#PitchDarkDays visits Colorimetry - Woop!!

Pitch Dark Days... in Oregon!

So, this was a really, really, really, really, really, really, really fun event!!

I got to sit on the floor again... like I planned it on purpose!  and I took LOTS OF NOTES to share the evening with EVERYONE!!  Woohoo!!

I forgot to change the size of my pictures, so you have to squint a bit to see these... but the authors are all in there. Well, Dan Wells is not in this first picture no matter how hard you squint. He's hiding behind the stand thingame. If you watch closely... someone sneaks in a hedgehog.

Would the owner of the HEDGEHOG please come forward and explain why we all need a stuffed animal in our picture?!  Was I supposed to bring my teddy bear?!  Or is this a famous hedgehog who reports on book signings around the webernet?

First... Tweet about this (and whatever) with #PitchDarkDays to be entered into a Giveaway. With a Gift Card. I don't remember the details, but we're all professional giveaway enterers, are we not? So have at it!

On to some juicy details!!!

WHY YOUNG ADULT?!

Dan - I like it. I write for me.

Deb - I can't do "adult". So.

Kiersten - There's "kissing".

Claudia - I'm still trying to get over being 16.

Lauren - Same as Dan.

Dan & Deb - Are your robots relate-able?

Dan - Kira is fully organic. She doesn't want to give up part of herself, and she sees herself as human.

Deb - Mila is very mechanical, but she's been programmed for emotion. And she thinks she's human at the beginning.

So emotion effects both robots...

Claudia - In Spellcaster, emotions fuel spells, so the older a witch is, the stronger. Nadia is 17, so she's learning how to do things but the villain, Elizabeth, is 400 years old!

Kiersten - Adam is the catalyst in Mind Games, the ideal counterpoint to Fia. I had originally wanted to write from his POV and this "impossible relationship" but... Annie had more to lose. The dog in the first scene? That's my editor's dog. I wanted her to read my book.

Lauren - In my first draft I used the names from people at my high school. The book was almost going to print when they figured that out and were like, 'Wha-?! No!' and I had to change all the names. I guess you can't use the names of people you know.

Fight Research!!

Claudia - I practiced on my editor once!

Lauren - My dad's a writer of murders & abductions. I've taken self-defense. Besides that, I project myself into the character.

Kiersten - I'm my dad's movie-watching buddy! High kicks were in style, but not very efficient. I like Jason Bourne's small powerful movements. When you're doing research you can watch a lot of movies. It's research.

Deb - I took jujitsu & I re-enact scenes with my husband.

Dan - My characters aren't good at it. No problem. Besides that, I lived in Utah with lots of guns and my good friend had a license to sell a grenade launcher.

Random Questions... and Random Answers... 

Claudia - Why my book is in New England? With a 400 yr old villain, I needed some history. I initially chose Rhode Island for the least amount of people should I mess it up. But then I talked with a resident and figured out some details, like where in the state a good hospital would be, that sort of thing.

Lauren - Alex? There was a twitter attack for an Alex story... so it's in the first edition of the hard cover printing. Yes, the TV pilot is expanding, but I can't say anything.

Kiersten - How long did it take to write Mind Games? Um... well, I thought about it for 15 years and wrote two other novels that didn't work. But the first draft? 9 days.

Dan - There's much less kissing in my book than the rest of these. Kira has no time for nonsense. Someone said that in a review - "Too much science, not enough kissing."  (Is that the story of your life? hahahaha) Um... I have five kids.

When you start a trilogy, do you think of the whole series?

Dan - I wanted to be like Battlestar Gallactica b/c "they have a plan". But it became evident that they didn't. I do plan the entire trilogy from the beginning.

Deb - Originally I had a plan, but it changes.

Kiersten - I know the beginning. I know where it ends... and get there in the telling. When I think of Lost, well, I really want to know there's a resolution at the end.

Claudia - I started with a 20,000 word outline (almost the size of Mind Games?) With Steadfast I went more loosely and the ending changed.

Lauren - Before I started, I knew the broad strokes. One character, for example, I knew would die... but then refused to die!

Do you get Writer's Block? What do you do?

Deb - Just sit and write crap 'til it's good again.

Dan - We are the only professionals who can claim Writer's Block to not work. What do plumbers do?

Kiersten - "Plumber's Block" Hm... more like "I don't want to". That happened to me once.  There are two reasons for Writer's Block 1) The voice isn't alive in my head and I need to throw it away. 2) The story took a wrong turn somewhere and I need to go back and find the problem and fix it. Hopefully not too far back.

Claudia - Don't give "Writer's Block" and power. Maybe I'm not emotionally connecting, it feels like I'm just hauling rocks, but sometimes it's good. Just POWER THROUGH IT!

Lauren - There's a natural resistance to just sitting down and doing it. Writing is challenging.

(Dan did not know he was in the picture, did he? He flew in from Germany, so he's sleep-walkin'. Lol.)


There was more... I know there was more, but I wrote such tiny notes, I can't read them. *rolls eyes*  So we can hop to the good stuff. Lol. I was first in line to have my book signed, which is so TOTALLY AWESOME. I missed the memo to dye my hair a funny color. Lots of people had pink or purple hair. Or both. I think that's a cooler idea than the alien headband one I had before. Once again, I didn't bump into any other bloggers. I really need to be a little more outspoken. I chatted a little bit with people around me, but I should take over the microphone and get a show of hands or something. Not gonna happen.

Here's my deliciousness:

Awesome, no?

Here's the extra bonus stuff I picked up to share with YOU!!!!!!  There's a signed bookmark for Mind Games & a Paranormalcy bookmark, too. Bonus!  Then the postcard thing for the Dark Days tour... and a cool button that I have no idea... um... from the publisher?  (4 items)

There can be TWO winners!!!  :-D

I'm going to offer this on a Rafflecopter so you can tweet super-duper-easily and be automatically entered to win whatever else is going on with the Dark Days tour. Awesome!!

This is for a US resident unless an international book lover would like to pay for the shipping. So harsh, I know, but I spent all my bucks getting this awesome copy of Mind Games so I could get this swag to share (see how I rationalize?) I'm not going to check at the Post Office before the giveaway ends, so if you think you want to check the pricing, just enter and see if you win. Cool? You can decide then.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are you kidding me?!

Here's that hedgehog!!!!


http://www.epicreads.com/

Meeting Richelle Mead Snapshot

Here's my latest awesome new arrivals...

The best part about going to a book signing is seeing all the other people there. I brought one of my favoritest people in all the world... lil' Miss Trin. She has not read Richelle Mead's books, yet, be we assured her in person that she'll get to 'em some day.

Here we are waiting for the famed author to arrive:

The best (and only) seat we could find was on the floor, which we would have chosen, anyway, tucked down a side aisle in the Travel Section. We were ecstatic about seeing Richelle as we listened to her read from Indigo Spell. She chose a passage with Adrian and Sydney, of course. It was so fun to hear her inflections.

There wasn't really a line, per say... it was more a free-for-all after all the seated early arrivals went. Anyone who had bought Indigo Spell at the store rec'd a blue wrist band, so they got to shove to the front first. That was pretty much all of us. (Thank you, honey-do for buying me the awesome book!!)

Fortunately I have skills in this department. I found some enthusiastic first-timers and followed closely as they fought their way to the front.

We then relaxed over tea and had a long conversation about The Fiery Heart coming out on November 19th. Apparently things really heat up between Adrian and Sydney in the next book.

(Note: I did not get this book... it's new cover news.)

Just Kidding... there wasn't time for tea. And, Ok, she shared the book news with everyone. But we did relax for about 30 seconds.

I got a lot of stuff. I forgot to get the bookmarks... I don't even remember what they looked like. But Richelle gave Trinity a "St. V" pin with a tiny VA engraved on the back. Yep! She's an official student at St. Vladamir's now! I'm so proud!!  (That's it there above the signature in Bloodlines.)

It is possible that I should have stayed 'til the crowds cleared out to see if I could have gotten extras for Colorimetry readers. And I would have, too, if... naw... That crowd looked like it'd keep Richelle up 'til closing and then some. I left with the ambulance carrying out someone who fainted from... something. Crowds? I can joke a little 'cause she was smiling and waving as they carried her off. It was a very happy book signing.

Thx Alyce @ At Home With Books for hosting Saturday Snapshot!  You have stumbled onto my personal photo album, lucky you!!  Today is book-related, at least.