Fierce Reads Cincinnati Recap + Giveaway

This past Sunday the second leg of the fantastic Fierce Reads tour stopped at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, and I once again had the pleasure of not only attending, but also chatting with all four authors before the event actually started. I've been lucky enough to attend quite a few local signings since I started this blog; they've all been wonderful in different ways and it's never not an honor to meet and chat with authors whose books I absolutely adore.

This group of women though? They were the funniest and most outgoing authors I've had a chance to spend time with, and I spent nearly the entirety of the event in tears because I was laughing so hard. I actually thought I might have laughed myself straight into a six-pack with the way my midsection was aching as I left, but regrettably when I got home and checked there were no chiseled abs waiting for me. Oh well.

I can't thank Leigh Bardugo (Siege and Storm), Gennifer Albin (Altered), Jessica Brody (Unforgotten), and Ann Aguirre (Horde) enough for their enthusiasm and their infectious laughter, they made this event one that will always stand out as special for me. I also want to say a huge thank you to Mary and Ksenia of Macmillan for giving me the opportunity to cover the event, I so hope Fierce Reads comes back this way next year!

Instead of a formal interview (which I learned the first time around was not ideal because I couldn't write the answers fast enough to keep up), I thought a This or That list might be a fun way to get to know these ladies a bit better. Below is the interview as well as highlights from the event Q+A and of course, pictures! There's also a pretty epic giveaway thanks to Macmillan, so be sure and check the bottom of the post for those details.

THIS OR THAT LIST

(don't look for any sort of rational order to these questions,
they're absurdly random)

Which is harder: writing the first chapter of book one in a series or writing the first chapter of its sequel?

Leigh: Book one
Gennifer: Book one
Jessica: Sequel
Ann: Sequel

In terms of productivity: morning person or night owl?

Leigh: Varies
Gennifer: Night
Jessica: Morning
Ann: Morning

Juggle multiple projects simultaneously or work on one at a time?

Leigh: One
Gennifer: Simultaneously
Jessica: One
Ann: It's usually deadline dependent, but I prefer one at a time

Revisions: dread or look forward to?

Leigh: Depends on the book
Gennifer: Look forward to
Jessica: Dread
Ann: Look forward to

Which would be harder to temporarily give up: a favorite food or a favorite writing tool (ie music, favorite writing spot, etc.)?

Leigh: Favorite writing tool
Gennifer: I'm not really a creature of habit, so I could do without either.
Jessica: Food
Ann: I can write wherever I am, but don't take away my laptop. I would choose giving up the favorite food over giving up my laptop.

Your television is suddenly limited to a single channel (of your choosing). Does it show police/law dramas or sitcoms?

Leigh: Police/law dramas
Gennifer: Sitcoms
Jessica: Sitcoms
Ann: Sitcoms

Time travel: jump forward into the future or go back in the past?

Leigh: Forward
Gennifer: Through space and time, I'm staying in my TARDIS
Jessica: Past
Ann: Forward

You suddenly find yourself in a survival situation. Would you rather have a pack full of limited supplies or a companion (who may or may not have survival knowledge)?

Ann: Companion
Leigh: I think companion, because then if I didn't like them, I could kill them and use them for food.

*note to self: don't get lost in the wilderness with Leigh. As you can imagine, this response from Leigh triggered a variety of conversational tangents, and we never quite made it back to this question. I figured it was best to just move on really ;-)

As a challenge, you have to write a new character into one of your existing books. Is that character hero, villain, or something in between?

Leigh: Talking animal
Gennifer: In between
Jessica: Villain
Ann: In between

If you could be someone else for a day, would you pick a real-life person or a fictional character?

Leigh: Fictional character
Gennifer: Fictional character
Jessica: Fictional character
Ann: Amelia Earhart. I want to know what happened to her.

*We digressed at this point and mused over her fate. Jessica is convinced she's somewhere with everyone else who's supposedly "dead" like Tupac and Michael Jackson ;-)

To keep your brain busy: word search or crossword puzzle?

Leigh: Crossword
Gennifer: Crossword
Jessica: Crossword
Ann: Nap

Preferred ending when you're reading: happy for now or cliffhanger?

Leigh: I think there's satisfaction to be found in both, but my preference for one over the other is typically genre-specific.
Gennifer: I'm giving the standard author answer - whatever is best for the story.
Jessica: Cliffhangers. At least when all the books are already out.
Ann: Positive endings.

• • • • • • • • • • 

Q+A HIGHLIGHTS

(Thanks as always to Cathy, who so kindly took notes so I could pop up at random and take pictures)

• One of the first questions asked had to do with romance in YA, with a special emphasis on love triangles. Ann pounced on this question and went on a rant (as she called it, it was actually more of a hilarious and impassioned speech on what constitutes a real triangle verses another romantic shape) complete with animated hand gestures (see photographic evidence below). Both Cathy and I were laughing too hard to get the finer points of Ann's argument down, but suffice to say she more than made her point and had the entire audience in stitches.

• On the same question, Gennifer said she was actually in a real love triangle, one that ended with her marriage. The love triangle in her book though came in the revision stage and was not planned originally.

• All four authors were asked to tell us a favorite moment of theirs from being on tour. One such moment had to do with karaoke. Apparently they went out to sing (and ending up doing the Spice Girls justice!) and kept stealing the spotlight from other people because whoever was calling out the names to take their turn was impossible to understand. As a result, they all just kept jumping up and racing to the stage when they thought they heard their name only to have the person whose name was actually called show up a few seconds later and request they hand over the microphone. *Jenny dies*

• Question: If you could have a conversation with any author, alive or dead, who would it be?

Gennifer: JK Rowling.
Leigh: George R.R. Martin and I would want to know how everything ends.
Jessica: Jane Austen.
Ann: Clive Barker only because Leigh told me something disturbing and I want to know if it's true. She said he has a dungeon in his house, so I would ask him about that.

• Question: What is Fierce about your books?

Gennifer: She can manipulate the fabric of reality!
Leigh: The setting. It's a tough environment and world to live in.
Jessica: The twist at the end. The clues are all there, but I hid them.
Ann: There's lots of killing with guns and knives, and Deuce does not take no for an answer. There's also a fierceness of spirit.

• • • • • • • • • • 

PICTURES

Left to right: Gennifer, Leigh, Jessica, Ann.

Left: The adorable Mary from Macmillan. She probably thought she would escape my camera, but she was so very wrong wasn't she ;-) Right: Ann's awesome hand gesture-assisted explanation of what makes a love triangle.

Gennifer Albin and her very cool Altered buttons.

Just in case you couldn't tell Gennifer was a fan of Doctor Who with her TARDIS answer up in the interview, I went ahead and got a shot of her snazzy lunchbox which turned out to be the perfect thing to carry all her swag.

Jessica Brody and swag.

Leigh Bardugo and swag.

Okay. I know this is not a stellar picture of Ann, but the line formed at her end of the table, and I couldn't get a good angle without being intrusive while other people were trying to talk to her. So rather than be obnoxious, I just took a picture of her hair. And her books. You're welcome.

Company D patches and wristbands!

Gennifer, Jessica, me, Ann, and Leigh. Somehow Jessica and I managed to land ourselves right under a spotlight so our foreheads are beacons of blinding light. Excellent:)

• • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the always-wonderful people at Macmillan, I have a monster giveway for you all today. Up for grabs are 9 signed copies of Gennifer, Jessica, Ann, and Leigh's books as well as some of the swag you see above. To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fierce Reads Event Recap + Giveaway

On Friday afternoon I had the distinct pleasure of attending Macmillan's Fierce Reads tour as it stopped at Books & Co in Dayton, Ohio. Young adult authors S.A. Bodeen (The Compound/The Fallout/The Raft), Alexandra Coutts (Tumble & Fall), Marissa Meyer (Cinder/Scarlet), and Leila Sales (This Song Will Save Your Life) were all in attendance to talk about their books and answer questions, but thanks to the lovely people at Macmillan I was able to meet with all four fabulous ladies for a quick Q+A before the event started.

If any of you have read past recaps for various author events I've been lucky enough to attend, you know that I get absurdly nervous when faced with authors and have a tendency to either freeze up and say absolutely nothing, or ramble on and on about anything and everything that pops in my head just to fill the silence. I was of course a little anxious about meeting these women even as I was enormously honored to be asked to be a part of the event, and that anxiousness only increased when it became apparent that, due to a tight schedule (they were only in Ohio for a matter of hours before flying out to Austin, TX), I would be interrupting them as they ate lunch to bombard them with my questions. Super. Thankfully they were all very good sports about me and my wonderful mother-in-law (and partner in blogging crime) Cathy joining them, and were enthusiastic about answering whatever I threw at them.

I tried to come up with questions that were a bit more on the fun side rather than serious questions about their books and writing processes, so I hope you all enjoy! (Please note that if the answers seem overly succinct, it's because I couldn't write fast enough to catch everything, not because they gave short or clipped answers!)

FIERCE READS PRE-EVENT Q+A

If a portal were to open right here and whisk you off to assume the life of any one character in fiction, who would you most want to be?

Leila Sales: Sarah Crewe (from A Little Princess) at the end of the book once she's free of Miss Minchin.

S.A. Bodeen: Lucy from The Chronicles of Narnia

Marissa Meyer: Elizabeth Bennett

Alexandra Coutts: Same as Marissa. Elizabeth Bennett

You can change the ending of any one book, movie or television show. Which do you choose and what new ending do you give it?

Leila: Season three of "The OC". Marissa wouldn't die.

S.A.: Titanic. Jack wouldn't die, Rose would make room for him.

Marissa: Les Miserables. Jean Valjean wouldn't die.

Alex: The ending of "Lost".

What's the last word you wrote (current work in progress, side project, outline, or anything fiction-related)?

S.A.: Nacho.

Marissa: Unconscious.

Alex: Briscoe.

If you were all able to interview each others' characters, whom would you each choose and what's one question you would ask them?

Leila: Some of Marissa's characters, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't answer my questions! Or Nick from Tumble & Fall (Alex chimed in here to say Nick was based on a friend of hers). Or Sophie from Tumble & Fall, and I would ask "How old are you?"

S.A.: The dad from This Song Will Save Your Life.

Marissa: Same! Or Vicky (from This Song Will Save Your Life).

What's the longest you've had to wait for a book you've been dying to read?

Leila: A decade. There was a decade between two books by Connie Willis.

S.A.: However long the wait was for the 7th Harry Potter.

Marissa: How long was the wait for Bitterblue?

Alex: A decade (she mentioned the titles of the books, but I couldn't write them down quickly enough. Fail.)

Which book has your favorite beginning or end (either that you've read or written)?

Leila: The ending of The Sun Also Rises.

S.A.: The beginning of The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron.

Alex: The beginning of Just As Long As We're Together by Judy Blume - "Stephanie is into hunks".

We all have book boyfriends (some of us have more than others O.o). Who tops your lists?

Leila: Michael from The Princess Diaries.

S.A.: Captain Thorne from Scarlet.

Marissa: Besides Mr. Darcy? Brigan from Fire by Kristin Cashore.

Alex: Augustus from The Fault in Our Stars (we both at this point acknowledged that in our heads, our YA book boyfriends are all more age-appropriate. Obviously ;-)). Wait. No. I'm switching to Gale from The Hunger Games.

*Leila said that not too long ago she was playing a Family Feud type game where they had asked 100 people which fictional character they'd most like to take out on a date, and after we all attempted to guess the number one spot she told us it was Hermione Granger. YAY FOR BOOKISH GIRLS!

After a stressful or particularly difficult day of writing, what's your go-to comfort food?

Leila: I eat chocolate chips while writing. I know it's time to stop when I've eaten way too many.

S.A: A hot drink and a Fiber One lemon bar.

Marissa: Any dark chocolate and a glass of wine.

Alex: Mac and cheese.

If you had $20 and 5 minutes in a bookstore to make a purchase, which section (other than YA) would you run to first?

S.A.: The adult recently released paperbacks section! (Leila agreed with her)

Marissa: Either the recently released paperbacks section or self help books.

Alex: Cookbooks.

• • • • • • • • • •

After all the questions were answered and everyone had finished their lunches, we headed across the street to the bookstore for a quick photo op before heading upstairs to the event itself.

Left to right: Mary Van Akin (publicist), Leila Sales, S.A. Bodeen, Molly Brouillette (publicist), Marissa Meyer, and Alexandra Coutts

There was a really great guest moderator from a local high school who asked a series of questions before opening things up to the audience, so below are some of the highlights of what was discussed; a combination of my notes and Cathy's since she was nice enough to jot things down as I popped up now and again to take pictures.

• There were originally going to be 5 books in The Lunar Chronicles series, with the last being "Puss in Boots", but it ended up being cut very early on and Marissa decided the series would end with Snow White in Winter.

• S.A. Bodeen originally never planned on writing a sequel to The Compound, but she was continuously asked what happened to Eli, so she started wondering that herself and came up with a twist which led to book two, The Fallout. It took 5 years for the sequel to happen though.

• Leila Sales has a background in psychology, her major in college, and has always been fascinated by the more social element to to it – how people interact with one another rather than the science of the brain. One of the studies referenced in This Song Will Save Your Life about people liking someone more if that person smiles at them, is a real study.

• Marissa was asked what attracted her to classic fairy tales and what her thoughts were on the damsels-in-distress-needing-princes-to-rescue-them aspect. She said she loved fairy tales in general, but wanted to present stronger, more diverse female characters who have dreams and ambitions far beyond meeting a handsome prince.

• All four authors were asked how they write full character arcs. S.A. said her characters always start out really flat, and it then takes draft upon draft for her to build their flesh. Alex said she always thinks she knows the full character at the start of their story, but the journey usually changes as she writes. Marissa said she focuses on a character's strengths or weaknesses and then builds up from there, asking herself what her characters are afraid of. Leila said her characters always start out flawed, and then hopefully over the course of the story they find a resolution for some of their problems and end up better than they started.

• Audience question: What is your favorite book of all time?

Leila: The Little Prince. Said it's such a simple story, but one with so much depth.

Marissa: Pride and Prejudice. It's the only books she's read multiple times, she's not a re-reader at all.

S.A.: A Prayer for Owen Meany and Shadow of the Wind.

Alex: The Sound and The Fury. When she was a senior in high school she had to write a paper on it, and has re-read it 3-4 times.

• Audience question: Which character in your book was the easiest to write or do you most relate to?

Leila: Said there's a piece of her in all her characters, even the secondary ones, but she related to Elise most when she was writing This Song Will Save Your Life.

Alex: Surprisingly, she said male characters are often easier for her to understand and therefore write, stating growing up with 2 younger brothers was helpful in that regard. Her female characters all start out similar to her, and she finds it much easier to separate herself from a male character, so Kayden in the book probably came easiest for her.

Marissa: She most related to Cress. Cress has been stuck in a satellite for 7 years at the beginning of the book, so she often escapes into her own imagination and has a profound fantasy life, which Marissa said of course could be said of her as well.

S.A: Eli was easiest for her. She said she enjoyed getting to delve deeper into who he is in The Fallout.

After the Q+A all the authors signed books and handed out fun swag goodies. It was a truly fantastic event and drew the biggest crowd I've seen yet at this bookstore which was really fun and exciting, and I want to say a huge thank you to all four authors (and the awesome Mary and Molly!) for letting me be a part of the event, I had an absolute blast. The second leg of the Fierce Reads tour is coming back to Ohio November 5th, this time passing through Cincinnati, so if any of you are in the area, I hope to see you there!

A few more pictures from the event:

Left to right: S.A., Alex, Marissa, and Leila; Alex answering questions

S.A. signing books; Marissa and Leila listening attentively :)

 Marissa signing books; her tin full of Lunar Chronicles-related goodies

S.A., Alex, Me, Marissa, Leila

• • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the amazingly generous team at Macmillan, I have a truly awesome giveaway for you all today. Up for grabs are signed copies of The Compound, The Fallout, Cinder, Scarlet, Tumble & Fall, and This Song Will Save Your Life. To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway