Pen Fatale Tour Pics!

I met a fabulous lady on Twitter today and she mentioned that a group of YA authors were doing a signing at Barnes & Noble in my area. So skip forward a handful of hours and not only did I get to meet the authors (and get signed books), but I got to meet my new Twitter friend, too. What a great night!

The Pen Fatale Tour made its very last stop in Seattle and I was fortunate enough to attend. Alyson Noel, Jessica Brody, Mary Pearson and Gabrielle Zevin (L-R) were out promoting their new books. While Alyson was definitely the most well-known of the group (and most of the questions were addressed to her), all four ladies were personable and engaged the audience beautifully.

One girl up front asked Mary Pearson how she got the idea to put thoughts in a black box (the premise of her novel, The Fox Inheritance). Mary responded that she'd done some research and that scientists currently believe that in about 25 years, they'll be able to scan our brains and download the information to a computer so we can have conversations with ourselves. Jessica Brody piped up and asked if her computer brain would be able to tell her where she left her car keys, since she has difficulties with that. :)

Alyson shared that she finds writing inspiration from events in her life, that she's been through some tough times: lost 3 people in her family within a short period and almost lost her husband to leukemia. Mary spoke of her daughter's cancer and how that played a role in the stories she came up with to work through the emotions. Gabrielle lightened the mood by recounting a story about a vicious chihuahua trying to attack her and her pug outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the inspiration for her novel, All These Things I've Done.

I had the chance to ask Jessica about the Ah-Mazing book trailers she's done for The Karma Club and My Life Undecided, which are more like movie trailers than book trailers. She said that she has friends in the film industry who've helped her out and that they take months to do, but that they are a labor of love. When I talked with her one-on-one during the signing, I told her I'd love to have her do a book trailer for Between.

*dreams of casting a hot guy in a kilt as Aiden*

*swoons*

All in all, it was a fabulous night. An inquisitive and attentive crowd, and some lovely women encouraging young readers (and writers). What's not to love?

Safe travels home from your tour, ladies!

And super big thanks to my new Twitter friend, @seibslikefeebs!