That's Life...: Before I Fall

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