In the hall outside the auditorium, the amazing MYSTERIOUS GALAXY, sets up tables and tables of books! Authors at the Encinitas stop were Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, Rachel Vincent, Carrie Ryan, Margaret Stohl & Kami Garcia, and yours truly.
Let the fun begin! And we did have fun. The fans were awesome and we absorbed their energy! Ha! As you can see below, Margie Stohl absorbed a little extra! Down, Margie, down!
The fabulous Kelley Armstrong explains one of the games we will play with the audience. Yes, we played games! They involved marrying, um, "kissing," and very steep cliffs! But everyone survived.
And there were giveaways! Melissa Marr is about to announce which lucky fan will be killed or kissed (or something else?!) in the Smart Chicks short story collection, Highway to Hell, that will be out next year!
And then it was time to sign and talk to fans. The blurriness of this picture really shows the energy level of this event. The audience was awesome!
Besides signing books, fans brought posters for us to sign that they printed out from the website
And sometimes they even had us sign other things--like their skirts!
For the giveaways, Librarian Goddess Jennifer Lawson, made this zombie to give away with Carrie Ryan's books! Yes, those are screws in its head. That has to be the most adorable zombie I've ever seen.
Anyway, this is just a glimpse of the tremendous enthusiasm from readers, booksellers, librarians, and the authors too! It was totally amazing to see so many people so excited about books and reading.
Oh! And I can't forget the wonderful Vania who has been on the tour too and photographing the events. Here I got a shot of HER for a change! Thanks for all the fun photos Vania! (and all the times you surprised me on the sly ; ) You can find more photos that Vania took on tour here on her twitter page.
And one more thing. Remember how I said that sometimes fans would have "other things" for us to sign? Well, at the LA stop this young man (who was accompanied by his mother) apparently had nothing else for us to sign so he requested that we sign his abs. That's right, ABS. I know I had a really dumbfounded look on my face (it was definitely a first for me) but his mom was smiling and said it would really make his day. So . . .
And down the line he went . . .
I wonder if he showed off his abs at school the next day? Maybe for extra credit in his English class?
Tonight the Smart Chicks Tour is in Naperville, Illinois at Anderson's BookShop. One thing I know for sure is that fun and craziness will reign. If you are anywhere near Anderson's, go!
Thank you Smart Chicks for including me on this tour and for the unforgettable time we had! And thanks to all those who came out to share the fun!
~Mary
Cute zombie! Abs Boy is just too funny. Looks like an awesome time!
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