The time there were snacks

I don't know how I found Timeless. I do know that I read it in one sitting [not surprising] and by the time Timekeeper came out, I still remembered the ending [very surprising]. I had met Alexandra previously, so I was quite thrilled to see that she was holding her release party at the Santa Monica BN.

We got up that early and bought books before walking around the promenade.

 

We were back up to the events room around 6pm and the doors were closed. The tubs and boxes that were scattered throughout the events room were still visible through the partially closed blinds. I sat down behind two ladies and started flapping my books. As always, I got looks for being prepared.

They let us in around 6:40. There were snacks and punch and a video projector set up with the book trailers playing.

Alexandra came out around 7:15. She talked about writing the first book and gave a brief overview of the second one.

She really enjoyed writing Michelle and her inner struggle in Timekeeper. She also talked about introducing a villain and the workings of the time society.

Alexandra then read a passage from the ebook Secrets of the Time Society. After that, she also read the scene from Timekeeper that happens right after that cliffhanger ending in Timeless.

 

The Q&A session started after that. Alexandra talked about the music that is in both books [she wrote the lyrics and recorded the songs], the possibility of more to the series [Timekeeper ends with closure, but there's definitely a chance for more], her next book [it's called Suspicion and is an Alfred Hitchcock type suspense novel with a romance at the center], and how she thought of Emma Watson and Ian Somerhalder as Michelle and Phillip.

After that, it was time for the signing. I was the third person up to her.

I congratulated her on the release and we chatted about the other time we had met. She asked if I was me. When I said yes, she pointed to Shane and said that he had told her about me and my drive from San Diego. She thanked me for driving up.

Alexandra asked if I had read Timeless and after saying yes, asked if I had enjoyed it. I told her that I did, but not the horrible cliffhanger ending. She laughed and said that it would all be worth it.

She signed my book and then I motioned to the other books and said those were mine too, that they were for a giveaway. She asked about my blog [squeeeee] and I actually remembered I had a card, so I gave her one.

 

After taking a picture with her, I again congratulated her and with a brief goodbye to Shane, we were off. As we left, we literally ran into Luke Wilson, who didn't seem very nice. At all.

Now. Haven't read Alexandra's books? Never fear. I have a paperback copy of Timeless and a hardcover copy of Timekeeper [both signed] as well as Alexandra's cd and a keychain/mirror up for grabs!

Rules for the giveaway are listed on the "terms and conditions" link on the Rafflecopter widget.

 

Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The time it was all New Yorkers

Joe Pantoliano was my favorite part of The Sopranos. I only started watching when they introduced Ralphie as a character. So, of course it was inevitable that we were going to attend his signing.

We got up to BN Santa Monica around 6pm. The events manager, Shane, saw us there and we started talking about upcoming events. Shane has always been awesome, but he's sort of offered me some help for future signings so now he's super extra awesome.

The crowd for Joe started to arrive early. And overall, they were a bit odd. Everyone seemed to know Joe and they were all from NY. That is not what made them odd. We ended up with a mouth breather woman behind us who was ridiculously loud and a woman to the left of me who was making a list of some sort while staring. Staring at me, staring at my purse, staring at everything. It was a bit creepy.

Joe got to the bookstore just after 7pm. He was caught in traffic and then had a bit of a problem with parking. He jumped into an introduction about the book and how he struggled with depression before he even knew it was depression.

Joe talked about how after he got involved with the 12 step program, he found that he really liked the structure. Eventually he started becoming a part of all of it: alcoholics, overeaters, betting, shoppers anonymous. One of the best things he said was "Fuck it, let's not be anonymous, call it Association of Alcoholics so we can keep the cards".

He then started to do a reading. He read part of the introduction, reading from his iPad so he could enlarge the words. After that, he also read part of chapter two. The best part is that the book is written as if he were talking.

He said that he wrote the entire book on his iPhone. He was thrilled to see that technology had finally evolved to something that could help with his ADHD and dyslexia. He was so animated while reading that Shane had to adjust the PA system three different times.

There wasn't really time to do a Q&A session because Joe had talked for so long. When we got up to him, I asked him to sign my Nook, he asked if I liked it. I said I loved my iPad more. As he handed me the Nook back, he started laughing because he noticed that he wrote "20012" for the year.

Hubs had the book to be signed. Joe was teasing us about being married, said we looked like we were related. O_o We both got pictures with him before thanking him.

Joe broke out of the Hollywood stereotype and announced his mental illness. And he does it in typical Joe fashion: loudly and in a humorous manner. I haven't read the book yet, but I can't wait.