Launch Party: Also Known As by Robin Benway

We have three words for you, Robin Benway: Launch. Yo. Self.

Date: Friday, March 8, 2013

Time: 7pm
Place: Vroman's Bookstore

As you know, Mandee (Vegan YA Nerds & The Book Manicurist) and I do regular package swaps. Not only does she send me the latest and greatest Australian YA, she goes to a ton of events and gets them signed when she can. My autographed copies of Quintana of Charyn and Night Beach have their own special shelf. Next to my heart. For our next swap, I got The Reece Malcolm List autographed at Amy Spalding's launch. I also bought a few more books but was disappointed that there was only one hardcover since hardcovers aren't sold Down Under. Mandee had Also Known As by Robin Benway on her wishlist, so I preordered it and was ready to send her package out after AKA's release on February 26th. And then I remembered seeing Robin at Amy's launch and checked to see if she was also doing an event in LA. I forget that not all authors live in Australia or Portland and some are even LA based. After seeing a bunch of authors come out to Amy's launch and hearing Noelle's disappointment that no one comes out to Orlando, I decided to really make an effort to go to events, especially for local authors. Cue Tupac's To Live and Die in LA.

Anyway, now that I've rambled on about everything except Kafka's Motorbike, onto the launch!

Vroman's is a huge independent bookstore in Pasadena. It's been a while since I'd been there. I think the last time I was there, I bought a Haruki Murakami book to impress a boy and I ended up detesting both book and boy. There's a section upstairs for events, conveniently located across from the huge YA section. I got there about 10 minutes before the event -- yup, early again!

Robin came out and the first thing I noticed was that she has great hair. Like, amazing, Tami Taylor hair. The main character of AKA is also named Maggie so obviously we're meant to be best friends.

Robin read an excerpt from the book and then opened it up to questions. First, she had to give a very sweet shoutout to her mom and brother, who were in the audience, and she said she dedicates all her books to them. Her brother especially was really supportive when she decided to leave her well paying but monotonous job to write. Robin also recorded the audiobook for AKA and said Angelo is meant to be British ("sounds like James Bond and looks like Tim Gunn"), but she didn't dare try a British accent for the audiobook. Thank Madonna. The character of Roux is from her second manuscript, which her publisher passed on and remains unpublished. 

The idea of AKA came to Robin when she got locked out of her storage unit. She couldn't remember the combination to the Master Lock so she googled. A few minutes later, her storage unit was unlocked and a book idea was born. Robin recently went on a high school and library tour with Megan Miranda and Yelena Black (her blog post), and she told the high schoolers how her story idea originated. So yeah, if there's a rise in lock picking at high schools... She set the story in New York because she loved her time there while attending NYU. Gramercy Park, the private park accessible only to residents with a key, is where Maggie picks her first lock.  

As part of her research, aside from breaking and entering into her belongings, Robin contacted safe crackers to ask them questions about the job. All of them refused to divulge any information. Whatever, we've all seen The Italian Job.

SEQUEL NEWS: There is going to be one! Robin is working on edits right now and it should be released January 2014. She'll be recording that audiobook as well. She said the story came together much easier for the sequel than the original and she enjoyed revisiting the characters. 

I mentioned seeing Robin at Amy's launch and Amy was here for Robin's. I also met authors Brandy Colbert, whose novel Pointe (release: 2014) sounds all Black Swan and awesome, and Aaron Hartzler, whose memoir Rapture Practice will be launched at Barnes & Noble at the Grove on April 9, the day of its release. Author Abby McDonald and her British accent were also there. I love how supportive the authors are of one another, and after just two events, I'm already starting to recognize familiar faces. Cue California Love. 

A note on Vroman's policy for events. I am all for supporting authors and bookstores, especially independent bookstores. I bought AKA before I knew about the event, but I figured I would buy Audrey Wait and another book I need at Vroman's. However, when I got there, I was told that in order to get a ticket for the signing, I would have to buy another copy of AKA. I asked if I could buy another book instead and said I would buy 3 books in total, but I was shut down. I texted Flannery from The Readventurer since I know Flann goes to a ton of events and asked if that was the usual policy. She said no and that if you're required to make a purchase, you're allowed to at least choose what you buy. That was also my experience at the Once Upon A Time bookstore when I went there for the Summer Lovin' Tour last year. Luckily, Amy Spalding came to my aid and used her ticket to get my book signed as well. Thank you, Amy! And to Vroman's:

Launch Party: The Reece Malcolm List

We have three words for you, Amy Spalding: Launch. Yo. Self.

I usually find out about book events in LA after I read about them in Rachel's recaps on The Reader's Den, but I had the book launch of The Reece Malcolm List circled on my calendar ever since we took part in the cover reveal.

Date: Saturday, February 9, 2013
Time: 5pm
Place: Skylight Books

Book Mani (optional): Zoya Mitzi matte nail polish with Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Recap: I love Skylight Books but parking is a nightmare. I once circled for 45 minutes and still couldn't find parking, so my friend and I made sure to leave early on Saturday. We ended up an hour early for the event, which if you know me, NEVER happens. I was late to see MELINA MARCHETTA for crying out loud. Anyway, we scoped out the place and made sure to get seats in the middle/back. Because apparently we're still in high school. 

By the time Amy descended the stairs -- without any intro music unfortunately -- the place was packed and all the seats taken. She read three passages from the book while we munched on amazing espresso bourbon cupcakes.

After the reading, she opened it up for a Q&A. Some of the people asking questions also have books coming out this year, like Robin Benway (Also Known As, February 26), Sarah Skilton (Bruised, March 5), and Brandy Colbert (A Point So Delicate). I always forget that not all YA authors hail from Australia and some even live in LA. One of Amy's friends j'accused her of stealing Sai's ethnicity from her own Indian-Chinese-white makeup, and we all laughed and stoned her.* There was a ton of great Q&A that I didn't write down because of cupcake hands. 

I ended up buying 3 extra copies to send to Estelle from Rather Be Reading, Chachic from Chachic's Book Nook, and Mandee from Vegan YA Nerds. Estelle was reading Reece that morning and ended up loving it (her review). Chachic is coming to LA in a few weeks and I thought the LA setting of this book would be the perfect accompaniment. Mandee and I do regular swaps of all that is YA, and after all the great books set in Australia she's sent me, I'm glad I could finally send her something set in LA.

This was a great event by Amy Spalding and Skylight Books. Tom Haverford and Jean Ralphio would be jealous proud.

--

*No one was harmed during the launch of The Reece Malcolm List.

Review: The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding

The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding
Reviewed by Maggie: February 8, 2013
Published February 5, 2013 by Entangled Teen
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Book Depository



What do you do when you're sad? Me? Les Miserables (Original London Cast), Disc 1, Track 5: I Dreamed a Dream
Upset about a boy? Wicked, Track 8: I'm Not That Girl
Outraged over something? Ragtime, Disc 2, Track 15: Make Them Hear You
Getting ready to parrrrty? Rent (Original Broadway Cast), Disc 1, Track 14: Out Tonight

Why yes, that is a Korean edition of the Les Miserables Original London Cast.
I needed emotional support on my first trip to Korea after being castigated
for not speaking Korean well so I demanded my mother buy it for me. 

If the soundtrack to your life is found on soundtracks to shows, this book is your kindred spirit.

Here are some things to know about Devan Mitchell:
1.  She loves to sing and perform.
2.  Her father just died.
2a. But it's mitigated by the fact that:

"Kids in musicals without parents always ended up okay -- Annie got Daddy Warbucks, Cosette got Jean Valjean, Christine got stalked by the Phantom though she did get to make out with Raoul."

3.  Her stepmother can't stand her.
4.  She found out about her birth mother through a book dedication.
5.  She's never met her birth mother.
6.  She's never kissed a boy.

"Also, ugh, really? Dad is dead and my long-lost mother would have totally preferred to stay long-lost, and I'm feeling sorry for myself about boys?"

Two of those things will change when she moves to Los Angeles to meet and live with her mother, award winning author Reece Malcolm.

The Reece Malcolm List is like an alternate world version of Gilmore Girls, exploring what would have happened if Lorelai had given up baby Rory and Rory focused on musicals instead of Harvard. Like the show, the book is a mix of humor and heart with snappy dialogue and a cast of memorable characters.

I liked Reece immediately. She's moody and socially awkward, and the only reason I don't mock the way Devan talks (like, like, like) is because Reece does it first. Okay, that also makes her kind of a bitch, but she's my kind of bitch. At 32, she's a successful writer but I love that she doesn't have her shit together. She's not only someone I would hang out it, but probably someone I already do hang out with. Devan never really fit in at her old schools but transferring to a performing arts high school finally gives her a place where she belongs. I mentioned the way she talks (like, like, like), but her voice is so authentically 16. I love that she's a bit timid and unconfident in real life but the minute she's on stage and in character, she unleashes everything inside. For a girl who's constantly apologizing, the one thing she doesn't apologize for is her talent. Reece tells her,

"When you sing you're this force of nature, all fearless and bad-ass. Then you switch off, and it's weird. It's like you really are in a musical, where you can only express yourself through song or whatever."

No wonder Reece is a best-selling author because that's the perfect analogy. Or whatever.

Of course, I have to mention the boys. There's the guylinered one and the Indian-Chinese one, which HELLO, but the one who held my attention was Brad, Reece's boyfriend. He's the most together person in the book and such a warm character. However, there are no perfect characters in this, and the realistically drawn characters are one of the strengths of the book.

You don't have to love musicals to enjoy this book, but if you are a theater geek, HANDS IN, A-CA-BITCHES! This book is your song.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

I received an ARC of this from the author but waited so long to read it that I bought and reviewed the finished copy instead. Because that's how I do.

Cover Reveal: The Reece Malcolm List

We have three words for you: Reveal. Yo. Self.

We loved having Amy Spalding here last week to talk about how her cover idea started. And now we get to see the final cover. Reveal yo self, Amy!


Thanks so much to all the great blogs who hosted part of The Reece Malcolm List cover reveal blog tour: Young Adult Anonymous, GReads!, Novel Novice, A Good Addiction, Clear Eyes, Full Shelves, and The Book Cellar.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: the final cover reveal for The Reece Malcolm List!  Drumroll, please...

  

Things I know about Reece Malcolm:

1. She graduated from New York University.

2. She lives in or near Los Angeles.

3. Since her first novel was released, she’s been on the New York Times bestseller list every week.

4. She likes strong coffee and bourbon.

5. She’s my mother.

Devan knows very little about Reece Malcolm, until the day her father dies and she’s shipped off to live with the mother she’s never met. All she has is a list of notebook entries that doesn’t add up to much.

L.A. offers a whole new world to Devan—a performing arts school allows her to pursue her passion for show choir and musicals, a new circle of friends helps to draw her out of her shell, and an intriguing boy opens up possibilities for her first love.

But then the Reece Malcolm list gets a surprising new entry. Now that Devan is so close to having it all, can she handle the possibility of losing everything?

Visit Amy around the web:

Official site

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Cover Reveal: The Reece Malcolm List

We're so excited to welcome Amy Spalding to Young Adult Anonymous to start her cover reveal tour for The Reece Malcolm List, her debut novel. It's one of the books we're anticipating most highly in 2013, and you know we love a pretty cover. Without further ado, here's Amy.

Welcome to the blog tour for the exclusive cover reveal of The Reece Malcolm List, coming February 2013 from Entangled Teen! This post kicks off the series. Thanks so much to Maggie and everyone at Young Adult Anonymous for having me.

I’m pretty sure one of the things most writers worry about, once the book deal’s been finalized and the contract is signed and the Publishers Weekly announcement is out there, is their book cover. Yeah, yeah, we’ve been told our whole life not to figuratively or literally judge a book by its cover, but we do.

Book covers are important, right? Yes. They’re crazy important. I have picked up books I wouldn’t have otherwise because of their beautiful covers. I have avoided books I found out later were wonderful because of their heinous front covers. And I don’t like to speak for others but I’m gonna say most writers want our books to be in the former category, not the latter.

I’m really lucky to be at a small publisher like Entangled, because they take a lot of care to make sure a whiny and control-freakish author such as myself will be happy with the final product. I received a cover suggestion form almost immediately upon signing, and filled it out diligently, as well as spent loads of time looking for examples of other book covers I loved that would hit the same tone as I needed for my contemporary YA The Reece Malcolm List.

I also thought, hmmm, maybe I can just cut out the middle man and look directly for a great photo. I’m great with stock image sites! So I started looking, and before long, I found something amazing. I found something perfect.

Well. Almost amazing. Almost perfect.

I loved everything about this. The titular Reece Malcolm List is something Devan, the book’s main character, keeps in a notepad. I could immediately imagine the title on this photo, imagine my name, even conjure up a hypothetical glowing blurb. But there were some serious issues, guys.

For one thing, this girl looks about thirteen, while Devan is sixteen. Also Devan is really into fashion. She’d never be caught dead in this outfit. Plus her hair is darker. Plus obviously she wouldn’t draw childish doodles. She would draw doodles related to the list or to her new school or to the musical she’s in AND OF COURSE to the boy she’s crushing on.

But I would not accept defeat! A plan began to solidify in my crazy little writer brain….

Find out all about my crazy plan tomorrow on GReads, and come back to Young Adult Anonymous on Wednesday, June 13, for an exclusive reveal of The Reece Malcolm List’s cover!

Amy Spalding grew up in St. Louis, but now lives in the better weather of Los Angeles. She received a B.A. in Advertising & Marketing Communications from Webster University, and currently works as the Digital Media Planner for an independent film advertising agency. Amy studied longform improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and can be seen performing around L.A. Her debut novel, The Reece Malcolm List, will be published by Entangled Teen in 2013, and combines many of her favorite things in life, including Stephen Sondheim and boys with great hair.

Visit Amy around the web:
Official site

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads