Friday, June 21, 2013

The time I was talked into it

I didn't plan on going to Leigh's signing at MGRB once I knew that I was going to Vegas. I had arcs for Robin LaFevers and I wanted to get them signed, but I was more than happy just to drop them off. And then Michelle convinced me to go.

Michelle got to my apartment just before 3 and we left immediately. Traffic was bad, but not too bad for Friday. We got to MGRB around 5:30. Nicole was already there. We chatted for a minute, bought books, and then I took Michelle to the super secret back room. 

We ended up hanging out by one of the side tables in the event area and chatting about all thing books. Kristin came over and said hi and also let me borrow her copy of These Broken Stars. Around 6, Carlos and Nicole informed the small crowd that they were moving the event area to the middle of the store. 

I helped Carlos set up the rows and then asked if I could have priority seating. We ended up in the front row with Anasheh and Vivian.

 
The ladies got to the store at 7:40 and launched into how they decided to do the event together. They talked on twitter about packing for tour, and Robin wanted to be involved. Then Leigh asked her to join her at the event. 

Robin first asked the question about who in the audience was a reader and who in the audience wanted to learn about the writing process.

 
It started out as a conversation between Robin and Leigh. [And FYI: I didn't take down all of the questions. I thought there would be a lot of the same questions that were posted in the lengthy Vegas interview.]

Which your favorite character?

L: Sturmhond, he's a privateer, sort of the Han Solo character. He's actually the Lando character. Writing the second book was much scarier, no one was watching. He never struggles with "can I do this?" Spends less time worrying, not sure if power will corrupt him.

R: It's like asking which child is the favorite. Usually says whichever character is being written at the time.

 
 
R: Loves the subtext that Alina gets more beautiful as she uses her power. Was that intentional?

L: Magic is usually draining. Alina doesn't become stunning all of a sudden, she becomes the best version of herself. The message of the book that the scariest part of yourself is what makes you...[I didn't get this entire answer]

Beauty is a trigger issue for YA. There is something in the water in towns. There are zombies, but they're hot. Vampires? Especially hot.

Worked in makeup in Hollywood, knows what it's like to be beautiful and what it's like to lose it and what people will do to get it back. 

Oblivious pretty? Come on. Standard of beauty in high school is very narrow. The tall girl with gorgeous skin and glossy hair that doesn't know it until the hero comes around and tells her? No. 

R: Authors write half of the story. Readers fill in the other half. And writers have no control over what the readers will see.

 
The Q&A started then. Carlos raised his hand first and asked how Leigh had been since the last time they saw each other. 

If you had to pick one song for your writing process what would it be? 

L: Is there a song about getting punched in the face? "Blinding" by Florence + the Machine.

R: Is that question for both of us? "Roll away your stone" Mumford & Sons.  Every character has that process. 

What character would you want to be in each others books?

L: I love her heroines, but they have to go through so much. Can I be the God of Death? I would want to be in the convent, working alone. 

R: I want to be Sturmhond 

 
With the worlds that you both wrote, do you have an academic background in those fields?

R: I don't have an academic background. Wanted to be an author the entire time, time for graduation and all adults said to go to college. Lasted one year at school. Life long learner, passionate about the Middle Ages. 

L: Was an English major with a lot of history classes. Big history reader. Knew there wanted to be guns. What happens when you bring a fun to a magic fight. 

Do you ship the characters in your own books?

L: I ship everything. I'm team story. I can't get attached to anyone. And you shouldn't either.... I believe in every relationship and I have to serve the story more than the relationship. 

R: That is the best part of having different heroines. I can always ship them in the next book.

 
Would you ever consider writing from another POV?

L: The truth is that we could?

R: The abbesses POV. 

L: Darkling POV. Has written some, may release it, but not until after the trilogy is over. Likes to write bonus content, but doesn't want to have puzzle pieces, wants the original book to be able to stand alone. 

R: There are a lot of extra scenes on the website about the girls being trained. So happy that there are books to prove she needed the research just in case the government is watching. 

When the Q&A came to the end, Nicole came out and offered books to anyone who asked a question. It could be anything. After another 30 minutes or so, Leigh said that she had swag for the first 10 people who showed up. So I got this awesome bag:


The signing started then and the people who didn't have seats got to line up first. We got to line up next. 

Kelly was awesome and grabbed me some nail polish. She also took some of my books up with her, since we were asked to only take 3 at a time. 

I got to Robin first. We talked about my arc for Grave Mercy and how it didn't have a title page. She laughed and said it was made wrong and then amended her statement to say it was special. I thanked her for driving down from Santa Barbara and she thanked me for coming up. 

  
 
I got to Leigh and butted in on the conversation Michelle was having. We talked about her being at SDCC and how I would stalk her properly there. I told her that I had the giveaway book she signed in Vegas, but now I had the winner's name and just wanted to get it personalized. 

She happily did that, then I thanked her and left. 

We sort of made the rounds, saying goodbye and then made our way home. As always, Leigh and Robin are just absolutely amazing. I highly recommend seeing them as soon and as often as you can.

Soooo.  I have a couple of books up for grabs.  I got signed paperback copies of Shadow & Bone and Grave Mercy...

Rules for the giveaway are listed under the "terms and conditions" on the Rafflecopter widget.
**Good Luck!!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

28 comments:

  1. It was good to see you too! And nice to have some free time beforehand to chat about books. I can't wait to see what you think of CoM!

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  2. I loved the easy breezy chatting at the beginning. These authors were easy to talk to! Great recap!

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    1. I think the conversation in the beginning was my favorite, it was different than a regular moderator/host would treat the situation.

      So great to see you again!

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  3. Front row? That's so exciting! I'm so glad you had fun. As for your question, I'd rather have magical powers. I can't see myself being an assassin. Every time I killed someone a piece of me would die.

    And you're so friggen thoughtful. Getting Leigh to add the winner's name to the book you're giving away? That is so incredibly thoughtful.

    I'm going to have to look up Robin's books. I'm not familiar with them.

    Thanks for the shot at the giveaway. ILY!

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    1. Hi sweet pea!!

      I recapped this just for you, I wasn't planning on it at all. I guess I wasn't planning on anything about this event, was I? :D

      Robin's books are so amazing, you can't go wrong with assassin nuns.

      As always, thank you for reading and all of your awesome support!! ILY

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    2. I just put both books on hold at the library--we finally got Siege and Storm in. I'm so looking forward to falling in love with these characters and Bardugo's writing hopefully. Thank you for always recommending such wonderful books!

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  4. I can't imagine you not planning on seeing Leigh Bardugo :-) Glad you went! I adore both of these authors and would love to see them again. Wonderful recap Stacee!

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    1. Thank you, Kristen!

      I wasn't planning on going because I had just seen Leigh about two weeks prior. Not that I don't love her, of course. Robin changed the game a little and obviously, Michelle changed everything! :D

      Thanks for reading and all of your support!!

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  5. Wow wish I could have gone! But I have no car although I do go to events at the SDMG since it's mch closer to me. Glad you had fun!
    Also thanks for the giveaway! I would rather have magical powers than be a trained assassin because I do not have the guts to kill someone.

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  6. I really wish I could go to these signings, sadly most of the ones I want to go to aren't anywhere near me :( So I must watch the excitement from afar! Glad you had fun!
    Hmm...Could I possibly be a trained assassin that has magical powers? ;) Thanks for the giveaway!

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  7. OHMIGOD... damn you get to go to some of the COOLEST stuff!!! I never did comment on your Las Vegas adventure (I don't think) but meant to tell you I read every single word of that post, and it was awesome. So freaking cool that they chose YOU to go to that event! It'd help if I lived somewhere like California, I guess, then I might actually get to see some awesome folks :) or at least if I lived nearer to a big city!

    Anyway ... I WANT. I know, I know, I WANT a lot ... but OMG the copy of Grave Mercy?! I STILL haven't read that yet, even though historical fiction is one of my two favorite genres! And I think Robin is so smart, from interviews I've read with her and such, and what I know about her books. I have grabby-hands for that book!!

    I have to say, my absolute favorite part of the event that you recalled above is when Leigh was talking about how Alibaba doesn't become a gorgeous, sexy girly-girl -- rather, what she becomes is her best self. I. Love. That. Laughed out loud at what you wrote about how in YA books it's like, "There are zombies, but they're hot. Vampires? Especially hot." hee hee!! Also loved what Leigh said about having worked in makeup in Hollywood and learning what it means to "be" beautiful, what it means to lose that beauty, and what people will do to get it back. And my favorite was her mocking (at least that's how I read it) of the "oblivious-pretty" YA heroine who's tall and skinny and gorgeous but, gosh darn, just doesn't know it until some hot man-boy comes along and convinces her otherwise!!! That is a HUGE pet peeve of mine (and does happen in adult books too). I hate that whole story line. And I love Leigh for having brought all of this up!

    Aaaannnnndddd, NOW I'll finally get to the question you actually asked ;-) I'm definitely with picklewinkle above -- I'd definitely prefer magical powers, as I could just not be an assassin and kill people and still retain my sense of who I am. No way.

    So this was WAY longer than I'd intended....but thanks for going to these awesome events and recapping them for your readers AND getting books signed to give away!! You're an absolute doll!! xoxo

    PS - okay I'm not quite done yet :) I'm probably going to sound dumb here, but...you note that someone asks, "Do you ship the characters in your own books?" What does that mean -- to "ship" your characters? I've not heard that before.

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    1. Uhhhhh, I don't know WHERE that "Alibaba" thing came from!!! I was obviously trying to say ALINA and my phone "corrected" me (ahem). :D

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  8. I'd rather be a trained assassin. At least then I don't have to rely to much on magic. I would be able to rely on my body alone. Awesome post and I got to meet Leigh Bardugo and she is utterly delightful. :) Good post and thank you for the giveaway!

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  9. Magical powers! I'm not crazy about violence.
    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  10. Trained assassin!! Gosh, that would be amazing. Magical powers are cool, but not nearly as much. Ahhh, I would love to be a trained assassin!

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  11. I would rather be a trained assassin! just because they look cool in movies, though magical powers seem awesome too :)

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  12. Trained Assassin! It looks much cooler although having magical powers has it perks...

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  13. Magical powers! I would love to be a trained assassin in terms of working for my power and feeling more in control of myself, but I could never be an assassin, so the skills would just go to waste :)

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  14. Magical powers definitely! I mean, that's like the coolest thing to have! :D

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  15. I'm so jealous of your tote bag. I would give my soul for one haha. I don't know. I would rather have the magical powers to be honest. Blood makes me squeamish.

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  16. That is a hard question but maybe, I'll be a trained assassin since it's much cooler. ;)

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  17. Trained killer. For sure.

    And that says a lot about me.

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  18. I'm not always one for confrontation, but a magical power would be pretty awesome...

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  19. Wonderful post. Looks and sounds like such a fun time :) I really need to go to a book signing again. It's been ages since my last one in NYC.

    Such a difficult question, but I'd have to say that magic powers would be pretty awesome.

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  20. It depends on what entails. Assassin with entire kingdom hunting her, I think not. But having magical powers in a place that forbids them could be just as bad. I wouldn't mind powers, if the circumstances are ideal.

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  21. I am all for the magical powers. Trained assassins have all of that work and stalking and stealth which mean less reading time, but with magic I could magic it all done with while sitting from my reading chair.

    That was a fabulous pic post. Thank you.

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  22. Just started following you and love what I see so far.

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  23. Ah man, I was so close to going to that event, but then I got the stomach flu. Oh well, hopefully I will get to meet them one day :0(

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