Sunday, January 6, 2013

2012 in Review

What a year 2012 was for me!  I wrote a lot.  I read even more.  I accomplished goals that I never thought would be possible, and made even bigger goals for 2013.  I met many great authors at some great bookstores.  I read debut novels by extremely talented writers (Susan Dennard, Lia Habel, Kristen Simmons, Marissa Meyer, Julie Cross, Veronica Rossi, just to name a few!)  I read new books by established authors, all of which made my mind melt with awe (Marta Acosta, Brenna Yovanoff, Maggie Stiefvater, Andrew Smith, Lish McBride, and many, MANY more!)  All-in-all, it was a pretty great year!

Since my last post, I met a few more authors.  In September, the fabulous Libba Bray graced Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington.  If you have never attended one of her author signings, put it on your bucket list.  She was so funny, so personable, so witty.  Most authors will read a passage from their newest title.  Not Libba.  Nope.  Instead, she read a horrifically hilarious short story she had written as a child.  Most people would've been utterly embarrassed to read something from so many years ago, but that little bit is what sets Libba apart from most mere mortals.  I really think she has no shame, and for that, I wish I could be as brave as her. 

                                                       Me and the Queen of Cool, Libba Bray!

She was so talkative with everyone who came through the signing line.  I don't think I've ever laughed so much at any one event before, and I really hope I'll get the chance to meet Libba again someday.


A few days later, Marissa Meyer, Lish McBride, Ann Aguirre and Elizbeth Fama all rolled into Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati with the Fierce Reads tour.  I happily made the 2-hour trek to meet them all.  I'm such a huge fan of Marissa's and Lish's works, and I was not disappointed in their event at all.  All the ladies read, joked, and took wonderful questions from the audience.  I don't think there's anything that Lish can't turn into something funny. 

I really enjoyed meeting these ladies, and even though I wasn't familiar with Ann's and Elizabeth's books before, I certainly made it a point to read their works afterward.  Everyone was so kind and I truly enjoyed meeting them.



Marissa, Elizabeth and Ann laughing at something funny said by Lish (which was pretty much during the entire event!)

Back in October, Cherie Priest came into Lexington and I quickly made it a point to go to her signing.  She joked about her insane amount of jet lag and didn't hesitate to break out hilarious dog and cat stories (glad I'm not the only person who does that!)  She answered great questions about her writing process, in particular, how she researches for her BONESHAKER series.  I felt really bad for her obvious exhaustion, but her enthusiasm for her readers beat out the tiredness.  I really hope she enjoyed her trip here!

Those were the last events I attended in 2012.  Pretty awesome, huh? I feel really lucky to have met all the wonderful authors that I did last year, not only in person, but online as well.  So many authors I admire are very accessible to their readers online, via Twitter, Facebook and email.  I think this is such a great way to reach out to readers to not only promote their work, but to show they actually care about who reads their books.  And I know readers like me are very appreciate to authors for their hard work and dedication.  After all, if it weren't for author Susan Dennard, my first novel never, EVER would've been completed.  I'll never be able to thank her enough for her positive attitude and faith in me, when I'd lost all that in myself.  And a huge thanks to author Marta Acosta, for giving me great advice and always being very thoughtful.

So, 2013, what could lie ahead? There are so many possibilities.  So, here's to a year full of wishing for bigger things and working hard to make sure those dreams come true!

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