The time there was cake

I had read a review about The Age of Miracles in a magazine.  I'm going to guess it was Entertainment Weekly, but honestly, we subscribe to about 20 magazines so who knows.  The synopsis was something that interested me and I made a mental note to check it out.  Then ALA came around and I had heard several different people discussing it in various lines...

Checking the tour dates, there was one at Warwick's and one at Vroman's.  Initially, I had planned on Vroman's, but work wasn't being quite so accommodating in taking more time off.  Instead, we ended up leaving Comic-Con a few hours early to hit up Warwick's.

We got to the store just before 6pm, which is just before they reopened.  I had purchased my book the night before, so we headed right up to the front row, directly in front of the signing table.

Karen came out at 6:30.  She talked briefly about the book and how she got the idea [learning that the tsunami in Indonesia was so strong it had shortened our day by microseconds] and then read the first two chapters of the book.

From there, Karen talked about how the story was initially written as a short story and was 14 pages.  Eventually, she expanded on the idea of something bigger happening that would slow the rotation of the Earth and the repercussions that would occur.  At the time, Karen was a full time editor and only had time to write for an hour every morning before working on books by other authors.  It would take her four years to complete. 

She talked about giving the book to an astrophysicist to read after selling it.  He became a crucial reader, confirming her research as correct or assisting in changing what was imagined.  The only major thing that was incorrect was that Karen believed a change in gravity would have birds flying faster and baseballs going further; however, it was the opposite.

After another brief reading, the Q&A started.  After about 20 minutes of questions, the signing started.  Since I was right in front of the signing table, I was able to take one step and I was there. 

Karen and I both said hi.  Then she asked if I was from the area, when I said the city I lived in, she was surprised that I had driven so far.  I mentioned that we came from CC and then we started a conversation about how we've watched CC grow, etc.  She is super polite, gracious and has a really infectious giggle.

After getting my book signed and saying thank you, we started to leave.  They had two cakes set up and were offering pieces.  I declined for both of us because I don't allow food in Lucy.  Also, I wanted to get home after being up for so long...

The time I got a history lesson

I had bought tickets to see Deborah Harkness in May.  I then went on a super mega huge hunt for an ARC of Shadow of Night.  I figured that if I could get my hands on a copy, I could get her to sign it at ALA and then I would cancel my ticket with Warwick's and not have to leave Comic-Con early.

And then Kassiah got me a copy while at BEA, but I decided to go to the signing anyways.  I wanted to hear Deborah talk about the series.

I got to Warwick's around 6:45.  I had reserved seating, so I didn't have to worry about fighting anyone for a seat or trying to rush.  They had the table set up off to the side, so I got my book and watched people line up.

They let us in around 7.  The entire store was filled with seats and mine was in the front row.  On the chair there was my seat number and a Shadow of Night bookmark.

Deborah came out right on time.  She had been at Warwick's during her tour for A Discovery of Witches and commented right off the bat how there were so many more people attending this signing than for ADoW. 

She briefly spoke about how she came up with the idea of ADoW: She was in Puerto Vallarta and saw a wall full of books about vampires, werewolves, fallen angels, new angels, fairies, etc and had questions.  Like where did they all live? How did they date? Where did they work? Those questions sparked an interest to the historian side of Deborah and she started thinking about the answers.

One of the questions she gets consistantly is about her character Matthew knowing all sorts of famous people and why she made it happen.  Apparently, Matthew Roydon was a real person who is referenced in the inquiry of Christopher Marlowe's death.  Matthew Roydon the real person was around the same people that Matthew Roydon/de Clermont the character is and Deborah uses that has her explanation.

She did two separate readings from the book and after 30 minutes of talking, Deborah opened up the floor to a Q&A session.  The one answer that I really loved had to do with when book 3 was going to come out [she's still working on it, it's outlined, but needs the time to write].  Before she gave that answer, Deborah talked about how the day before the release of SoN, she called her local bookstore and checked her Kindle download to ensure she could get the book in every format on release day. 

After about 30 minutes of Q&A, she started signing.  It was sort of a free for all and everyone bottlenecked right in front of the table.  Thankfully, everyone was pretty cool and it didn't take long for me to get up to her. 

I had my copy of A Discovery of Witches to have signed, along with a second copy of Shadow of Night.  When I walked up to her, she looked at my name on the post-it and said hello and asked if I was on Facebook.  I said I was, but not under my real name, explaining that I don't use my real name on the internet.  She said it was probably a good idea, but it makes it difficult for her to remember who she talks to online.

I asked how she liked Comic-Con [she had come to the signing straight from CC] and she said that it was unlike anything she'd seen before.  Then she noticed that I had my badge still hanging off my belt loop and commented on how I also just came from there as well.  She even took pictures with everyone.

I was delightfully surprised at Deborah.  Her writing reflects her intellegence and I wasn't expecting someone so much fun.  Not that smart people aren't fun, but she's witty and captivating and really knows her way around a story, fictional or imagined.  I look forward to future books and signings.

The time there may have been weapons.

I only went to the Patricia Cornwell signing because she wrote an amazing book applying forensic science to identify Jack the Ripper. When I saw that she was going to be at Warwick's, I asked her online if she'd sign that book instead of the new one. As soon as she said yes, I bought the book.

Assigned seating was already gone by the time I made my way to La Jolla to get the book. So, that just meant that we had to get to the store early. Add to that the Warwick's employee said that Dan Aykroyd would be appearing with her and that upped the time a bit more.

We got to the store around 4. People watching in La Jolla is some of the finest you'll ever see. At one point I thought Greg Kinnear walked by.... But I was wrong. Around 4:30, they put out a sign indicating where the line for the free-for-all seating would begin.

The lady behind me was complaining about having to wait an hour before they let us in. I couldn't stop laughing at that. I wanted to tell her that an hour was nothing.

Also, the forensic photography professor who was responsible for putting me on academic probation while working on my Masters degree by giving me a C+ was in line. I instantly knew it was her, it took her some time, but I think she figured it out.

They let us in at 6. We ended up in the 7th row, in group A. The free-for-all seating filled up quickly and so did the store. Within minutes, it was standing room only, with people crowding around any open space.

We were told that personal photography wasn't allowed.  There was a professional photographer who was taking pictures of the entire event.  They would be posted on Patricia's Flickr and we were allowed to download any of the photos. 

Patricia came out to a standing ovation. She started with a Q&A after telling the story of her first book signing in 1990. She got $6k advance and spent $1200 on posters that she made and put up in grocery stores and restaurants. She used her lunch hour to go to a religious bookstore only to have no one show up.

When it came to her Jack the Ripper book [which is what I was there for], she received dreadful feedback. Most people who complain about it didn't read the book or look at the photos, which are in the National Archives. She likened it to "picking on a holy cow". Mary Kelly was the most mutilated body she had ever seen, same for one of her ME friends. 

After the Q&A session was over, they lined us up in groups by letter. We were A's, so we were able to line up right away. They wrapped the line up around the store and had velvet ropes up everywhere with serious security.

You handed the book to the Warwick's employees, she handed the book to Patricia, it was signed and then slid over to the edge of the table for pick up.

There was no personalization and only about 10 seconds in front of her. Just enough time to say hi and thank her for signing the Jack book instead of the new one.

While she was supremely polite and extremely personable in her stories and our brief interaction, there just seemed to be something weird about the entire situation.

Maybe it was seeing full on security, complete with ear pieces and the possibility of concealed weapons.

Maybe it was just the enormity of the crowd.

It could always just be my imagination.

The time Duff McKagan liked my name

So, while I was dealing with Mr. Cranky Pants at Warwick's, my husband noticed that they had a flyer up promoting the book tour stop with Duff McKagan.  Of course we bought books for the signing and with that, got group B tickets. We were told that there wasn't going to be any sort of Q&A, it was going to be a signing and nothing else.

We got to the bookstore and there were a lot of people there.  Apparently, Warwick's procedure during a signing is to close up completely at their normal time of 6pm and then reopen after rearranging the store.  About 15 minutes before the scheduled start time, one of the employees came out started talking.  I couldn't hear exactly what she was saying, but caught something about someone briefly talking before the signing started.  I figured there would be some instruction on how the signing would proceed.

I was wrong.

Out walked Duff...

He had decided to come out and talk even though it wasn't scheduled. He took all sorts of questions.  Everything from the current status of his bands Loaded and Velvet Revolver, to Guns N Roses getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The entire rockstar cliche does not apply to Duff McKagan.  He is extraordinarily well spoken.  My husband tells me that he has a degree in Finance, but I'm not sure if that's true.  [I haven't read the book yet and I couldn't find a reputable source to confirm].  I do know that he writes several columns for several magazines, including ESPN, Playboy and the Seattle Weekly.   He even started his own money management company to help other musicians with their finances.

He talked for about 20 minutes.  Joked with a guy holding a video camera and how he needed to be careful with his answers because it was all going to end up on the internet somewhere.

For the signing, there were groups in A, B, C, etc.  Each group had about 25 people in them and I did see at least one person with a D ticket.  They sort of forced everyone outside, unless you were in the group that was up.  After showing your ticket to an employee, they herded us to stand in between some velvet ropes.  Another employee came by to write names on post-it notes for personalization.

They had Duff standing by himself in the middle of the store.  There was another employee [who was trying to take "rockstar" photos for the company website but managed to make it look like she was giving a very painful thumbs-up] standing just in front of him.  She faced the book and then handed it to him for signing.  Each person went up one at at time to get the book signed and then get a picture and chat for a minute or so. 

When it was my turn, he looked at my post-it note and said "I've never seen your name spelled like that and I've seen a lot of fucking names".  I laughed because not only is it one of the best reactions I've had to my uniquely spelled name, but it's also nearly the exact same thing he told me at NAMM a few years prior.  I told him that and it was his turn to laugh.

I got my book back and took a picture with him [he just grabs on and pulls you to his side].  He then shook my hand and thanked me for buying the book and spending my time at the event.

I waited for my husband to get his book signed and a picture and then we headed out of Duff's little velvet rope corral. 

As we left, he loudly exclaimed, "Bye, Staceeeeeeeeeeeeeee".

The time an old man tried to beat me to the assigned seating

Finding out that Kathy Reichs was doing a book tour was really exciting.  I had just finished reading all of her Temperance Brennan books, save for the newest one, Flash and Bones.  I am also a huge Bones fan and was stupid thrilled that she was going to be in La Jolla for a night, promoting the second book in her YA Virals series. 

I won't bother going into details about the hideous employee at Warwick's that I had to deal with.  I won't mention the snide remarks he constantly made under his breath [which weren't that quiet] or the constant hateful glares he made to my chest tattoo [which I can't really blame him for staring at, it is amazing].  I will mention that it was such a horrible experience and he was such a detestable man that I actually started an account at Yelp to comment on it. 

I also looked at Kathy's tour schedule to see if we could go somewhere else to see her.  I never wanted to set foot in that bookstore again.

No such luck.  Anyhoo...

The night of the signing, we got down to the bookstore about 45 minutes before it was scheduled to begin.  There was a sign outside of the locked bookstore doors.

We were early enough to find parking right in front of the store, and just decided to wait in the car to watch everyone queue up.  At the time we bought the books needed for the signing, we got tickets  numbered 2 and 3 for the event and were told that it was for the "preferred" seating.

One of the best things I think I've ever witnessed was watching an older couple stand almost on top of the door before they opened.  She eventually walked down to get coffee or something and left him standing there with his cane.  Every time someone would walk up to the glass doors to look inside the store, he would cough and move to stand in front of them. He even gave people dirty looks if they wanted to take pictures of the sign.

About 10 minutes before the event was about to start, they let us inside[of course the older couple were first through the doors].  I was extremely trepidatious.  As much as I wanted to see/meet/talk to Kathy Reichs I did not want to deal with Mr. Cranky Pants.  Thankfully, he was no where in sight.  We picked up our books, confirmed our tickets and were led to our seats, numbered 2 and 3.

Which were right in front of the podium.  Most importantly, right in front of the old man. Of course, I know that I shouldn't have been so gleeful about that, but I really was.

Kathy and her son, Brenden, came out.  Kathy took the podium while Brenden [who co-wrote the series with her] stood off to the side. 

She gave her background, briefly talked about her involvement with Bones and then gave the synopsis to the first book in the YA series, Virals.  She also touched on the plot of the new book, Seizure, but didn't go into details as to not ruin it for the readers. 

There was a short Q&A session, mostly focused on how Kathy and Brenden write together, and an endearing story about a puppy with Parvo [of which we never actually learned the outcome].  I found their relationship of mom/son to be completely on display.  While he definitely respects her [and it shows], he loves to pick on her.  Her humor and wit is very dry.  I saw a lot of Temperance Brennen in Kathy.

When the signing started, we were asked to fold our chairs and move them to start the line.  I finally looked behind me to see that there was a decent sized crowd. Probably about 25 or so people sitting down and another 20 or so standing.  Everyone was very polite and got into line while Kathy and Brenden got situated.

As a side note, I had asked Mr. Cranky Pants if Kathy would be willing to sign a Temperance Brennan book even though she was promoting the other series.  He didn't give a very nice answer [surprise, surprise], so I took matters into my own hands.  I contacted Kathy on Twitter to ask.  She answered "of course". 

Armed with my book in hand, I walked up to the table.  I thanked her for signing my book and told her that I appreciated her time.  She didn't really make small talk.  Maybe I was just a little star struck... I do have my Masters degree in forensic science and she is one of only 50 forensic anthropologists in the world. 

My husband got the copy of Seizure signed and what I found amusing is that while Kathy signs the title page, Brenden signed the "Thank you" page.  At the back of the book.  He said it was because it is the only place his name is printed. 

We left Warwick's slightly mollified.  The staff that was on hand for the evening with Kathy and Brenden were friendly and fabulous. 

I bought books for signing later in the week.

And I deleted my review at Yelp when I became a book club member