The time there were two signings in one day

Going to the Beautiful Redemption release party was something I went back and forth with. Knowing for certain that I'd be going to see Heather Brewer in the afternoon, I couldn't decide if it would be easier to try and see Kami and Margie on another date.

Needless to say, we decided to make a day of it...

Since it wasn't wristbanded, we didn't have to leave San Diego at stupid o'clock in the morning. We got up to The Grove first, to buy our copies of Beautiful Redemption. And to run up to the events area to see if anyone had lined up already.

With time to kill, we went to Cheesecake Factory to people watch [since they film Extra on site] and gorge on pasta and cheesecake. After eating, we walked through B&N again to see if there was a crowd. [Hubs and I have been debating the idea of serious release party LA crowd vs school night].

Instead of seeing anyone lined up, we met David Zayas, who plays Bastiata on Dexter. He was really cool and took pictures with both of us, after taking his sunglasses off and shaking both of our hands.

And down to MGRB we headed. Got to the store around 1:30, bought a couple of books I "needed" and the super awesome Emilio gave me some pretty rad Slayer swag.

Heather Brewer and Rachel Cohn got to the store just around 3:30. They each gave a brief synopsis of their books, talked about what inspired them to write their stories and then turned the questions to us.

We talked about the books we were all reading and the aspiring authors in the audience asked questions. After about 30 minutes, the signing started. I jumped up and got my Nook signed [I've been saving a spot for Heather for a while].

Ava had a box [literally a BOX] of books for Heather and while she got those signed, I bugged LeAnna for this spiffy post-it note holder thingy. Afterwards, we hung out and talked about my blog [which Heather loves that I blog about events because "no one is doing it"].

And onward to The Grove. We got there around 5:30. I had expected loads of people to already be milling around and when we got there, we were able to secure second row seats.

Ava and I walked around. She tried to get me to buy a second copy of Evolution of Mara Dyer because I didn't want to wait for Chicago to get my finished copy. I painfully resisted.

Kami and Margie got things started just after 7pm. With them came Rachel Brosnahan who plays Genevieve and Alden Ehrenreich who plays Ethan in the movie along with Katie Alender who acted as the moderator.

They talked about the movie, how they developed the character of Ethan, how Alden embodied the character and their trip to the movie set. Walking on set was like the set designers had been inside their heads, Kami and Margie had little to no input.

One of the best questions asked who their 12 year old celebrity crush was:

Alden: Shelly Duvall in The Shining

Margie: Harrison Ford. She crank called every day, asking for his sons

Rachel: She had a Limp Bizkit pulled poster out of a j14 magazine. She didn't know what it was, but liked the poster and the tattoos

Kami: Rick Springfield and Matt Dillion.

Katie: Wil Wheaton

After about an hour of talking, the signing started. And, as usual, The Grove has absolutely no control over the crowd. Instead of enforcing the "by row" line up, they allow everyone to go everywhere. So, while we were in the second row, we were forced to the end of the signing line.

It took about 45 minutes from the time the signing started to the time we got up to the table. Not because there were that many people [I'd guess there were about 50], but because the events people weren't helping the line along. They allowed people to cut back in line to take photos and get posters and swag.

When we did get up there, Katie was first. She took my books and asked Hubs if I was there. When I raised my hand, she asked Hubs to tell her something scandalous about me. He told her that I kick children in Macy's. she looked to me for clarification and I said that it was probably true.

And thus the greatest inscription ever.

We got to Kami and Margie and plopped down our ridiculous piles of books. They asked if I had started  Beautiful Redemption. When I said no, they asked if I was caught up. After affirming that I was caught up, they Margie said that there would be tears upon finishing.

They had movie posters and bracelets and bookmarks, all of which we grabbed.

We quickly left [after Hubs was approached by some lady asking where the health section was located] and found this in the valet section, with a sign apologizing for the horrible conditions.

While two signings in one day was a little excessive, it was delightful seeing some amazing authors. And of course spend the day with my girl Ava.

Psst!! Wanna win signed books from Heather Brewer and Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl? Click here.