The time it wasn't about Jersey Shore

I don't even know how I found Unraveling. I do know that I read it right away and loved Ben it.  Elizabeth [who used to live in San Diego] now lives in New York.  When I saw that Elizabeth was going to be at BEA, I begged Kassiah to get my book signed. And while the inscription wasn't perfect, I was still so in love with it. Oh, and I got Ben.

As soon as I heard that she was going to be coming back to California, I knew I was going.  Even better that she was going to be at Mysterious Galaxy. 

I got there early to meet Michelle at Starbucks.  And of course that led us to browsing the stock at MG, but we both actually behaved this trip and only bought books for the authors who were appearing.

Dan and Elizabeth got to the store early.  They walked around the store, scoping things out.  It was pretty cool to hear that MG was Elizabeth's favorite bookstore when she lived in CA.  The signing started at 7.  Quickly, they agreed that they weren't going to do a reading. They each gave a brief synopsis of their books.  And then Elizabeth and Dan talked about how they got the ideas for their books. 


Elizabeth started her story with a "so there was this guy"... She had met a guy who she really connected with and found out that they didn't live close to each other.  And that started her thought process.  She started with the characters and then focused on the idea of a road block placed in between two people who were perfect for each other.

Unraveling was her 28th novel written.  It was planned as a stand alone and Elizabeth thought the ending was fantastic.  When she was offered a three book deal, the first question asked if there would be a sequel.  Thankfully, YES, there will be.  That ending is upsetting and I want more Ben. Unbreakable comes out in April, 2013.

Her third book will be a contemporary mystery that takes place in a small town infamous for a disappearance of a 7 year old girl. The book starts 11 years later, on the day that she returns.

Dan started out by telling us that he worked at a gas station for 9 1/2 years.  During that time, he read a lot.  False Memory started with him only knowing that Miranda North was 17 years old and doesn't know who she is.  He combined that with the idea of [enter some super science-y words that I didn't write down] and some sort of pheromones. Obviously, his explanation is a lot better than mine, so don't hold it against him.

His favorite part about writing is the brainstorming part of it.  He thinks that every idea is never as good as it is while brainstorming. That while it's amazing during the process, it might not translate into anything worthwhile. 

False Memory is Dan's 8th novel.  He also has a MG series that will be coming out, as well as the other two books following False Memory.


After about an hour of talking about books, Jersey Shore [which Dan brought up several times], Walking Dead, Doctor Who, Sherlock and other scifi goodies, the signing started.  No one was going up to them right away, so I decided I would go first.

I showed Elizabeth the inscription of my first copy of Unraveling and asked if she would give me Ben again.  She laughed and said that she remembered the photo from Twitter.  As I passed Dan's book to him to sign at the same time, he commented on my collection of fictional boys. 

Somehow, I mentioned I had traveled to see Michelle and claim Noah.  There were two 13 year old girls in line and one of them started yelling that she had Noah in her closet.  I showed her the picture of my inscription from Michelle.  Then they tried to claim Ben and I showed them my new inscription.  Both girls started claiming boys from Dan's book.

 As we were leaving, I broke down and told Dan that I did have Jersey Shore on my dvr.  He asked if I also watched Honey Boo Boo.  I admitted that I did, but in my defense, only started watching it after Sarah J Maas went on and on about it.  Dan asked if Sarah and I were friends and I said that we were best friends.  He asked if I was serious because they were really good friends.  I started laughing and said that I was more of a stalker of hers or perhaps her number one fangirl.  At that, Kim shouted out that if Dan asked Sarah about the "Stacee with two e's" she would know who I was.

He said he was going to ask her. 

Elizabeth and Dan are hilarious together.  They compliment each other and definitely make for an entertaining time.  I'm beyond eager for Unbreakable and can't wait to start reading False Memory.