The time there was a signing rule

Marie Lu was always a sure thing. As soon as I got my work schedule taken care of, it was added to the calendar and I started hoarding books to take with me.

We got up to MGRB early because it was raining. I spent some time raiding the back room [thank you, LeAnna] and catching up with Carlos, who we haven't seen in a while. [And technically, he's the one who let me in the super secret back room, so thank you!]

The chairs filled up quicker than I've ever seen. Before 1:30 came around, the chairs in the event area were already full and there were loads of people standing around. 

Marie came out right at 2:30. She said she would only talk for a few minutes and then open it up to questions. She asked that there not be any questions with spoilers. She talked about being a pantser. Legend was based on Les Miserables. 

June started out as a boy in the very first draft. Some characters were only supposed to be cameos, like Thomas. He was only supposed to give June a ride, but he never went away. 

Pitched as a trilogy, the first book was finished and then a one page synopsis of each book had to be written and submitted. She just recently read them over and they're entirely different. 

Figured if she could get through book 2 then book 3 would be smooth sailing. Couldn't have been more wrong, book 3 nearly killed her. There was a lot of crying and eating chocolate in the middle of the night. Finishing a trilogy is what it must feel like when parents send their kids to college. 

From Carlos: What's the ending of the book? 

Everyone dies. It's a massacre. 

As a pantser did you ever get to a point where you had to fix threads that didn't work?

Yes. I did that a lot with Legend. I had to replace the entire second half. After talking with friends, it seems like the first drafts are the outline for pantsers. I'm working on a new series and I'm on draft 34 because it's just the way I do it. 

When did you know how Champion would end?

I didn't know until I got to the very very end of Prodigy. It was the only plotter type thing I've ever done. I wrote ending paragraph options A-E and shared with my fiancé. 

Even as I wrote the first draft of the last book, I wasn't sure. 

How did Day get his name?

Day is his street name. He's been in my head since high school. It's a reflection of his optimism even though he lives in such a dark world. Daniel, his real name, this is part of the pantsing part. I wanted something that was close to Day. One day, there was an interview with Daniel Radcliffe and I thought that Daniel sounded like Day. I guess you could say he was named after Daniel Radcliffe. 

Does Primo read your drafts?

I spoil him for everything. He gets to hear all of the draft info. Even if he doesn't want to. 

Any updates on a possible film and how involved will you be?

The last that I've heard is that the screenplay is done and they're looking for a director. The producers are working on TFiOS.  

A lot of authors don't get to be involved and I've been lucky. They've asked me about details on the screenplay to make sure the world building is okay. 

Are they talking to you about how visual the book will be?

It's so early on, but I've read the screenplay and it sounds awesome. I've talked with them and as soon as Blade Runner was mentioned, I knew it was okay.

Do you think June would have done what Thomas did to Matias?

I don't know if she would have made the same decision because she's not that trusting of people. If she wouldn't have stepped out of the Republic's circle, she probably would have done terrible things. 

Can you talk about the new project?

It's currently called The New Elites. It's a cross between X-Men and Assassin's Creed. It's about young people who survived a plague and came out with powers. The MC is a girl who is sort of Darth Vader. The first book is her spiral into darkness. 

When do you know when a draft is finished? Do you self edit?

For the first drafts, with Legend, I gave it to my editor. I'm usually too close to the story to be able to fix it and I didn't have any critique partners at the time. With the second book, I would write until I couldn't do anything with it and then give it to my writer friends. When they give it back, I'll go through a major set of revisions. 

Who was easier to you write?

That answer changes with each book. For the first book, Day was easier because he'd been in my head since high school and that makes me sound crazy. June was difficult because she's smarter than me. There's so much research that I would have to do for her to have two lines of dialogue. 

As the books progressed, I found that I was putting bits of my personality into her. We deal with some things the same way, so it became easier. 

The signing started just after 3pm. 

We were first and Marie thanked us for coming. She was waiting for a pen to write with, so I pulled out a black sharpee from my purse and handed it to her.

 

Apparently, there's a new rule that says you can only take 3 books at a time. So I took 3, Hubs took 3 and then we headed to the back of the line [I had 12 total].  Thankfully, Kelly was in line and between her and her friends, they offered to take the rest of my books. 

While we waited for them to go through the line, I went to work handing out post it's for personalization. And I ran into Amy Tintera in line and fangirled all over her, making a damn fool of myself. 

We left right after 3:30 or so and the crowd wasn't even close to thinning. As always, Marie was adorable and the staff at MGRB is one of the best. I can't say enough nice things about either. 

The time it was quick and dirty -- 5

The last couple of days I've been amassing the books I'm going to take for the Vegas Valley book festival.  In fact, the piles are sort of taking over my office area and it's out of control.  Sooooo, I decided to do another quick and dirty just because giveaway to help clear off my shelves.

And this time, all of the books are 2014 arcs. [Thank you. SDCC and super secret back room at MGRB!]

Ready to see what's up for grabs?

Book one:

Endings and beginnings sit so close to each other that it’s sometimes impossible to tell which is which.

Nothing lasts forever, and no one gets that more than Tessa. After her mother died, it’s all she can do to keep her friends, her boyfriend, her happiness from slipping away. And then there’s her dad. He’s stuck in his own daze, and it’s so hard to feel like a family when their house no longer seems like a home.

Her father’s solution? An impromptu road trip that lands them in a small coastal town at Tessa’s grandmother’s. Despite all the warmth and beauty there, Tessa can’t help but feel even more lost.

Enter Henry Lark. He understands the relationships that matter. And more importantly, he understands her. A secret stands between them, but Tessa’s willing to do anything to bring them together—because Henry may just be her one chance at forever.

Book two:

Growing up in privileged, Manhattan social circles, Caggie’s life should be perfect, and it almost was until the day that her younger sister drowned when Caggie was supposed to be watching her. Stricken by grief, Caggie pulls away from her friends and family, only to have everyone misinterpret a crucial moment when she supposedly saves a fellow classmate from suicide. Now she’s famous for something she didn’t do and everyone lauds her as a hero. But inside she still blames herself for the death of her sister and continues to pull away from everything in her life, best friend and perfect boyfriend included. Then Caggie meets Astor, the new boy at school, about whom rumours are swirling and known facts are few. In Astor she finds someone who just might understand her pain, because he has an inner pain of his own. But the more Caggie pulls away from her former life to be with Astor, the more she realises that his pain might be darker, and deeper, than anything she’s ever felt. His pain might be enough to end his life…and Caggie’s as well.

Book three:

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him--and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg for more.

And last, but certainly not least.... Book four:

 Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

Have you stopped flailing?

Here's the not-so-fine print: This contest is international and there will be four winners.  The first winner will get to choose from all four books, the second winner will choose from the three left, etc.  I will be contacting the winners one at a time and each will have 72 hours to answer my email.  Keep in mind, it could be almost 10 days before the fourth winner is contacted. 

And now? Have at it!!

**GOOD LUCK!!**

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The time it was all sass

Going to Gretchen McNeil's signing was always a given, especially when she was appearing with Kendare Blake. The event being held at MGRB was just a bonus. 

Michelle, Hubs, and I got to the store insanely early because traffic wasn't that bad. LeAnna let me go back to the super secret back room and I walked out with some titles I have really been coveting. We ended up leaving and wandering around some of the nearby stores [where I spent a small fortune on DVDs and nail polish] before going back. 

And then we waited.

 

As we waited, I realized that the amount of money that I spent on books, DVDs and nail polish could have gotten me a new Kate Spade purse. Gah. We were chatting it up and we heard as Gretchen walked by saying that she recognized all of the usual suspects.

Elana K. Arnold ended up coming over and I chatted with her for a minute. She told me about the secret special thing she's planning for her launch party of Splendor. 
 

 

The ladies were introduced around 7:40. Gretchen started out with an intro to 3:59. She had the idea sitting in traffic, to run the red light or not run the red light? It has two parallel casts that can interact with each other. It is really really really complicated and if she ever decides she wants to write something like it again, someone needs to hit her. 

Kendare gave an intro to Antigoddess.  She just recently got lines from the Iliad on her back because she's a psycho. With her MC, you can guarantee that her life is going to be ruined for the next 3 books. Actually wrote the book 3 different times and scrapped every one of them. 

Wrote the idea of the dying goddesses as as short stories. Wanted to work with Cassandra, but Cassandra didn't want to work with her. Brought Athena in, to shoulder some of it and when that happened, the story came together. 

Gretchen to Kendare: Did you start writing it before Anna? 

Before the Cassandra story, yes. Easy to work on because I wouldn't have separation anxiety from Cas and Anna. 

 

 

They talked about how neither of them read the finished book. Gretchen didn't actually have a page one rewrite for 3:59, but the notes on it were extensive. 

They voted on whether or not there would be a Q&A and a reading or just a Q&A. Since a lot of people decided not to vote, it was author's choice and they nixed the reading. 

Do you have a specific writing process? Have the idea and immediately get a pen and paper?

K: I give my ideas a brush off. Never fails when I'm working on something, there will be an amazing new idea. Can't be too mean to it because I'll be working on it eventually. Get to know the characters, think about it a lot. Once I find the start, I know it's time to write. 

G: Normally I open a word document and title it something and write a few sentences, save it and then close it. Then I'll go to amazon and make a wish list of books to do research on it. If it still seems like something to do [unicorns in the Sahara! It's like my little pony but with shoes!] then I'll work on it. 

I also like to research the market. I don't want to be the 5th person to write a Houdini book. I don't know what I'm going to do next, but I've got 5 ideas. 

 

Now that you're multi-published, can you sell a book on a concept?

K: I just had this conversation with my publisher. I was told that I can turn in a sample chapter and synopsis, but I don't. 

G: Possess was the only finished book I sold. Ten was sold on a synopsis and 6 chapters that all got scrapped. The two books that come out in 2014 and 2015 were sold from one page [for the first one] and one paragraph [for the second].  It's nice to have not done all of the work already. I work better with the figurative gun to my head. 

What was the line that you got tattooed?

It's from Hector's speech... [I didn't the entire quote and I didn't want to mangle it]

If you could be a character in each other's books, who would you be? 

K: Bridget from Possess 

G: Having a half Asian character in 2001 was interesting. The original girl was white with really big Keira Knightly round eyes and I was like, "Dear Harper Collins..."  I told them that if the book was published with that girl, I would not defend it. 

I would definitely want to be Athena. I have always had an Athena fetish, not in the sexual way...

 

Are there any other funny things that have happened to you when you've gone to publish?

G: Funny ha ha? Or funny ugh?

K: That's something I'm really going to have to think of. 

G: I've told the story about Christopher Pike a few times, but I'm going to tell it anyways.... [If you want to read the story about Christoper Pike, read it here]

K: I don't have anything like that. When we saw the first mock up for the cover for Anna, it looked like there were some female problems for Anna. It got fixed and it's fine. When the first mock up for Antigoddess came up, the blood was in the middle of the feather. What does that look like? My books have nothing to do with menstruation! My next book better have something to do with super ninja periods. 

What are you reading now?

G: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton ... It's really awesome. 

K: NOS4A2 by Joe hill. It has demon children with shark teeth, I love him and I'll say it: he's better than his dad. 
 

 

What's next for you?

G: You've already written all of them in the series, right?

K: Yes. They told me that they were going to come out every 7 months, so I freaked out and wrote everything and then they came back and said never mind. So now I can take my time with whatever I work on next. 

G: The Don't Get Mad series is about 4 girls from four different groups who have formed a secret society to get revenge against bullies, mean girls and teachers. 

After that, I'm not sure. I have some historical pieces, but who knows. 

After that question, they started signing. I was first in line, as always. Gretchen was up first and she started laughing when she saw me with 4 arcs of 3:59. ["I'm pretty sure I only gave you one."] Kendare started laughing and said that I had a lot of books and Gretchen said that I always had a lot of books and I was always first in line. 

And this is seriously the best inscription ever. 

 

When I got to Kendare, she asked about my blog. I gave her a card and she said that it looked familiar and she thinks she's been there before [squeeeeeee]. 

 

 

After chatting it up with LeAnna for a bit, we left. I absolutely adore Gretchen and her words and will go to any event of hers I can get to. Kendare is also a lot of fun and the combination of the two of them together are delightful and so so so sassy. 

I can't recommend them or their books enough. 

The time it was quick and dirty -- 2



So.  Here we are again for another quick and dirty giveaway.  I don't have any signings planned for a couple of weeks.  While I do have special things planned in the next couple of days, I figured I'd keep you guys around and share more of the arcs I picked up while in the super secret back room.

 

First up for grabs, just because:

 

Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature—freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.

At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she's heard of a mythical land simply called “the Blue.” They say it’s a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.

But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies? Fiery hearts collide in this fantastic tale of the evil men do and the awesome power within us all.

 

 

And then...

 

 

Love, power, and magic collide with war in the second book of the Falling Kingdoms series

Auranos has fallen and the three kingdoms—Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia—are now united as one country called Mytica. But still, magic beckons, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the world...

When the evil King Gaius announces that a road is to be built into the Forbidden Mountains, formally linking all of Mytica together, he sets off a chain of events that will forever change the face of this land, forcing Cleo the dethroned princess, Magnus the reluctant heir, Lucia the haunted sorceress, and Jonas the desperate rebel to take steps they never could have imagined.

Sounds good, right?

Rules for giveaway are on the "terms & conditions" on the Rafflecopter widget.

 

**Good luck!!**

  

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The time it was quick and dirty

That title sounds...interesting, doesn't it? 

Anyhoo. 

As you may know, I have the ability to go into the super secret back room at Mysterious Galaxy in Redondo Beach and pick through the arc shelves.  Most of the time, I come out with two huge bags filled with books. 

Well, I was up there this past Saturday for book club [which, if you're in the area, you should totally attend] and I walked out with a couple of arcs for you guys.

 

Up for grabs, just because:

The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.




They hear the most silent of footsteps.
They are faster than anything you've ever seen.
And They won't stop chasing you...until you are dead.

Amy is watching TV when it happens, when the world is attacked by Them. These vile creatures are rapidly devouring mankind. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to escape—and even rescue “Baby,” a toddler left behind in the chaos. Marooned in Amy’s house, the girls do everything they can to survive—and avoid Them at all costs.

After years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she’ll lose Baby—and much more.

Sounds good, right?

Rules for giveaway are on the "terms & conditions" on the Rafflecopter widget.

**Good luck!!**

 

 

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The time it was the YAppiest WonderCon

Going to WonderCon was an iffy thing. We couldn't decide if we were going or not. And then LeAnna asked if we could volunteer at the MGRB booth on Friday...

So we got passes for the weekend and figured why not.

Friday traffic was ridiculously light. We got to the convention center around 8am and got front row parking. We grabbed some breakfast and went to see about meeting everyone.

Since we had exhibitor badges, we were able to walk around before it opened to the public. We stopped at the booth and got pictures of LeAnna's awesome Tardis dress [that she made!!].

And then we went off in search of a bow tie and fez that I could wear.

Around 1:30, we went back to the MG booth to help with the line for Patrick Rothfuss. Patrick got there and was being awesome, taking themed photos with his fans. Hubs controlled the line and I flapped books and wrote out post-its for personalization.

Somehow the unicorn head came out and Emilio started dancing. Then Patrick put it on, making sure that his beard was sticking out.

And then of course there were costumes....

 

And things like this...

 

At some point we saw Jordan Hembrough [AKA: the Toy Hunter] at a booth filming a segment.  We stopped for a few moments to watch them film.  It was amusing to see them bring the box out, talk about it and then take the box away.  Only to do it again 30 seconds later.

I found some awesome Doctor Who lanyards and handmade hair bows.

And the most amazing metal bookmarks with River Song [yaaaaay!!!] and David Tennant on them.

Around 3:30, we called it a day.  We made one more pass around the convention center and headed home so we could miss the traffic.  I was dying to stay to see the early screening of the new Doctor Who episode, but we were getting up early for the YAppiest Day at Disneyland on Saturday.

We woke up early Saturday morning to fight Disneyland traffic, which is an entirely different thing. We were off the freeway around 7:20 and started the battle for parking.

We made it to the front gate right before 8am and found the group. All of the authors had on YAppiest Day shirts in bright blue. Cat handed out stickers and pins to everyone. There were shirts left over so, she gave me one.

The authors were doing a book drop giveaway. Each person had a copy of their book and would sign it and leave it somewhere, so there was some markers passing around in preparation. After about 20 minutes of waiting for everyone to show up, the authors took a group photo and we went inside.

The groups split off between Matterhorn and Space Mountain. We were in the Matterhorn group with Lish McBride, Jennifer Bosworth, Gretchen McNeil, Kasie West, Jessica Brody, Chris Howard, Elise Allen and Shannon Messenger.

 

      picture from Kasie West's twitter

We fast passed Space Mountain and hit Star Tours. In the line for Star Tours, Gretchen handed me this, making her book drop complete. [I was standing with her when she signed it and I told her that I was going to be following her around all day until she set it down.]

Kasie and Chris both left their books in the ride. We found out later through the Twitter hash tag that someone had taken them from lost and found to hide them again. We also learned that some of the authors from the second group had been stopped by the Disney police for leaving things behind.

From Star Tours, we headed to Indiana Jones. Lish and Chris had both never ridden the ride, so it was fun to see their reactions.

After Indy [Shannon did a book drop by the castle], we hit Space Mountain [Jessica did a book drop] and our group almost took an entire car. And then we headed to California Adventure.

We got fast passes for Tower of Terror [Jennifer left her book by the entrance] and went to ride California Screamin'. Where Chris took the best photo.

We had just over an hour to kill before we could ride Tower of Terror, so we grabbed some food and relaxed a bit. And then ended up grabbing fast passes for Soarin' over California before riding Tower of Terror.

Yes, my face is completely covered by Shannon's hand!

From there, Hubs and I decided that we were going to call it a day. We had a quick photo shoot with everyone before leaving.

Huge thanks to all of the authors who participated in this event. It was so much fun and a really unique way to hang out.

Now. The only person who didn't do a book drop was Lish. She gave me her copy to take home and do a giveaway with it. You get the signed book and bookmark from Lish and I'm including a YAppiest sticker and pin.

 

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

Good luck!!

 

 

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The time we drew Tarot cards

Jennifer Bosworth is a lot of fun on Twitter. Just before her book, Struck, was released, she had posted that the Barnes and Noble in Mira Mesa had put it on the shelves early. I told her that specific store was only 10 minutes from me and I would go see if I could get my hands on a copy.

When I got to the bookstore, I found the stack of Struck on the trolley to be put out. There wasn't anyone around, so I struggled to get a copy out, almost falling over in the process. I did get caught by the B&N employee, but she didn't care.

As soon as I saw that Jennifer was going to be at Mysterious Galaxy before the Fierce Reads tour started, I was pretty sure I was going to attend. And as soon as Jennifer and I came up with a secret handshake that was based on Ten by Gretchen McNeil [because we're both awesome and have already read it], it was a sure thing.

On the day of the signing, we got up there around 11:30, with the event starting at 12. I met up with LeAnna and we cemented plans for the YA book club that I'm going to be hosting there [squee!!].

And then... She took me to the secret room of books and pointed to a bookshelf FILLED with ARCs. She said that now that I "worked" there, I was allowed to take anything on the shelves. *swoon* We also talked about volunteering for future events.

And yet, I digress... Back to the signing.

I had been able to "convince" Ava that she needed to come to MGRB to see Jennifer. So of course there were many hugs, but our flailing has gotten a lot better.

Jennifer came to the podium and the first thing she asked us to do was to draw a Tarot card from the deck she had. After everyone had a card, she asked if anyone knew why we were doing it. I offered the idea that she wanted to see if anyone would pick the Tower card. [For anyone who hasn't read Struck yet, Tarot cards play a part in the story].

Turns out, it's believed that the cards absorb energy from anyone who touches them. And she wanted to leave the deck for the bookstore. [I later suggested to the really nice guy in the Doctor Who shirt that works at MGRB, who's name I don't know that they should get Jennifer to sign the Tower card].

Jennifer then talked about the book overall. She stated that writing it was the right story at the right time in her life. She read the prologue and then showed a very awesome featurette that had the making of the book trailer as well as additional insight.

After the featurette, Jennifer took questions. I asked my standard question [after getting SERIOUS side eye from Ava]: Besides Mia, who was her favorite character to write. Jennifer said that she loves villains, so she really enjoyed writing Rance. She thinks there's always a reason why villains are the way they are and she likes exploring that. Jennifer even wrote a small piece of Rance's childhood [which was an excellent insight into the ever so creepy Rance].

The signing started and I was the second one in line. I wasn't planning on telling Jennifer who I was, but Ava went ahead and blabbed, running up and telling Jennifer my Twitter name and then running away. O_o

I told her that I'd be at the Fierce Reads tour in San Diego and she asked if I was covering it for my blog. I explained that I didn't review books for my blog, but the signings I went to.

She thanked me for coming AND I DON'T THINK I THANKED HER!! *facepalm*

After she signed my books, I started to wander around the store. We were just getting ready to leave when LeAnna asked if I wanted to help get the stock signed. She explained what they wanted and while we waited for Jennifer to finish with the people who were attending the event, we started talking about a specific Chuck Wendig inscription he wrote in one of his books.

That led me to leave the book stock job to Hubs and go in search of every copy of Blackbirds that MG had [Challenge Accepted!!] looking for said inappropriate inscription. Alas, I did not find it. Someone else had the pleasure of buying the book, perhaps unwillingly.

When everything was done, we started to say goodbye. Jennifer thanked us again for coming and somehow her Struck necklaces came up. Jennifer asked if we wanted one and she ever so nicely gave Ava, LeAnna and me a necklace.

Today was a lot of fun. MGRB is one of my favorite bookstores and the events are always an experience. And Jennifer, if you're reading this, thank you for taking the time to be at the bookstore with us. I'm super sorry I didn't actually say it to you. Please don't kick me out of the super secret Ten club we have.