Dystopian Tour 2011- Veronica Roth and Lauren Oliver Signing

Last night I got the extremely rare opportunity to attend a book signing at my local Chapters with YA authors Lauren Oliver (author of Before I Fall and Delirium) and Veronica Roth (author of Divergent).  To say that I was excited would be a gross understatement. First, a dystopian tour?  Yes please! Can't get enough! Second, we get very few authors in my little hometown and even in Toronto, the list of author signings that I actually care about is rather small.  So, when my fellow book nerd and friend Jessica sent me a tweet with the signing details, I was pumped.

It was very cool to listen to the author's talk about inspiration, influences, and the business.  I found out some cool tidbits like, did you know that Lauren wrote Before I Fall on her Blackberry?  Yeah.  Seriously.  She wrote it on the NYC subway while commuting between her full-time job, part-time job and full-time grad school and emailed it to herself each night.  Now that's dedication to your craft. 

I had some questions I was burning to ask (like if and how they've had to deal with YA nay-sayers and why they think YA lit has exploded the way it has, especially with adults) but I was too chicken.  I was also completely awkward when I went up to have my books signed.  I didn't have the nerve to ask for a picture and, although I wanted to say something incredibly intelligent and witty, I couldn't think of a single thing to say beyond "hi" and "thanks".  It was pathetic actually.  Lauren did tease my husband a little about being dragged along to a book signing, but other than giggling at that and giving the standard greetings... I said nothin'.  Totally forgettable. *sigh*  I'm such a loser.

In the end, I got three beautiful new signed hardcover books that I can't wait to read, and got to meet two very cool YA authors.  All in all, a great night for a book nerd! 

Delirium and Before I Fall signed by Lauren Oliver

Divergent signed by Veronica Roth

I also got a swag bag filled with Delirium and Divergent related trinkets and other assorted junk. I LOVE free stuff!