Last Thursday, I was so so lucky to find a way to get myself to the Brentwood stop of the HarperTeen Dark Days Tour! I faced many obstacles, including, but not limited to:
-Rain
-Wind
-A tornado (twice)
Needless to say, I was excited, and hoping for good things. Four authors were scheduled specifically for the tour's purposes, but as it was in Nashville, a lot of authors who lived nearby came out. So, like any sane person, I walked into the Barnes and Noble with a 100% full backpack. Like, I-kept-it-with-me-because-I-thought-they'd-suspect-it-was-a-bomb type of full. I felt ridiculous, and it was heavy (18 books is not something light), but in the end, it was SO worth it.
After the panel, where they all gave really good advice (I recorded it but the video is messed up somehow), the signing began. It was very well organized, and I realized that it would take a while to get to everybody, so I decided to make a left and head towards the authors I'd spied on the way in. Stephanie Perkins, the author of Anna and the French Kiss, and Lola and the Boy the Next Door, was the only one not in the middle of signing or conversing, so I very awkwardly sidled over and chatted.
And, after some compliments on shoes, and attempts to be cool, I got a selfie with her.
The rest followed more or less the same. I did mention to Victoria Schwab (below with the short hair; also author of The Near Witch, The Archived series, and Vicious) that I'd seen her at signing before, and had chickened out. We all had a good laugh at my expense.
Also pictured here: Beth Revis of Across the Universe fame.
Ransom Riggs (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children), who bears an uncanny resemblance to one of my professors, was the only one who required a photo done longways, because the man is capital-T Tall. I'm 5'2", as a reference.
So after that, I finally started getting in line for the official signings. Above is another thumb-clouded selfie, this time with Veronica Rossi (Under the Never Sky). I always worry that I'll have nothing to say to them, and result in standing silently while they write their name, but I'm pretty sure I was talking a mile a minute and overdid it. Sorry, authors, you just intimidate me (in a good way).
Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me) was fantastic as one would expect. She was really the catalyst that made me decide to go to this signing, since even getting to an event in Memphis (where I live) is difficult, let alone a city 170 miles away; I was still suffering an Ignite Me hangover, which those of you who have read it will understand completely. She was wearing the coolest skeleton leggings, looking incredible, and so I had to buffer a table between us to avoid the shame of not being as incredible.
I was so glad to meet Kiersten White (Paranormalcy, Mind Games, The Chaos of Stars); I hadn't read any of her work in a while, but she emanated that sassy fun that I sensed in Paranormalcy, and she was probably the easiest to talk to. Also, she was actually shorter than me, which never happens. So yay :)
Here with all four, after the lines had dispersed. Though I haven't read anything by Sophie Jordan (Firelight, Uninvited), she was just as cool and I really enjoyed getting a picture with all of them.
And one last picture to close the curtains. This gives you a reference to how many incredible, talented people were in the room that night. Also pictured is Courtney Stevens, whose debut Faking Normal just released. She was very chill, and chatted up everyone nearby like they were old friends.
Thus ended the event. After nearly accidentally stealing forty dollars worth of books, and then going to pay for it, I bought myself some Starbucks, where Beth Revis and Stephanie Perkins had remained for the same purpose. While desperately trying to avoid the awkward possibility of standing in silence, I recommended one of the teas that the store was selling, and inadvertently became a personal shopper for Stephanie Perkins, at least as far as drinks are concerned. I expect my career to take off any day now.
This was the biggest signing I'd ever been to; and though it's really hard to quantify such an experience, if not one of the best signings I'd been to, it is definitely among the most memorable. There's always a real anxiety to meeting these authors; for me, they're essentially my heroes, and I'm a mixture of excitement, nervousness at not being an impressive fan, and the fear that they might not be what I've created in my head. But, as has been the case thus far, and I hope will continue to be, authors prove time and again that they are sincere, genuine, earnest storytellers who want their readers to enjoy the story as much as they enjoy being the ones to tell it. I cannot wait for my next adventure, though hopefully next time will suffice without the threat of tornadoes.
