Wednesday 11 November 2015

Author Event Recap & Giveaway: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff



Last night I had the pleasure of attending an author event and signing of Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff at Once Upon a Time Bookstore in Montrose, California. These authors traveled all the way from Australia to come and talk about their fabulous young adult Science Fiction story.  I loved their accents! Margaret Stohl was added last minute as a speaker to the event to speak about her Black Widow novel. 

Margaret Stohl, Amie Kaufman, and Jay Kristoff
It was a lively and fun event, and all the authors were fun and entertaining.  As a special treat Johnathan McClain, one of the narrators for the audio book read an excerpt which just happened to be the passage I just left off on before coming in the store. What a coincidence, lol!

Audiobook narrator Johnathan McClain
I'm currently listening to the audio version and I highly recommend it. There are three main narrators, but also a whole cast of secondary narrators and special effects.

Jay said writing Illuminae with Amie has been the most fun writing experience he's ever had.  They were able to get immediate feedback, bounce ideas off each other, and help each other out of writing dilemmas.

It's funny to note that both Jay and Amie are not well versed in the science behind the stories they write, but because they wanted their story to be authentic and believable they had a trusted astrophysicist go over all the science and make corrections when needed. They said they both took Hollywood's version of science as correct and found out Hollywood sort of writes it as they like.


Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufman signing my copy!

As most of you know, I'm a happy ending kind of girl, so I had to ask Jay what he had against happy endings (as proclaimed in his bio)?!  He laughed, and said a happy ending must be earned.  It doesn't mean as much if the characters don't go through major turmoil first.  He used the example of the Star Wars trilogy.  The first movie (spoiler alert if you haven't seen the movies. And if you haven't, what rock have you been living under?!!) Luke fires missiles, explodes the Death Star and they all go home and get medals. The End.  That was nice, but in Empire Strikes Back they leave Luke, Han, and Leia in emotional turmoil and danger, and yet that was the movie that resonated with him the most.  When we finally do get the happy ending in Return of the Jedi, it means so much more because of everything the characters went through. Coincidentally, Empire Strikes Back is also my favorite of the trilogy, so I do understand his thinking on happy endings.

I had a blast getting a glimpse into the minds of Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff!  I'm currently reading/listening to Illuminae, and I have to say for someone who reads as much as I do it's refreshing to get a story in such an original format.  The story is told through emails, interviews, and messaging, but there are also illustrations.  I highly recommend getting a physical copy as opposed to an e-copy because of all the fabulous extras.  



As usual when I attend an author event I like to share with our readers, so I have a SIGNED Hardcopy of Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff to give away to one Readers Den follower.  The giveaway is open to US or CA residents only.  Simply fill out the rafflecopter below for a chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

18 comments:

Emma said...

Rachel you have me hooked with this book now. I wasn't sure whether to read it or not but, it told through messages and emails is right up my alley as you know. But I have to say I never thought about endings like that as I am a happy endings girl too. Great recap. :)

Alexandra Perchanidou said...

I hads the chance to win an ILLUMINAE ARC with notes from both authors. Then I got into a Twitter debate with Jay over AIDAN. ;) His comments were amazing! Thank you for the post, but I can't enter the giveaway (INT) :'(

Lekeisha said...

I've read so many great reviews for this book! Seriously, every one of my blogger friends have loved it. Hoping that my library gets it soon.

Anonymous said...

I love that you asked him what he has against happy endings! I would totally ask him that too. I have to say I do love his answer. The event sounds like it was a lot of fun, Rachel. Thanks for letting us live vicariously through you! :)

Beth │Fuelled By Fiction said...

I have not heard a single bad thing about this book. At first I was getting a little worried about all the hype--you know how when something is so hyped up how can it possibly live up to your expectations? But I'm appeased now because there have been quite a few of reviewers that I trust saying the same amazing things about it :) That's so cool that you got to meet them! And I'm so glad that you're enjoying this one too! I may grab the audio as well and listen and read along at the same time :)

Piecraft Bucharest said...

I just finished reading it, and it was very interesting. The format was unlike I've ever seen in my life! Nice you got to meet the writers (*insert jealous face here*) :p

Autumn said...

I'm so jealous! It sounds like you had a great time. This book sounds fantastic, and everyone is saying amazing things about it.

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Ah, that's so awesome you got to meet them. I had no idea they were Australian. haha Illuminae was the first book I'd read from either of them, but I'll have to look into their other series!

Eri said...

I purchased this book after hearing great reviews all around, and I'm glad to see that it's living up to expectations so far! It's interesting to see that they had an astrophysicist go over everything for accuracy, and I'm definitely curious to see what exactly would entail such a process.

Joy said...

Oh man, you go to the best events, Rachel! This looks like fun. :)

Unknown said...

oh man thats awesome and I can see that, happy endings must be earned = thats not a bad thing to follow :)

Unknown said...

Omg, Illuminae (the series) BETTER have a happy ending or I will cry forever and ever.
This looked like such a fun event! Me living in a smaller city, I hardly ever get to go to author signings, and Jay/Amie's is one I'd definitely want to! Thanks for sharing!

Carina Olsen said...

YAAAY :D So glad that you got to go to this event Rachel. <3 So happy for you and so jealous of you :) Wish I could meet these lovely authors too. Sigh. Jay is all kinds of awesome :) And I love Illuminae SO MUCH. <3 So glad that you had an amazing time :D Thank you for sharing about it sweetie. <3

Ksenia said...

I decided not to read Illuminae, because everyone mentioned that physical copy is wonderful, and I read e-books. The thought of audiobook never crossed my mind. With your recommendation I think I’ll go for it. Looks like you had a good time, and thanks for sharing!

Sayomay said...

I heard that there is eye gouging in this book- IM IN!!!
Mary G Loki

Unknown said...

This book looks very good and incredibly unique and I've heard nothing but good things about it! Very excited to read it!

landofisolatedcreatures said...

Great post! I've heard so many amazing things about this book, but I haven't had the opportunity to get this!

Unknown said...

I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone who loves science fiction and is willing to take a chance on a different type of reading experience. It's one you wont forget and one I hope you'll love as much as I did.

Zia
Senior Living Seattle resource

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