Recap: An Evening with Markus Zusak at the Museum of Tolerance

By Maggie

I only found out about this event the day before and I am so glad I did because it was hands down one of the best book events I've been to. Get comfortable because it was also the one where I took the most notes. (Sidebar: After seeing how long it was, I put a recap of the recap at the bottom.)

Date: Sunday, September 8, 2013
Time: 7pm
Place: Museum of Tolerance

ETA: 30 minutes early! Not only that, Markus was in the lobby chatting with people. I was gearing up to talk to him when I remembered what my Australian friend, Anna, called him.

Lost in translation.

Guys, I couldn't stop laughing. Every time I regained my composure, I would lose it all over again. Wisely, my friend and I decided to just head into the auditorium.

Did you notice the curtains in the first picture? Movie money! I'm used to book events where the author's name is printed out on a piece of paper -- if that. From the venue to the presence of "guests of Twentieth Century Fox" taped over a row of seats, this was obviously a big event. We got a surprise later when they screened two scenes from the upcoming The Book Thief movie. Here is how the night was broken down:

• Introduction by the Director of the Museum of Tolerance, Liebe Geft
• Markus Zusak spoke for 10 minutes
• Screening of The Book Thief movie trailer
• Q+A moderated by Danielle Berrin of the Hollywood Jew blog
• Screening of The Book Thief movie clips (exclusive!)
• Mad rush out of the auditorium to the signing line

Introduction:

Liebe Geft said that when this event went up on their website, they got calls from all over the world. She gave some facts about The Book Thief, like how it has spent over 230 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List. When she described Markus as "the author of five renowned and important books," I saw Markus put his head down and sort of chuckle to himself. 

Markus Zusak:

The first thing he said about Liebe's introduction was, "That was really nice." He then talked about his first signing in a town by the Margaret River. Nobody showed up. The librarian still made him do a reading and a guy sitting in the corner reading a fantasy book kept interrupting to give his opinion. His message to librarians: Don't make authors do that. 

The Book Thief started in his backyard in Sydney. He's the youngest of four, and he and his older brother would often get in trouble. His mum swears a lot and his friends would come over to hear her swear with her German accent. He and his brother would come in from playing outside and his parents would randomly start telling them stories about Europe. They'd hear about bombings, people who didn't want to put out the Nazi flag on Hitler's birthday, and people who would give food to prisoners. One such person was a teenage boy who gave a piece of food to an old man who couldn't keep up on the march to Dachau. No one else came to the aid of this old man but the teenage boy did. Markus said, "That's why you can't underestimate teenagers." The old man fell to the boy's feet to thank him.

Markus's parents didn't come to Australia with much but they came with great stories. His parents were great storytellers. He set out to write a 100-page novella and "it kind of got out of hand." He set out to write a book that meant something to him and it turned out to mean everything.

Trailer:

Q+A:

Q: Danielle asked him about this reaction to the trailer.

A: Markus said it was surreal because he "never thought it would be successful at all." He couldn't imagine people recommending it to their friends. How would they even describe it? That, though, took pressure off when he was writing. He watched the trailer about 40 times. "It's surreal and a real privilege."

Q: How to make the topic (Holocaust) accessible to an audience.

A: "You never want to be taking advantage of the theme. You have to make sure your heart is in the right place."

Q: How did you conceive Death as a personality?

A: "Hopefully it looks effortless but it was a nightmare." He wrote the first 200 pages quickly and then he stopped to redo it because it wasn't working. Death would say things like, "This is a story about a young girl. Do you like young girls? I do, but I like everybody." He felt like he had to take a shower after writing a page.

People tell him he must have a lot of imagination and he says, "No, I have a lot of problems."

One thing he thought about was, "What if Death is actually afraid of us."

Q: What went into the idea that everybody suffers, including the ordinary Germans.

A: "Imagine waking up one day and being able to speak another language. That's what writing The Book Thief felt like. It was there for the taking."

Q: The Book Thief is a book that celebrates books. What is so powerful about words and storytelling? Do you feel a responsibility when you're writing?

A: "The hardest question to ever answer is, 'What is your book about?' At the end of the day, what we are made of is stories." His parents came to Australia without a toothbrush but they had stories.

His motive is simply, "Is the world a better place for the fact that this book is out there?" Do we really need another book set in the Holocaust? He asks himself if his heart was in the right place. Is the world a better place for the fact that your book is out there. He read Diary of Anne Frank on the plane ride over from Australia. The flight attendant came over and said, "I don't want to spoil it for you but she dies at the end." Markus said, "That's why you still need Holocaust books."

Q: Was there a religious or spiritual impulse guiding the hopeful worldview of book? 

A: [Note: Someone turned on a mic somewhere and her voice interrupted his answer. His answer here follows the interruption.] "This is what happens when I'm talking about religion. This voice comes from nowhere."

Q (from the audience): His parents' reaction to the book.

A: Funny story first. He finished the manuscript in December 2004 and gave it to his mum and dad for Christmas. (Yes, he realizes the irony.) It had taken 3 years to finish after numerous interviews with his parents and his dad kept asking him when the book was going to be finished. A week after Christmas, he called his dad and finally asked him about the book since he hadn't mentioned anything about it. Markus asked if he read it and his dad said, "Yeah, yeah. I'm up to page 11." Markus said, "That's like a page and a half a day!" It turned out that his mum had read the manuscript first and then given it to his dad. When it came out in Germany, his dad read the German version. He then told Markus, "It's not so much that it's shit in English, but the German version is so much better." Another thing Markus's dad says to him: "Your books are doing well -- not like JK Rowling." Unsurprisingly, Markus says that everyone wants to meet his dad. Of his parents, he says that they bought so many books for their kids so they would be good in English, unlike them. They weren't only telling them about their lives but teaching him how to write.

Q: Did he have a concern about the book being marketed as YA in the United States? (I recognized the person who asked this question but couldn't place him until later when I remembered he was the moderator at the Laini Taylor event at the Santa Monica Library.)

A: I loved Markus's answer to this. He said it was like going into a shop and trying on a great jacket and then coming out and seeing the same exact jacket in a different color. You don't know which one to get, but ultimately for him, he doesn't care about categories. He said, "My ambition is to write somebody's favorite book. Once a book is loved, it's a loved book." It doesn't matter what it's classified as. It sits on the top shelf with all the other most loved books. YA is a huge force in the US.

Q: "I noticed your use of foreshadowing wasn't very subtle."

A: He says he gets that a lot. That and, "You're an idiot." Another common one: "Congrats on the success of your book but I just couldn't get into it." One drunk guest at a wedding told him that seven times. However, he refers to something Death says in The Book Thief: "Mystery bores me, it chores me." Markus: "If I could get them to love these characters, they're going to read on no matter what." It was a risk but he wanted to do it that way. He loved Rudy the most and it really hurt him to do that to his character, and he wanted to prepare people. It just felt right to do it that way.

Exclusive sneak peek:

Ahhhhh!

Signing line:

This was just one side too! There was one line for people who bought books from the Museum of Tolerance, aka not real fans, and another line for people who brought books with them.

When it finally got to my turn, I told him some of the books were going back from whence they came to some Aussie friends. When he heard that, despite the fact that he'd been signing for over 30 minutes with at least 30 more to go, he took time to doodle something special.

Where's my doodle, Zusak!

My thoughts:

I loved how diverse the crowd was. Not only were there people of all ages, these were people who were so passionate about the book and affected by it. The older lady sitting next to me told me before the event started that she never buys books, she just gets them from the library, but she HAD to buy this one.

Markus was so funny and charming. He understands the seriousness of the subject and has a tremendous respect for it, but he doesn't take himself too seriously. I love that he didn't consider being categorized from "Adult Fiction" in Australia to "Young Adult" in America to be a downgrade or anything to gnash his teeth about. His goal was and is simply "to write somebody's favorite book." Whether that's an adult or a teen doesn't matter. What he said about never underestimating teenagers really struck a chord with me and, I think, a lot of the teens in the audience. I especially enjoyed his stories about his parents. He said being German, they're not really touchy feely but after the book came out, he told them he loved them. His parents weren't fluent in English, but they made sure their kids were with all the books they bought them. This definitely made me think of my mom and the books she still offers to buy me if we happen to have lunch by a bookstore.

Basically, I came out of the event an even bigger fan of Markus Zusak (and his family!) and I can't wait to see The Book Thief in theaters. 

YA in LA: Summer Lovin' Tour, Part Deux

Almost exactly a year ago, I went to my first author event, the Summer Lovin' Tour with Jenny Han, Jessi Kirby, and Morgan Matson. When I found out it was coming back again this year with even more authors, I knew I had to go. Of course, like last year, there was the little matter of the NBA PLAYOFFS delaying me, but I was only 15 minutes late!

The Summer Lovin' Tour 2013 is back and bigger than before. (Missed you, Jenny Han! I should have made a "For Jenny" shirt, a la Lori and Coral in the Real World/Road Rules Challenge.) This year, the authors were:

• Jessi Kirby, Golden (released this week)
• Sarah Ockler, The Book of Broken Hearts (released next week)
• Suzanne Young, The Program
• Morgan Matson, Second Chance Summer
• Kimberly Derting, Dead Silence 
• Shannon Messenger, Let the Sky Fall 

By the time I got there, the authors were each introducing their books. After that, Sarah Ockler read passages selected by each other and the audience guessed who had written it. The turnout was small this time, but really, there were two potential elimination games going on. I almost didn't make it. However, this didn't deter the authors and they gamely participated in discussions. One great thing about smaller crowds is that discussion is more relaxed, which leads to unexpected topics, like embarrassing moments. If you're going to any of the other dates on this tour, ask Jessi Kirby about the time she was in charge of the boys basketball team. Or Kimberly Derting about the email meant for her husband. Or Shannon Messenger about the time she met Arthur Levine.

One audience member asked which character the authors would be in each other's books. Sarah Ockler immediately answered that she would be Honor from Jessi Kirby's In Honor. If you've read In Honor and/or watched Friday Night Lights, you know why: Rusty/Tim Riggins. There was also a fun discussion about who the authors stalk/fangirl over. Sarah said she couldn't breathe when she met Sarah Dessen. Jessi mentioned how, when she was writing Moonglass (her debut novel) before she had a publishing deal, she saw Sarah's Twenty Boy Summer in the library and stopped dead because her story featured a beach and red sandglass. She immediately got the book and started reading it. Even more of a coincidence, her character was named Anna Ryan and the main character in Twenty Boy Summer is Anna Reiley. After she finished reading the book, Jessi emailed Sarah with the subject heading, "We are literary soulmates." Sarah remembered the email and they met for the first time at a writers retreat last year.

Sarah also got a great email from another fan of Twenty Boy Summer who actually wrote a song about the book. Her name was Jude Hernandez and she mentioned how people had trouble pronouncing her name so she went by Jude Henderson at times. That stuck with Sarah and the name of the main character in The Book of Broken Hearts is... Jude Hernandez. How cool is that? BRB. (Dear Melina...)

Another question was what the authors are working on now.

• Sarah Ockler: Sarah is working on a book that was called Love and Other Internet Disasters. The name is going to changed. It's a contemporary story about a girl named Lucy who is in love with her best friend's boyfriend. Her best friend ends up getting sick and asks Lucy to take her boyfriend to the prom. Even worse, the boyfriend kisses Lucy at the after party. Even worse than that, someone takes a picture and uses Lucy's phone to post the picture onto Lucy's Facebook page. The pictures go viral and Lucy is branded a slut.
• Suzanne Young: Suzanne is working on copy edits of The Treatment, which comes out next year. She's also working with Cat Patrick on a contemporary book, Just Like Fate, which comes out in August.
• Shannon Messenger: Shannon is working on the Let the Sky Fall series, as well as her Keeper of the Lost Cities series. The Keeper is much longer with at least 60 characters, so it takes up much more of her time.
• Jessi Kirby: Jessi's next book doesn't have a title yet but it's a contemporary. The main character is a girl whose boyfriend tragically died. His family donates all his organs. She starts to write letters to all the recipients and they all write her back except one -- the person who received his heart. She goes outside all the regulations because she becomes obsessed with who got the heart since that's the most important one to her. She just wants to see him but they end up meeting and he falls for her and she wonders if it's him or the heart. She also has to deal with whether to tell him the truth about how she found it. This will be released in 2015.
• Morgan Matson: Morgan just turned in her book. It's about a girl named Emily and her best friend, Sloan. Sloan moves away and doesn't tell her. Two weeks later, she gets a list of 13 things that relate to things that are in their history. She starts going through the list and doing the things listed, like stealing something, because she thinks it will bring her back to Sloan. Morgan also has another series coming out in 2016 about four friends who spend every summer together on an island. Everything changes when they turn 16. Right now there are 3 books planned in the series, but it may turn into 4.
• Kimberly Derting: Kimberly finished revisions on the third Pledge book, which will come out in January. It's her fave. She couldn't reveal the title yet but she said that somebody dies. She also sold a new trilogy to Harper Collins -- a contemporary sci-fi. It's about a girl who vanishes when she's 16 and is gone for 5 years. She has no memory of where she's been but when she comes back 5 years later, her life is completely different but she is still 16. She's trying to fit into her new world. Her dad saw her disappear but people didn't believe him so he's an alcoholic now and her parents are divorced. The title of this series is The Taking.

That's it for me. I'm passing the recap baton to Flannery from The Readventurer because I know she's going to the Seattle event. The other dates for the tour are: 

Jaclyn Moriarty Came to LA & I Almost Forgot to Breathe: My Recap of the LA Times Festival of Books

Remember when I found out Jaclyn Moriarty was coming to LA for the Festival of Books and I almost passed out? That about sums up what happened when I actually did meet her.

I ended up only going on Saturday (April 20) because the Spurs were starting their series against the Lakers on Sunday. (The Spurs won so it was worth it.) Saturday was the day I cared about anyway since Jaclyn Moriarty and Elizabeth Wein were both on panels that day. I had a bit of a Sophie's Choice moment because Jaclyn's appearance at the Once Upon a Time Bookstore booth was at the same time as Elizabeth's panel, Young Adult Fiction: Danger & Determination. My friend, Vickie, and I decided to stake out the booth early and then hightail it over to the panel afterward.

Let me tell you how excited I was that day: I got up at 6am. And I am NOT a morning person. I'm also perpetually late to everything. This time, though, Vickie and I met up for coffee at 9 and then carpooled over to USC. We got to the booth 30 minutes early and looked around. I wasn't sure which books they would have in stock, so I brought a stack with me. I know from Nomes (Inkcrush) that Jaclyn doesn't do many events even in Australia so while I had this opportunity, I wanted to get some books signed for other fans as well. I knew they would have Corner of White in stock, but I was pleasantly surprised that they had The Year of Secret Assignments. There was only one copy in all the LA area B&Ns -- and I bought that one to gift the day before.

YA in LA: YA Guide to the LA Times Festival of Books

Jaclyn Moriarty. Elizabeth Wein. Gayle Forman. Sarah Dessen. Veronica Roth. Jaclyn Moriarty. And that's just to name a few. Someone call Zack Morris because like Noelle, I am having a Jessie Spano-level meltdown.

The LA Times released their Festival of Books schedule today and I thought I'd highlight the most important events -- the YA ones, of course! The Festival runs from Saturday, April 20 to Sunday, April 21 at USC. It's free but all indoor events require a ticket, which are limited and have a $1 service charge per ticket. You also have the option of buying a $30 Festival Pass which gives you 8 tickets for indoor events before they're open to the public, as well as tickets to the LA Times Book Prize ceremony.

Relevant Dates:

• Thursday, March 28 at 10 am: $30 Festival Pass goes on sale. Individual tickets for Book Prize ceremony also on sale. (I don't see the price of this ticket listed.)
• Sunday, April 14 at 9 am: Tickets for indoor events available to the general public. Cost: $1 service fee per ticket.
• Friday, April 19 at 7:30 pm: Los Angeles Times Book Prize ceremony in the Bovard Auditorium (YA finalists listed below).
• Saturday, April 20 at 10 am: Festival of Books begins!

Book Prize Honorees for Young Adult Literature:

• The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi 
• Ask the Passengers by A.S. King
• My Book of Life by Angel by Martine Leavitt
• Boy 21 by Matthew Quick
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Schedule for Saturday, April 20:

Schedule for Sunday, April 21:

I'm going to try to hit as many events as possible. I can't wait to find out if Veronica Roth is really so tall that her height is one of her Frequently Asked Questions, or if Gayle Forman dresses like a hipster adult, or if Tahereh Mafi wears her homemade Shatter Me shoes. I'm so excited (I'm SO excited!) about Elizabeth Wein and Jaclyn Moriarty. Code Name Verity and A Corner of White were two of my favorite books of 2012. Is anyone else planning on going? Which author would you Jessie Spano over?

For more information, check out the official website. All screenshots were taken from the Schedule page.

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.

YA Authors... Like A Boss!

2nd May, 2012: Melina Marchetta writes a post on goodreads where she mentions the possibility of an event in LA.

2nd May, 2012: Maggie writes a comment to said post on goodreads where she shamelessly throws herself at Melina, begging her to hold an event in LA.

4th May, 2012: Melina responds. LIKE A BOSS.

There's a reason why she's called The Queen. And I will bet on the Goddess of Blood and Tears every day of the week! Is anyone else planning on going to Comic-Con and/or stalking Melina around LA?

Summer Lovin'... Had Me a Blast

When I found out Jenny Han, Jessi Kirby, and Morgan Matson were kicking off their Summer Lovin' tour in LA, I immediately re-read Flannery's recap of the YA or Bust! tour to get tips.

• Arrive early
• Bring a camera to record the authors
• Take notes

I was reminding myself of those tips as I peeled down Ocean View Blvd at 7pm -- for a 7pm signing. Luckily, the event hadn't started yet. The Once Upon a Time bookstore in Montrose was packed by the time I got there. I was planning on using my phone to record the authors, but, uh, I forgot to charge my spare battery and had just enough juice to get text updates about the Spurs-Jazz game from Noelle. (Thanks, Noelzy!) And because I know you're dying to know, yes, the Spurs won. :) The only other camera I had was my Fuji Instax, so yeah, no video. As to the third tip, notes... I fully intended to take them. On to my faulty memory recap!

The first thing I noticed was just how stylish each author was. Jessi was rocking a sundress and boots (no, they weren't red, but they were very cool), Jenny had a cute dress with killer heels (very Carrie Bradshaw), and Morgan wore a shift dress and flats that Zooey Deschanel would bat her eyelashes off for. Each author introduced herself and then read a passage from her book. Morgan started it off with a passage from her new book, Second Chance Summer, which was the only book I hadn't read, though I definitely plan to. Jenny read from We'll Always Have Summer, which was just released in paperback with a special bonus -- Conrad's letters. Jessi read from In Honor, which I had just devoured the day before.

After the reading and before the Q&A with the audience, Jenny decided they needed to play Marry, Date, Kill. The choices? Voldemort, Nagini, and Dobby. Ha! Before I give you their answers, I'll give you some time to ruminate on what your answers would be.

*************************** PINKY, ARE YOU PONDERING WHAT I'M PONDERING ***************************

Jenny, the instigator, made Morgan answer first. Morgan decided to kill Nagini, date Voldemort, and marry Dobby. Her explanation: You can't date a snake and Dobby is the sweetest.

Jenny answered her question next and decided to kill Nagini, date Dobby, and marry Voldemort. Explanation: She would marry Voldemort and change him.

Jessi decided to kill Nagini, date Voldemort, and marry Dobby.

The next round of Marry, Date, Kill was even better. Choices? Peeta, Gale, and... Finnick! Dun dun dun! I think the audience actually gasped when Jenny made Finnick the third option.

Morgan: Date Finnick, Marry Peeta, and Kill Gale.
Jenny: Date Finnick, Marry Peeta, and Kill Gale.
Jessi: Marry Gale, Date Peeta, and Kill Finnick.

Jessi's answers got the most reaction from the audience and the other authors. When Jessi said Gale was her favorite, Jenny responded (paraphrasing), "What's there to love? He's barely even IN the first book!" Morgan said that she was glad there was a table between her and Jessi. Jessi, though, stood by her man. I knew Jessi would pick Gale. I mean, hello, have you read In Honor? Anyone who owns this shirt would love Gale.

The Q&A followed, but really, how can you follow Marry, Date, Kill? This is my excuse for not remembering the questions -- except my own that is. I asked who they would cast as Finnick (because that's the question I ask everybody). Some suggestions were tossed out, like Chris Hemsworth, but Morgan wondered if that would be "too much Hemsworth." If I had taken notes, this is where I would have written "THERE CAN NEVER BE TOO MUCH HEMSWORTH."

After the Q&A, the wonderful staff at Once Upon a Time got us cupcakes. This was in addition to the swag provided by Simon & Schuster.

At the table, each author also had a little something for us. Morgan had Second Chance Summer postcards, Jenny had Burn for Burn chapter samplers, and Jessi had bottle cap keychains with a picture of a boot. I actually brought dduk, a Korean rice cake, for Jenny because that's how we Koreans roll (and I thought it would be funny). I got my books signed, including my Burn for Burn ARC. I was worried that only books purchased at the store would be eligible for signing, but Once Upon a Time is the coolest bookstore ever and they said that as long as we bought one book from them, we could get as many signed as we wanted. I ended up buying 5 books. They gave me the books in a reusable tote and I nearly exploded from the You've Got Mail / Shop Around the Corner of it all.

I had a lot of fun at this signing and loved meeting other bloggers, like the girls from Read Now Sleep Later. Alethea and Thuy even had these gorgeous bookmarks for their blog, which I shamelessly asked for. I will definitely try to attend the next signing at Once Upon A Time for Marissa Meyer (Cinder) on June 7th. Come!