Recently, I got the chance to see five authors. Tuesday, I went to Morgan Matson, Suzanne Young, and Siobhan Vivian's signing, and on Thursday, I met Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff again! Today, I am here to talk about my wonderful experience at the signings and I hope you enjoy.

Morgan Matson, Suzanne Young, and Siobhan Vivian

When Morgan announced that she was going to be touring, I immediately hoped that she would have a Northern California tour date, and she did! With Suzanne and Siobhan as well, which was awesome because I adored Suzanne's The Program trilogy, and I had only read one of Siobhan's book but enjoyed it! Even better, the location she was having her signing at was so close to me compared to other signings I have been to. So the event started at 7, and I left to go to the event at around 5:30. (Yes, that is how close the event as to me. Legit like half an hour.) On the way, I actually called the Target close by to the Barnes and Noble where the event was held out to figure out whether they would have the Target exclusive edition on their shelves because, well I really wanted the deleted scenes.

En route to the signing!

Turns out that they only sold that online, how did I find that out? Calling Target, being put on hold for a total of 15 minutes and going through three different Target associates while doing so. *pouts* Thanks Target.

After I bought my books and stuff, I walked around the bookstore, looking at the books they had and talking with Rin and Al…as if I hadn’t talked to them enough (XD). I had known that Christina, Claire, and Ava were going to be attending the event as well so I got to chat to all three of them before the event started! It was really great catching up with Christina again because the last time I had seen her was Bay Book Fest! It was also so great to finally meet Ava and Claire. I haven’t known them for very long but it was so awesome to meet more bloggers and chat with them. I definitely hope to see them again in the future.

After Ava, Claire, and I had parted from chatting with each other, I went back to my seat, checked on my cats (If you know what I am talking about right now then congrats to you!) and basically waiting for the event to start.

The stage setup!

It was only about five minutes after seven when Alex and Sooz finally showed up! The first thing I noticed about them was how tall they both are, how beautiful they both are, and how I loved Sooz’s bunny top AND OMG, ALEX WORE THE CUTEST PANTS EVER. Also, they both had black flats on and they both look soooo stunninnngggg. AND THEIR HAIR, BOTH OF THEM HAVE FABULOUS HAIR.

They started off the event by Alex taking a picture of the crowd, both of Sooz and Alex introducing their books, and what it was based on. They then asked each other a few questions and talked more about the research they did for their books, what inspired to write Passenger and Truthwitch, and also more stuff that I really can't remember. After that, the Q&A started!

As if Sooz and Alex weren't entertaining enough (They have an awesome friendship and were able to make the discussion so entertaining!) the audience had some great questions. I don't remember exactly what questions were asked but I do know they were some great ones and both Susan and Alex had such great answers to the questions. Not only were they able to answer the questions, they told such great stories along with them and really allowed people to come up with more questions based on their answers on past questions. Even though I had never read a book from either author, I was able to come up with a question, which is a relief because I always feel bad attending an event and not having a question to ask the authors.

After the discussion and Q&A, signing time finally came! Kepler's has a pretty smart system where they let a row get their books signed and kind of dismiss each row to get their books signed. That way, it's not a huge glob in the signing line. Because I was in the front row, Rin, Al, and I were one of the first to get our books signed. I admit, it took a couple minutes for the signing table to be set up and then another couple minutes for me to actually get to Alex and Sooz.

Do you see all the beautiful swag?!

In total, it was about a ten-minute wait and when I finally got to them, I honestly didn't know what to say. That was basically the moment I had feared the most when it came to this event: when I got to Alex and Sooz, what was I going to say to them? I hadn't read any of their books so I knew I was going to have to figure out something to say.

Both Alex and Sooz made it so easy to talk to them because it was more they asked me questions about myself and I would make conversation based off that. With Alex, I thanked her for coming to not only this bookstore, but two other Bay Area bookstores, which is super rare considering these authors are huge.

Alex had complimented my ModCloth Bag (aka my main tote bag for EVERYTHING) and asked me where I came from. When I told her, Angela (I believe that is her name), one of the staff at Kepler's (I think she is the manager) who was standing right next to the table, freaked out when she heard because the place where I live was not close to the store. Both Alex and Angela thanked me for coming, which was awesome because it felt nice knowing that all that traffic I had gone through was worth it and usually authors don't ask if whether or not you're from the area. Alex and I had then chatted more and she had finished signing my books! I also had grabbed some swag and had Alex sign them.

Everything I got from this event!

Now here comes the exciting part. I didn't want to include it in above paragraph because it would have made it super long and I also want to properly talk about this. After I had told Alex how long the drive was, she gave me a Passenger tote bag. I'm pretty sure she only had about five of them with her for this stop and I honestly felt so honored to get a tote bag because they were definitely not handing this stuff out like candy. Alex will probably never be reading this but I really want to thank her for giving me a tote. Part of me still thinks that I totally am not worthy of this glory but another part of me is a book lover and knows that it's not every day you have a Passenger tote bag. I am really grateful Alex had given it to me and I will forever cherish it.

After I had gotten my books signed my Alex, I went to Sooz who was just as great to talk with. I thank her for coming and we chatted for awhile while she had signed my books. It was so great to talk with Susan because she is so sweet and just a great person to talk to. Afterward, I got a quick picture with Sooz and Alex and waited around for Rin and Al to get their books signed!

Sooz, Alex, and I!

I made sure to say hi to Evelyn Skye before leaving so after Rin and Al were done getting their books signed, I went over to her to say hi! We took a selfie together (With the Crown's Game ARC! More on that to come) and chatted for a couple minutes. It was so awesome talking to her and she is the sweetest person ever. Super excited for The Crown's Game and I am really hoping I could get an ARC of that book... Speaking of the Crown's Game ARC...EVELYN HAD ONE WITH HER AND IF I WASN'T SUCH A NICE AND GOOD PERSON I would have totally run off with it. She brought an ARC for Alex and Sooz I think and I got to hold it and flip through the pages and get a picture with it, just to show that I was once in the presence of an ARC. Definitely check out The Crown's Game if you haven't already! It sounds so awesome and I really can't wait to read it.

Evelyn, ARC, and I!

Yeah, so after that, I left the bookstore as a happy child and finished my delicious burrito. The end.

There is also one more thing I want to talk about before ending this post: how awesome Kepler's is. This was the second time I have been to the bookstore but if I lived closer, I would definitely be there at least once a month. Everyone is so nice there and the selection of books is wonderful. Definitely excited on going there again in the future!

I hope you guys enjoyed the recap and yes I realize it is super long but there was honestly so much to talk about! Thanks for sticking with it for this long!

So tell me: Have you read anything from Susan or Alex?! What are your thoughts on the recap?&

So, I attended the Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff with special guest Colleen Houck and I pretty much had a great time and this post is here to recap the whole event.

I arrived at the bookstore about forty minutes before it was starting and they were just starting to set up the chairs. I was actually on crutches (sprain my knee) so kind of glad I was able to put down my stuff on one of the chairs before I got tired of carrying around a bag of stuff and also be on crutches. Anyway, I got to the event a little early (like usual!) and talked to some people there and bought my books. The bookstore didn't have a huge selection of books there but the books they did have were all so good. They even had a copy of Winter there a few days earlier than it's release.

I believe they had Marie Lu at the bookstore a few weeks back so I was able to snag a signed copy of her graphic novel as well, which is so exciting for me because I have been so meaning to get to the graphic novel.

Because there were so many events going on at the bookstore, they had a sale where if you buy two books from the authors they were hosting, you get another book for free. I got two copies of Illuminae and so I was able to snag a free copy of Tiger's Curse, which was awesome because I know a lot of people really enjoy this series.

After I bought my books, I sat down to wait for the event to happen and sooner or later more and more people started coming in. There were a decent amount of people at the event so I can say it was a success considering the fact that this event wasn't supposed to be super big. One of the ladies working at the bookstore brought around drinks and cookies for all of us so that was great.

About ten minutes before the event, Amie and Jay walked into the bookstore but the event didn't start for another fifteen minutes.

So yeah, everyone is waiting for the event to start and it finally does. Colleen, Amie, and Jay start off the event by talking about their books, and how Amie and Jay got the idea to work together. (And also a hilarious story about how they met!) They then opened the panel up to some questions and let me say, these three knew how to TALK. They were asked questions about collaborating with another person, the future of sci-fi, handling character death, and I asked them a question about Random House's marketing with this book. Their answers become these stories and I love them because they answered the questions, opened new ones, and kept us all entertained for the night. Really enjoyed listening to them.
After that we did a book wave (kind of like a wave but you're holding books) which was really fun and hilarious because Amie and Jay kept making jokes about not smacking anyone with their heavy ass book and they then signed some books! I got in line and didn't get to talk to them too much (*facepalm* I was struggling to find something to talk about ahaha) but really enjoyed seeing Amie and Jay. Got some pictures, signed mah books, and snagged some swag. I also got my book signed for Colleen and she had these awesome embossers for her books. Stupidly forgot to take a picture with her but I had a great time meeting all three of these authors!
I then grabbed a cookie, all me books, and left the event. (I did ask both Amie and Jay if they could speak in an American accent before leaving though hehe. [Amie says can't do an American accent (but really? I bet she could) and Jay said a few things in an American accent for me.)

Had a great time at the event, hope I see there authors again, and I am also super excited to read Illuminae! :D

Leigh Bardugo

I woke up super early in the morning and my mom, Rin, and I headed to the ferry and we made our way across the bay to San Francisco. It was already a few hours before the signing so we were able to get lunch and do a little shopping at the Westfield mall. Around 12:20ish, we started to walk to the bookstore, which wasn't the most pleasant. See, the Tenderloin area of San Francisco isn't the safest and most pleasant area... (Spoiler: We taxi-ed back to the BART) So, we got to the bookstore at around 12:45, which pretty early but, I wanted to get good seats so I came before the chairs were being set up.

(Hello Empty Bookstore!)

When I got to the bookstore, it was so early the seats hadn't even been set up yet! I got to watch that happen and have the horrible debate on which first row seat to take. After finally choosing which seat to take, the bookstore was holding a scavenger hunt! Rin, our new friend Helen, and I all teamed up and we were basically looking around the bookstore to complete the scavenger hunt, something I really enjoyed!

So Rin, Helen, and I finally completed our scavenger hunt and we settled down. I picked up a (HUMONGOUS) copy of Queen of Shadows since my library decided it wanted to take forever before it got to me (Library, it's all good. No hard feelings). By that point, it was about 20 minutes until the event so I basically just did a series of sitting around, talking to people (Like Ardis!), and browsing shelves and then saw Leigh walk in! (It was another ten minutes before the event actually started...)

Around 2, the event finally started and it began with Leigh doing a reading of one of her past works. (It's a Leigh Bardugo event tradition!) It was pretty hilarious, filled with Assassins, polar opposite twins, and mystical creatures... Leigh then continued to explain more of the story, where her main character (Who's name was Blood...) was inspired from and I got to know more about her! She then did a reading from her book and the passage she read from was about Nina!
She then took some answers from the crowd and it was a super tough crowd I have to say. Despite the fact that the event was pretty full, I ended up asking Leigh 3 questions! (It was usually because the crowd would have no other questions and I would just raise mah hand because the more questions I ask, the better!) Leigh was such a hilarious person to hear from and I really enjoyed listening to her answers. So, finally, the Q and A was finished and we all got in line to sign!

Because I was in the first row, it didn't take long for me to get my books signed. (PERKS OF BEING EARLY HAH!) I got to talk to Leigh about some experience I had with the Grisha trilogy and she was so sweet to talk to. She signed my books (With a Nikolai Lantsov quote!) and I grabbed some swag. Before leaving I grabbed a cookie from their refreshments and said hi to Genissa, who I really loved seeing again. After that and saying bye to Helen, we left the store and my mom, Rin, and I went a little UNIQLO and Macy's shopping afterward!

Really enjoyed meeting Leigh and definitely hope to meet her again.

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Julie Murphy and Cammie McGovern

This past weekend, I was able to attend Bay Book Fest on Sunday. For it's first year, it wasn't a bad event. There are things that definitely could have been improved but I enjoyed it. So I started the day off by my parents dropping me off at the BART (The NorCal subway) around 10:30. I was able to catch an early BART and from there I BARTed to Downtown Berkeley, right into the festival. The festival was actually split in funny ways. Some streets were blocked off to traffic and some weren't.

The awesome people I met!

So, I got into Berkeley around 10:55 and I was planning to meet my cousin at the festival and we would then roam around the festival together. She was running a little late so I went ahead and went to the Teen Stage by myself. The first speaker, Kim Culbertson, was just starting her session so I stayed and listen to that. She talked about her love for teenagers and more about her books. Then, came Morgan Matson: one of the two authors I was at the festival for. She talked about Since You've Been Gone and took tons of questions from the audience. The subject of "new book" popped up a few times and here is the information I have gathered for you:

• It comes out in May 2016 *cries*
• The title, plot, and cover have yet to be released
• Morgan cannot get enough of the cover of the book
• The main character is supposed to be confident in herself (Opposite to Morgan's past main characters)
• It takes place in Connecticut...?

Hey! Welcome to the event recap of the Fierce Reads Tour Spring Fling. I attended the event in Menlo park and had loads and loads of fun! I hope y'all enjoy this post and make sure to check out the authors. :D There is also a giveaway at the end so make sure you enter!

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I attended Stacey Lee's launch event for her debut book Under a Painted Sky! I got there about 10 minutes before it started (that's a first for me). Let me say this, everyone knew everyone. People were walking in and saying hi to other people that were here. I guess I can say everyone who attended knew everyone from the area. The event started about 20 minutes after 4 and Stacey's husband introduced Bennett (I think that's how it's spelled?), Stacey's son. Bennett then introduced Stacey and she talked for some time.

Bennett opening the event!

Stacey also told us more about herself and her parents as well. We then watched the book trailer and the girl who played Samantha in the trailer was actually sitting a round in front of me and was wearing the same dress she was wearing in the trailer. Her name is Savannah and she is a lot younger than Samantha actually is. After we watched the trailer Stacey opened up to questions. There were a lot of interesting questions and, yes, I asked one too. After that we all moved to have cake, cookies, popcorn, or drinks or into the signing line. I wasn't very far into the signing line so I wasn't waiting for too long. I got to Stacey and she recognized me! I said hi to her, we shared a hug, took a picture, and she signed my book!

Stacey signing my book!

Afterward I got some of what was left of the cake and drinks. I also talked to Stephanie, one of Stacey's friends, and got a picture with her!

Stephanie and I! (You see the cake in my hand?)

We just stayed a little longer and then left. It was a really nicely organized event and I'm so glad I went. Can't wait to see what adventures Stacey has in that mind of her's. :D

More pictures!

Stacey and I!

In this pano: Stacey, her signing line, chairs, people talking.

My signed book and fiddle bookmark!