want to read about them in my escape through books! I want the thrill of first love and the sweetness of falling hard. I'm happily married, so I know I'll never have that again, but I get it through my YA books:)
    Really looking forward to reading Embrace!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I also thought her theory made sense. Besides, most YA books are just written better than "adult fiction".

      Thanks for reading and entering the contest!!

      Delete
  4. So glad you had fun! Thanks for the giveaway! pnh002@gmail.com

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  5. It's so awesome when you get to meet authors. They're rockstars! Thanks for the giveaway. Wish me luck! I REALLY want to win :-o

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  6. I have not read this series yet, it is in my list though. I would have loved to meet her. I love going to author events.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm only a couple of chapters into Embrace, but I'm enjoying it so far. And yes, I love going to author events too! [obviously!]

      Thanks for entering!!

      Delete
  7. I almost made the drive from SD and now I'm a little bummed I didn't go! I read Embrace very quickly and really enjoyed listening to Entice on audio. So nice to hear that she is so personable. I can't wait for her to tour again because I am definitely going!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The MGRB date was her release party for Entice and this is her first tour in the US. I really hope she comes back because she is just soooo sweet.

      And I'm in SD too! I feel like I'm at the MGRB store twice as often as the SD site.

      Thanks for reading and entering!

      Delete
  8. I will be very interested in hearing what you think about the books. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just finished Entice last night. Posted my "reviews" on GR.

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  9. Sounds like you had a great time meeting her! Too bad she's not touring anywhere near me :P Thanks for the awesome giveaway : )

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  10. I was suppose to go to this... Looks like I missed a really good signing.. This is a really cool giveaway..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a lot of fun!
      Thanks for reading and entering!

      Delete

 

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