Wednesday 13 February 2013

Author Event Recap & Giveaway: Breathless Reads Tour 2013

Hello readers! Once again I feel lucky to live in Southern California because we truly get the most awesome author events.  This last Monday, February 11th, I went to see authors: Brenna Yovanoff, Marie Lu, Jessica Khoury, and Andrea Cremer at the charming Mrs. Nelson's Toy and Book Shop for their Breathless Reads Tour Stop.  It was a packed and lively event.  And once again, Arlene from WinterHaven Books and I arrived early to grab our seats and gossip books. Don't forget to scroll down for a chance to win two of the new releases.

 

The evening focused on the writer's experience, publishing, and the market influence on writing YA.  

Brenna signing Paper Valentine
The bubbly Andrea Cremer
When asked about censoring for YA, Brenna said that she usually ends up with a very violent first draft and usually has to reign it in.  This got a few laughs from the audience. She said where she won't censor herself is emotionally. She wants the emotions to be as authentic and raw as possible, so readers who may be experiencing things such as grief, loss, or even an eating disorder would be able to pick up her book and have it feel realistic and relatable.  

Andrea Cremer has a lot coming out this year. Rise, the sequel to Rift, Invisibility a collaboration with David Levithan, an adult series will debut in the fall, and a fourth Nightshade novel with a tentative release in December.  When talking about censoring her writing for YA she said she's never felt like she had to hold back as long as she stuck to the authenticity of the character's experience.  The sexuality in YA is more about coming of age, and an adult experience is very different.

Marie signs Prodigy
Marie Lu shared her personal tips on writing: Just get the words down on the page.  Don't be afraid to write the bad stuff because sometimes you have to get it out before you can move on to writing the good stuff.  One of the things about writing that surprised her is the dichotomy of the life. She feels like half her life is spent as an introvert writing and the other half as an extrovert doing interviews, events, and social media to talk about her books.  She is currently in revisions on the third book in the Legend series: Champion.  Marie was happy the ending of Prodigy broke my heart, lol!  
 

Jessica Khoury
I was amazed to find out Jessica Khoury is only twenty-two and already has her first published novel out, Origin.  She graduated high-school at sixteen and went to college right after.  She said that if she could go back and give herself writing advice it would be to put the books away and get out and live life. Have your own adventures, because this is what enriches your writing, gives it quirkiness, personality, and makes it unique. Jessica said when taking trends in publishing into consideration, it's nice to know what they are, but don't let it influence your writing so that your story suffers. Jessica is currently working on a companion novel to Origin. 



Khoury, Lu, Yovanoff, and Cremer




Now for the exciting part.  To show our appreciation to all our lovely readers we're giving away a Signed Hardcover of Prodigy by Marie Lu and Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff to one lucky reader!  The giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  The only requirement is that you follow the blog.  Just enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win. Good luck and thanks for stopping by!


Signed Copies


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

21 comments:

Tanja - Tanychy said...

Oh Rachel I'm so happy to see all the pics and that you enjoyed. I'm sure the authors enjoyed your company too! But most of all thank you for thinking about us and making these giveaways!! <3

Unknown said...

Would lovelovelove those books! Thank you for the chance. :)

Jennifer said...

Rachel, when you talk about Andrea Cremer can you explain what you mean by a "fourth Nightshade novel"??? Do you mean something set after the end of Bloodrose? Or something set before? Really want to know this.

Jenny said...

YOU ARE SO LUCKY RACHEL! Can I move in with you? Would that be awkward? Think of all the fun we'd have talking about KMM books and going to events! This looks like another amazing signing, and I had no idea Jessica was so young. She makes me feel old and unaccomplished. *puts on pity party hat* Thanks for the event recap!

Also, your new header is GORGEOUS. Love, love, love it:)

Jessica@Booked Up! said...

Oh my gosh Rachel!!! You are so lucky to live near so many awesome book events! My town seriously needs to start organising more!

I'm so glad you had a lovely time, and got to meet many phenomenal authors. And aw, it's really sweet of you to plan this lovely, generous Giveaway for us all, Rachel! :Dx

By the way, thanks for sharing the fantastic pics of the event!

Livvy said...

Geez Rachel, you are definitely lucky. It's like your on author ley lines, they're just attracted to where you live. I think the fact you live in the states too impacts because lots of people and authors live over there! :P

Looks like you had a fabulous day. I like Khoury's advice about living life.

Glad you could have fun and thank you again for such a brilliant giveaway, Rachel! :)

Suzanne (Parabooklover) said...

You get a lot of great authors round your way Rachel. So jealous!! lol. I'm still mad at Andrea Cremer over Ren so I don't know if I'd like to see her, although with a fourth Nightshade book she may be going to redeem herself. And thanks for the giveaway :)

Emma said...

OK, I'm super jealous that US get way more author events that the UK! Is not fair! Haha! It must have been epic seeing all those brilliant authors! Andrea Cremer is one of my favourite authors of the Nightshade series and I have yet to read Marie Lu's Legend and Prodigy! Its part of my display at work, so I will where to pick it up! :D Lovely recount Rachel! :) And thanks for the giveaway! :D

Keertana said...

Funnily enough, I'm not a fan of any of these authors! I do love this recap post, though, so thanks for that, dear! Plus, I probably should pick up a novel by Brenna already...it's been awhile!

Anonymous said...

Rachel! You get to meet the most brilliant authors all the time. I'm definitely really jealous of you. I wish authors would come to Denver. You sound like you had a lot of fun, Rachel!
:)

Aa'Ishah said...

Gah! Why does nothing happen over here?? You're so luck you got to see such amazing authors! Especially Andrea Crememer. The advice is fantastic, and it sounds like an awesome experience overall. Thanks for the brilliant giveaway, AND for making it international. You're just made of awesome. :)

Also, I don't know how late I am - knowing me, probably very - but ADORING the new look! <3

Aa'Ishah said...

It seems all the excitement affected my ability to type. :S

Maji Bookshelf said...

ooh that sounds AMAZING!! I'm so jealous dude!! First the pitch dark days, not breathless reads, ugh. Im glad you had a fantastic time though! also, thanks for the giveaway!
- Farah @ MajiBookshelf

Unknown said...

Congratulations on another exciting event, Rachel. I just love your recap posts. Thanks for sharing!

Shirley said...

JDIASDHUISAHDISAUDHA I AM SOOOOO FREAKING JEALOUS.
Awwww the ending of Prodigy broke your heart? I'm scared to read it now.... :S
Glad you had such a wonderful time<3 & Thank you for the giveaway!!!!

Rachel said...

Not awkward at all, Jenny! Our husbands would probably welcome the rest from our book insanity (for a while at least). And thanks, the changes are all Jasprit! I love them, too. :)

Rachel said...

I got the sense that the 4th Nightshade novel was NOT before the series like her prequels Rise and Rift. I got the impression it was set after Bloodrose, but she didn't elaborate much because this is super new news and she wasn't supposed to reveal much, if anything. I don't even know if she was supposed to tell us about the 4th novel. So, yay for super secret info,Jennifer! :)

Book Passion for Life said...

Jealous you got to meet Marie Lu hun. Looks like another event you enjoyed =)

YA Anonymous said...

Rachel, I love your recaps. It's how I find out about all these cool events around LA I missed! :P

-Maggie

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

You met Brenna Yovanoff?! God, I'm so jealous I can't even think! I'm glad you had fun, Rachel, I adore your recaps. :)

Blythe Harris said...

Oh, I'm so jealous of you, Rachel! At least once in my life I must go to a book signing for an author I love. I have a signed copy of Pet Sematary by Stephen King (my favorite author of all time), but my friend got me that, so I didn't get to meet him. If I got to meet him I'd probably hyperventilate. Anyway, so jealous! I haven't read any of the books by the authors you've met (I know, I'm behind), but they all sound really good! I plan on starting Legend soon, so I should get to Prodigy soon as well, and Paper Valentine I have but have not gotten around to yet.

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