The Starless Sea Launch Recap

I am so fortunate to attend the launch of The Starless Sea tour hosted by Brookline Booksmith and the Coolidge Corner School on Tuesday, November 5th. I left work early and met up with Ellie to walk over to Oath pizza for an early dinner. We met up with Rachel, Janella and Amanda. Thank goodness we ate when we did because we didn't leave the school until fairly late to head back home after the launch talk and the signing.

Erin Morgenstern has not released a book since her debut, The Night Circus, which came out in 2011. Erin was in conversation with Liberty Hardy. Erin talked about how she is never going to be a book a year person and not to expect another book from her anytime soon. She talked about how last year she turned 40 and she received two gifts that she treasures. She received a cat and also a Nintendo Switch. The Switch became her research for the video game component for The Starless Sea.

When Erin writes, she brainstorms the space first. In The Starless Sea, she had the labyrinth library pictured in her head before she wrote about the character or the plot. In The Night Circus, she brainstormed the circus before all the wonderful characters. Erin mentioned about how she has to write something wrong before she can write it right. She explores space and narrative. She then chooses what will stay.

Erin graced us with a reading from her book. She had three tarot cards of the sword, bee and key. Liberty chose the Sword. It was nice to sit back and hear Erin read from her latest book. Erin even ordered a sword online so she can have one in her office. Liberty asked Erin what her favorite character is from The Starless Sea. Erin mentioned how “everyone is me.” Each character represents a part of Erin. However, she said that Zachary is the closest character that acts like her. She spends more time with Zachary compared to the others. In The Night Circus, it was more ensemble like. The Night Circus has a visual language and it’s a visual person. The black and white with the red are prominent as well as the Victorian era. The Starless Sea is dark, underground and dipped in gold. The book centers on the bee, key and sword along with the crown, heart and feather.

Erin talked about writing about what you want to read. That’s how she approaches writing her books. The Night Circus is what she wants to go to. The Starless Sea poses the questions “what do I want to write and why?” With The Starless Sea, she keeps going back to stories. The novel has a complex narrative. Fantasy is the genre that she gravitates toward because it’s interesting to travel to places. She has been curating ideal fantasy spaces and the ideal introvert space. Erin is a reader of sensory details.

Liberty asked Erin about Erin’s next book when she hears rumors that Erin has another book in the works. Erin said it’s “not fair to call it a book yet.” Things are in the works. She mentioned about cherry blossoms and mud. The Night Circus is an autumnal book, The Starless Sea is a winter book and she finds it fitting that her next novel is a spring book. She told the audience she has been rereading a lot of Shirley Jackson lately. Erin keeps a lot of information regarding her books in her head. She doesn’t use Post-Its. She sometimes uses Scribner to help organize her thoughts in her head.

Liberty and Erin talked about when a woman writes a book, people assume that they are going to write a fantasy novel. For children, fantasy is very whimsical. Eventually that whimsicalness ages out. Erin plays to the sweet spot for a book that is adult but has a crossover for teens. A book that falls under the Alex Awards category.

In terms of reading reviews, Erin does not read reviews of her books on social media. She stays far away from the reviews. She exclaimed, “It’s not for me. The book is done.” She mentioned how on social media, she doesn’t get treated as a person. And when she talked about that, she said how people forget that she is just a person that happens to write books.

Liberty asked about whether a sequel to The Night Circus will ever be written. Erin says no immediately. But then she takes it back and says “never say never.” She has no plans to revisit it. But then jokingly said maybe in 30 years ala the Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments. Liberty asked if Erin abstains from fiction when she is writing. Erin talked about how it’s hard to read while writing. She tends to read more graphic novels and watches movies or even plays more video games. Erin immerses herself in stories in a different media/format. She talks about Dragon Age, shapeshifting and her cat named Vesper. And for those who don’t know, Vesper has an Instagram account you can follow. Her cat is named after a cocktail. Vesper's mom is named Mint Julep.

Liberty does a mini speed round with Erin. Liberty asked Erin which tent in The Night Circus Erin is most proud of creating. Erin responds with the Cloud Maze because it was inspired by the Boston Children’s Museum’s vertical maze. It’s an extraordinary version. She would love to visit the Ice Garden the most out of all the tents due to its exquisite detailing. This is how you feed creativity. How can you make the experience more and how to you elevate it? Erin discussed harvesting the details of something she sees and putting it away. "Then you pluck from them. It’s visual, tactile and it’s feeling you are there. You borrow things like I did with the Children’s Museum.”

When asked if Erin read The Night Circus since it came out. She said no. She won’t ever read The Starless Sea. She needs to let go. Erin used to be a theater major in college. She did things and took risks because she didn’t know what she was doing. Someone asked if she would want The Night Circus or The Starless Sea out in graphic novel format or she wants to write one. Erin said yes that she is interested in this idea. She would love it if there is a different illustrator for each tent.

The talk with Erin in conversation with Liberty was fantastic. Rachel and I ended up meeting someone from Australia who is studying abroad at Northeastern University. She is super nice and we had a great chat. We waited in the signing line for maybe a little over an hour. It was definitely worth the wait to meet and to chat with Erin. I ended up talking to Erin about tarot cards. Erin was super patient to meet all of her fans. She signed all their books and let everyone take posed photos with her. Overall, the event was wonderful.

Shout Event Recap with Laurie Halse Anderson and Jaclyn Friedman

I was fortunate enough to attend the Shout event at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA on Wednesday, March 13th. Laurie Halse Anderson was in conversation with Jaclyn Friedman. Thank you to Harvard Book Store and Penguin Random House for hosting the book event. The Shout conversation was an empowering one. Laurie was able to talk more about the trauma she went through when she was younger and how she was raped. Speak was written in part of her experiences. 20 years later, Shout is out covering more of Laurie's experiences through poetic verse. Shout is a memoir filled with rage.

Jaclyn asked Laurie if she can reflect how talking about young people has changed her in the last 20 years. Laurie said event things has changed in 10 years. Now there is more sex positivity than before but the conversation hasn't shifted much regarding sex education. These conversations haven't happened with children and teenagers. She said, "we are failing the kids." Kids are only taught about not getting pregnant or not to get STDs. They are not taught about how someone can be raped or sexually abused. 90% of attackers are people you know. Laurie talks about how we need to teach basic information about consent to young people. This is an age of offering to take care of oneself instead of sucking it up and moving on. That mentality has changed. It's not about dealing with it.

I appreciate how Laurie opens up the event with her telling her audience that if they need to step out because of what is being said in the conversation, that it is fine. If they need to get some air to clear the mind, they are free to do so. The conservation can be a trigger for some if they went through some trauma regarding abuse.

Jaclyn mentioned how people shouldn't be taking advantage of others. She talks about how "it's not a gain of acquisition." We need to change the attitude of sex. We need to nix the predator and prey formatting. "That's violence, not sex." Laurie talks about it goes back to the history of colonization and the dominance of white people over others. There is room on the table for everyone for conversation. She also mentions how this is more than just cis-gendered. This involves everyone.

Laurie wrote Shout in 2017 during the backlash of the #metoo movement.  She mentions how "that book was written in fire." She wrote in rage about her experience and about what others are feeling when they are being taken advantage of. Laurie was raped when she was 13 right before she entered the 9th grade. She didn't tell anyone what happened for about 23 years. Her PTSD and depression were getting worse. Laurie came from a decade of shame and it was hard to open up what happened to her. She listens to stories of survivors of sexual violence. She said, "It's on us. I know the conversation is hard. It's not a elephant in the room. It's the elephant sitting on everyone's chest."

Laurie mentioned that when she writes the next book in the companion series, it will be called Listen. Speak, Shout and Listen. It is important to listen with real presence and love.

Jaclyn asked Laurie, "can you talk about what clicked in place for you?" During the rest of 9th grade, Laurie was high. People deal with their problems by numbing themselves. When her gym teacher told her, "you're big" in terms of size, this motivated her to join a team. She did swimming and was good a shotput. When talking about educators, Laurie says, "I'm not dead because of you." She thanks all educators whether they are teachers, tutors, coaches, etc. that they help students live. The job of a teacher or an educator is more than a subject. Children are thriving because of educators. There are changing generations of families. Laurie also tells the audience to support teacher's unions and their cause.

Laurie talks about how her aunt tells her to "follow your nightmares" instead of following your dreams. There is a kindred spirit to understand existence through books, music, etc. These forms of expression encourage human community and interaction together. She tells everyone not to be afraid of nightmares. "It's going to keep chasing you. You need to face them." Laurie encourages everyone to find spaces that are safe enough to discuss their pain. People need to access rage and channel it in a way that it is not destructive.

When Jaclyn and Laurie talk about how Laurie names her rapist It, Laurie talks about how by calling him It, it dehumanizes him. It takes the power away from him. Laurie's novel, Speak, is only 10% about her experience. She transmuted her experience through Speak. Melinda in Speak nicknames people she doesn't like but keeps the true names for people she likes. But sometimes, giving someone a certain name gives them more power. Laurie talks about how calling Voldemort He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is essentially giving Voldemort more power since people fear his name.  

Laurie read one of the poems from Shout to the audience. She read "Against Innocence," which talks about the idea of innocence, oppression and suffering. She talks about what everyone's idea is about innocence. This segwayed to her talking about censorship. Many people try to censor children from reading her books. She calls censorship ignorance. Laurie talks about how parents don't want their children to read her books because of the topics conveyed in them. The reason is because parents love their children and the parents will "protect" their children. Laurie mentions how there needs to be a sense of openness to help. The parents are shielding their children away from everything; they shield them away from awkward conversations. But these awkward conversations need to happen. Laurie sees this as an opportunity for bridge building.

Jaclyn asked Laurie what her parents think of Shout. Laurie mentioned that her parents passed but she said her mother would be pissed. Her father used to be a poet. Writing about people living is protecting them in a gentle manner. Her father used to say, "the dead owns the truth." With his PTSD, it led to alcoholism and eventually to violence. The Impossible Knife of Memory is about Laurie and her father through Haley and Haley's father. I highly recommend reading The Impossible Knife of Memory. It's one of my favorite books by Laurie besides Speak and Shout.

Jaclyn asks Laurie, "Are you optimistic about the future? What do you see in store for you in the future? Laurie talks about how there is a responsibility to show as a survivor and to be a role model. There is more acceptance of LGBTQIA+ people now. There is a sense of identity searching and finding where you fit in and belong. She never knew she would see the day where gay marriage would exist. Because of that, she sees lots of opportunities in the future for all people. "The country will fulfil equality when people accept each other. Revolutions are always led by young people. I have faith in these children."

Jacklyn asked Laurie if she considers herself a brave person. Laurie exclaimed, "I am a person who stopped wasting energy thinking what other people think of me." Laurie talks about "how bravery is not absence of fear; bravery is a skill set to practice. The more you practice, the braver you get."

One audience member asked how do you approach a student who talks about betas, incels, MRA, etc.? Laurie said behavior is communication. Why is this boy saying these things to his friends and classmates? The student needs to be surrounded by love and opportunities. As an educator, this may be a yellow flag. Perhaps a guidance counselor might intervene to see if there is any violence occurring within the student's life. The adult community should be aware of what the student has been saying. Students often keep emotions bottled up. How do we help them?

The most important thing is that they need to feel safe. For Laurie, her silence is a survivor tool. We need to acknowledge that we need to fix ourselves. We need to be present for the person in need. We need a support system, an open door of conversation. But we cannot force that door open. Jaclyn mentioned how being unashamed about your feelings and your emotional state can be liberating for others to see. It’s about being a model for others. Don’t assume things and don’t badger people.

Overall, the conversation between Laurie and Jaclyn was an informative one. It's a conversation that I wish everyone was able to be present at. We need to make changes and acknowledge that change takes time but we need to be open to these changes. Things aren't the same as before. We need to voice out our opinions and take a stand in what we believe in. We need to be our own activist. 

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix Event Recap

I was fortunate to attend the Kingdom of Blazing Phoenix tour stop in Brookline, MA at the Brookline Booksmith. Julie C. Dao was in conversation with Karen McManus. Not only is Julie an amazing presenter in general, Karen was a wonderful and engaging moderator with great questions. Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is the companion book to Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. It's the second book in the Rising Empress Duology. While Forest of a Thousand Lanterns focuses on the story of the Xifeng who ultimately becomes the Evil Queen, Kingdom of a Blazing Phoenix focuses on Jade who is Snow White. This East Asian Snow White fairytale telling duology is captivating.

Karen asked Julie, "What prompted you to write the duology? What is your inspiration? Julie mentioned how Snow White is her least liked princess because Snow White continuously falls for the Evil Queen's tricks. Snow White is innocent, pure and has a good heart. These qualities don't exhibit weakness. Snow White is fierce! Julie wanted to write two books; one book in the Evil Queen's point of view and one book in Snow White's point of view. She wanted both books to fit together and present how the ultimate goal for both women is to rise to become the Empress hence the Rise of the Empress name for the duology. Xifeng and Jade achieve this goal differently however.

Karen asked about how Julie deals with different story arcs and characters in her novels. Julie mentioned how she writes a page or two for each character. Julie prefers to write with pen and paper instead of typing when she is brainstorming. These character sheets are very useful for reference. The character sheets help her create a richer story. She often will assign horoscopes and Hogwarts houses to her characters. This provides her a better feel for the characters before she writes. Karen actually does the same and creates character sheets but she types everything on her computer.

Karen talked about fairytales and asked Julie what fairytale elements had to be in the books. Julie mentions how if the reader knows what fairytale they are reading, it helps ground them. Julie started out by making a list of fairytale tropes from Snow White. The glass coffin, the poisoned apple and the mirror are three elements she definitely wanted in her books. Her books still have the flavor of Snow White. They have the fairytale feel but it was still an original story since the glass coffin becomes a pool of water, the poisoned apple is depicted as the last apple tree and the mirror is a waterfall.

Like in many book discussions, Julie was asked if she is a plotter or pantser. Julie is definitely a plotter. She knows all the destinations that she wants to end up at but she needs to figure out how to get there. Figuring out the road map to her destinations is half the fun. Julie turned the question onto Karen and asked whether Karen is a plotter or pantser. Karen mentioned that she is a reformed pantser. Her first novel, One of Us is Lying, is more character driven and less plot driven. Karen didn't plan too much about the novel's plot even though it ends up being a mystery. With her second and future books, she focuses on the plot a bit more than her debut book. Now Karen is a pantser. She talked about how her inclination is to just let everything flow.

Karen asked Julie, "Were there are characters that surprised you?" Ambassador Shiro is one of the characters Julie mentioned. He is the foil to Xifeng. He added more richness to the story but was trying to show kindness to Xifeng. Shiro makes an appearance in both novels. He is able to tell Jade how Xifeng took a different path and is not the same as the person he met before.

Speaking of characters, Wren is one of Julie's favorite secondary characters because of the comic relief that Wren provides. Even Karen agreed that Wren is quite vibrant. Wren provides levity to someone who is saving the world.

In terms of beauty, Karen asked Julie, "What are you saying overall about beauty in the worlds with characters?" Julie talks about how in a lot of fairytales, the older women are often the villains or considered evil and are ugly while the younger ones are considered pure and good. Xifeng is beautiful in every way. Her beauty is a weapon and her falling. She doesn't celebrate her other traits such as being ambitious or determined. Xifeng becomes obsessed about her beauty. On the other hand, you have Jade, who honors her other traits. She treats people as her comrades. Jade wants to live a quiet life and doesn't want to become Empress. While Xifeng is a Slytherin, Jade is more of a Hufflepuff.

Karen then asked Julie if she found a character more difficult to write about. Julie talks about Marie Lu's The Young Elites series and how Adelina becomes the anti-hero. Adelina is written in first person while Xifeng is written in third person. If Xifeng was written in first person, that darkness is very hard to get away from. Writing in third person was definitely easier to be removed from that very same darkness. Julie then talks about how she was worried what people would think about Jade compared to Xifeng. Her fear was that a lot of readers will deem Jade as boring because a lot of people love Xifeng in Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. Julie then decided to balance Jade to Xifeng. Jade took care about how her peers are doing. She is a leader that seeks counsel and advice from others. Jade needs help from others and she is not afraid to ask for help.

Julie talked about the cultural influences in the world building. She mentioned how her mother loves watching lush and dynamic movies about Imperial China. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is dedicated her to mother and Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is dedicated to her brothers. China and Vietnam are very similar. Folktales from childhood influenced the world of Feng Lu and she wove a Western fairytale in an Eastern setting. She has this idea since she was 13 to write a story that represented someone who looks like her. Julie wanted to write a story with a game with queens. These queens will be warring over a kingdom and a throne. Eventually she decided write about Snow White and the Evil Queen with an East Asian setting. She did a lot of research on Imperial China, the hierarchy, the court, the role eunuchs play and the Silk Road since Feng Lu is inspired by it.

One of her first books was a ghost story but it didn't sell well. During that time, paranormal wasn't booming. Julie wrote the right story at the right time when she wrote Forest of a Thousand Lanterns after she pitched it.

Julie discussed about her favorite writing advice. She mentioned how one should immerse themselves in the world of the book through music, candles, food and dish representation, trying something new, visiting a museum exhibit similar to the book being written about and creating a sensory experience.

Julie and Karen talked about their experience writing book #2. Julie claims how you can't make stuff up in the second book. There are rules to follow since a world is already created. Karen found the second book harder to write and she hated it. She doesn't read reviews anymore because she found them to be conducive and not helpful. The reviews start getting into her head. When she writes, she has a lot of false starts and there is a lot of rewriting involved. The first book flowed so easily. Her third book is actually the sequel to One of Us Is Lying. Two Can Keep a Secret, Karen's second book, is a standalone novel that up-levels secondary characters.

Julie was asked what are her favorite current and/or upcoming fantasy novels of the year. She raved about Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, Crown of Thunder by Tochi Onyebuchi and Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh. In fact Renée just sold another series called The Beautiful which is about vampires in New Orleans. The first book comes out October 2019. Paranormal must be coming back. Julie was even joking around that maybe her ghost story might sell.

Julie switches gears and asks Karen if she would ever write about another genre. Karen reads a lot of contemporary and is interested in possibly writing fantasy but she admits that she is not strong in world building. Julie mentions that fantasy is her bread and butter and she loves to make things up. Her gothic paranormal ghost story has a Parisian music school. Julie said she would love to try something new or maybe even writing a Middle Grade novel. Karen talks about all her books end up being mystery thrillers. Her fourth book is also a mystery thriller. Karen talked about how she did research at a similar setting for her book but she cannot share anything else about the book.

Was there anything our authors fought to keep or cut from their books? In Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix, Julie just had to polish it up but with Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, she admits that Xifeng killed more people. She had to cut some of the deaths because she had to have a reason why Xifeng killed each person. Karen mentioned that in One of Us is Lying there was a side plot that had to be cut since it was distracting and it slowed the whole novel down. Karen needed to make sure that the characters become fleshed out more and are able to support the main plot better.

Julie talks about her third book which is standalone fantasy set in Vietnam. There will be cameos from Forest of a Thousand Lanterns and Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix. The publication date is October 2019. The novel has a title and a cover already but readers will have to wait until Julie gets the okay to release them to us.

Someone in the audience asked Julie and Karen about their average writing day. Julie talked about how when she drafted, she doesn't have a word count for the day. Instead, she has a word count for the week. It's easier to do a weekly word count instead of a daily one since it's less stressful. Julie writes in 30 minute segments with a timer. This occurs 9-10 times per day and she takes breaks. She is most productive in the mornings and afternoons. Karen, on the other hand, is a night writer. Her best work happens late at night.

Julie also figures out time when she can read other authors' books in order to write blurbs for the books. Authors often read to promote and support other authors. Blurbing is one way they show support. Julie usually reads at night since she writes during the day. Julie mentioned that she gets to chose what books she wants to read and blurb. She loves diverse fantasy books. She has blurbed 7-8 books since October 2017. Karen is currently closed to blurbing books. She already blurbed 12 books last year.

Julie and Karen were asked a question regarding when they started to write. Julie started writing since she was 8-years-old but her writing didn't increase until she started writing Harry Potter fan fictions. Although she studied biology and pre-med in college, her heart belongs to writing; it's her passion. Around 9-years-old, Julie wrote a book about how there is slumber party with a few friends and they wanted to get a midnight snack. When they went to the kitchen to get a snack, they saw the TV act strangely. This TV was actually a portal to a hidden kingdom where they had a waterfall, orange soda and unicorns. When Karen was younger, she wrote a series starring a witch that can't do spells but loves cats. Grizelda was the witch's name and she had 12 books in the series.

I have to say that the event was definitely an entertaining one. Both authors are terrific speakers and Karen had good questions to ask Julie. The conversation flowed well and it was a very immersive experience. The event was followed by a signing. 

Belles and Brujas Tour Recap

Although this event recap for the Boston stop for the Belles and Brujas Tour is super late, I finally have this out for all of my readers! Thank you to the Brookline Public Library and Brookline Booksmith for making this amazing event happen. The Boston tour stop occurred on Tuesday, June 5th. The Belles and Brujas tour is celebrating Dhonielle Clayton’s The Belles and Zoraida Córdova’s Bruja Born, both books that were released earlier this year. Also joining the duo include special guests Julie C. Dao, author of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, and Sasha Alsberg, co-author of Zenith.

Magic and mayhem are part of the cross-section of books. Dhonielle asks the panelists, what drew them to magic and fantasy? Zoraida mentioned how she is looking for magic to transport into books. If you’re a teen at the age of 14 and you read about a character of the same age doing these incredible things, you have the sense that you can overcome what the character overcomes. Zoraida fell in love with Amelia Atwater’s vampire books when she was a teen. Julie mentions how “fantasy is freedom.” She first fell in love with The Mists of Avalon. Sasha talked about how she always wanted to be an astronomer but she sucks at math. She fell in love with sci-fi and is a big Star Trekkie. Dhonielle said that her dad is a big nerd and loves space opera, comics and that they always went to the bookstore every Saturday. She always loved to read and she escaped reality and things that happened at school through reading. Dhonielle claims, “fantasy is an escape and it’s a place for me find strong women.”

Dhonielle asked the panelists about the strength of their characters. Zoraida describes the Brooklyn Brujas as “Charmed but brown.” Each sister has her own book. The sisters are average girls but they have powers that they don’t know what to do with. Magic comes from them. The magic doesn’t come from romantic love or from others. Magic is inward and it climbs outwards. Dhonielle claims she likes villains more than heroes. Julie always loved fairytales. She rooted for the go-getters for what they want. Julie always wanted to write a story about a woman who has ambition and has a driving force of life. She wanted to write about a woman with agency instead of the pure and the innocent. Sasha and co-author Lindsay Cummings wanted to write about how girls should be in real life. They wanted to break stereotypes of the catty fighting. They both wanted to hone in on close and healthy friendships between females and to turn around the stigma.

In terms of world building, Dhonielle asks, how do you build your world? Sasha wrote three years ago and used a lot of spreadsheets about anything space related. She based it on what is real or what was a theory. Sasha made magic out of them and manipulated concepts. It was a hands on experience creating worlds and she had fun creating a map to figure out how the world will look like. Zoraida made a map in visualize where everything is going to be and worked from there. When Julie was writing book two, Kingdom of a Blazing Phoenix, there is a canon you have to stick to and the world building has to be similar. Dhonielle mentioned that her second book in the Belles series is called Everlasting Rose. Both Dhonielle and Julie agreed world building helps to write the second book. Dhonielle and Sasha often forget something that happened previously in the story during drafting like the spelling of characters' names. Sasha also said that she has dyslexia and spells characters names wrong all the time.

Dhonielle aks the very important question, “do we have the responsibility to tell teens the truth?” Zoraida writes about certain subjects and bridges lines. We should be telling the truth to kids and teens. The difference with kids reading YA compared to adults reading is huge. The teens want to belong to what they read. They want a sense of identity about who they are. Julie agrees with Zoraida and said that teens are going to inherit the world. She doesn’t like how Disney sanitizes fairy tales. Julie wants to show women who are ambitious and power hungry and not wanting a man to save them. Sasha learned a lot from YA and what she read from books when she was in her teens. She wants teens to learn a lot from what she writes as well. Dhonielle wants to “write about teens how they are and not what they should be.” She claims we need to get better telling the truth and not cleaning everything up. Don't give into the pressure and lens to a certain way.

When a question was brought up about whether the authors would want to be a hero or a villain, Sasha and Dhonielle both said villain and Zoraida and Julie answered with hero. There was also a conversation about a Hufflepuff exterior but a Slytherin interior. Sasha asks everyone “would you want your book to be adapted into a play or a musical?” In unison, Julie and Zoraida said musical! They talked about dance numbers and combusting into song. Dhonielle said her books will be dark if it was a musical and opted for the play. Sasha talked about dancing space pirates with a possible Captain Jack Sparrow for her’s. Zoraida then chimes in “ballet?” to Sasha. Another question that was asked was would you be on the always be on the run for seven years or be in jail for years. Julie said jail because she is such a Hufflepuff. Sasha, Dhonielle and Zoraida said on the run. Each author was asked if they would want their book be misspelled or have the cover changed. For some odd reason the conversation shifted to alpacas smiling to corgis. Zoraida even mentioned how Eric Smith is a corgi king!

Back to more serious questions, what has added to help grow the genre in regarding how adults gravitate toward YA. Zoraida writes about death a lot because when you are older, you think more about mortality. Teens often feel immortal. Dhonielle mentioned how lately YA caters to the nostalgic teen experience and that is why we need to write more about the truth. She would like to see more teens at book events and in signing lines. One of the issues is the structure of books. We need to change that. She says that we need to change the structure for teens to get books. Dhonielle hopes YA books will find a way to make it into school and class syllabi. We need fresh voices. Teens want books about drama, kisses, witches and more. She believes that there should be new classics read in school and no more Mice and Men type of books. Julie writes for herself but she writes for teens. She writes about destiny vs. choice. Sasha a in-between. She is not a teen but not quite an adult. At age 18, she was writing for herself. She believes that literature is universal.

In terms of reading, Dhonielle described how Holly Black’s books “creates new experiences.” She loved “following into the woods.” Zoraida hated reading until she was 13. Librarians and teachers always told her to read The House on Mango Street or How the Garcias Lost Their Accents. Zoraida claims, “I love reading myths and I wanted to create my own myths.” A question was asked regarding the research for world building. Dhonielle said she did research on the beauty industry for months before creating a loose outline for The Belles. Zoraida talks about her Brooklyn Brujas series and how there is no handbook for what she is writing about. However, there are superstitions which she researched. She also looked up the Day of the Dead and made sure she doesn’t replicate certain things. She claims, “I figured out what I wanted to avoid when researching in order to create my own world.” Julie is a plotter. When she has enough research to create a book bible, then she writes the book. She read and watched a lot about the Silk Road for Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. Sasha used a spreadsheet and did a lot of research on current Celtic mythology that isn’t quite mainstream. She also did a lot of fact checking. Sasha mentioned how she loves watching documentaries and that “it’s so fascinating and so different.”

I had a great time and the turn out was pretty decent. It was nice to see a variety of different authors and different genres. A lot of book swag was handed out and there were a couple of raffles at the event. I love how the event was taken place in the teen room at the library. There was plenty of time to meet the authors and to chat with them and of course to get books signed.

Legendary Tour with Stephanie Garber in Conversation with Mackenzi Lee

On a cloudy and rainy Monday on June 4th, I was fortunate enough to finally meet Stephanie Garber who recently released Legendary, the second book in the Caraval series. I meet up with my friend Rachel prior to the event before heading to Brookline Booksmith. Thank you to Brookline Booksmith for hosting this captivating event! Rachel and I bumped into Stephanie who was with her publicist and one other person who works at Flatiron Books.

Can I say that was my favorite part of the day? Rachel and I had the opportunity to talk to Stephanie about The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw. Stephanie had the book in her hand to purchase and of course it was signed! Swan season is in the air and everyone is buying and/or reading The Wicked Deep this month! Go check it out if you haven't heard of it. We also talked about Gita Trelease's upcoming book, Enchantée, which Rachel and I hope to buddy read with our other friend Marci. Stephanie loves Enchantée and encouraged us to read it ASAP.



When Stephanie and crew went to get ready for the event, Rachel purchased a copy of Caraval and Legendary before we ventured downstairs to get good seats. We bumped into Ellie, Lyndsay and Andi. Stephanie's and Mackenzi's conversation was perfect. Everything flowed well and they had wonderful questions and answers.

The event started off with Stephanie reading a page from Legendary. Andi called out page 29 and that's the page Stephanie read. This is Stephanie's first time reading Legendary out loud. Mackenzi mentioned that when she reads The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, she likes to read out loud in a British accent when her roommate isn’t home.

The first question Mackenzi asked Stephanie was how did Stephanie come up with book 1, 2 and 3 of the series. Stephanie said the idea came to her when she was reading Code Name Verity. Mackenzi was very excited about this fact and literally said, “No, Really?” Mackenzi loves Code Name Verity for those who don’t know already. Code Name Verity is historical fiction and Stephanie was grabbled with the thought of what if people are playing games? What if there are two possible truths and you don’t know which one is real? She also was inspired by The Great Gatsby’s party scene in the movie where Leo holds the champagne. Stephanie mentioned, “I want to write a book like this scene.”

“Centuries” by Fall Out Boy was on repeat when Stephanie was plotting and writing. The following verse sparked an idea of how she wanted to shape her second book:

Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me
Remember me for centuries

Stephanie wanted to write a book about a man in charge named Legend. “Who calls themselves Legend?” In fact, she originally thought Legend by Marie Lu is about a character named Legend. She was very disappointed when that wasn’t the case.

Caraval and Legendary are both visual, sensory and over the top novels. Mackenzi asked Stephanie how did Stephanie know what to pull from our world and what to invent. Stephanie sets the foundation of the novel first before she adds the visuals. She often uses Pinterest for idea inspiration. One of her inspirations is fashion by Alexander McQueen. The Deck of Destiny’s Fates are Greek Gods meet tarot cards. When Stephanie saw a pin of a woman with a cage of pearls, she knew this lady would become one of the Fates. Sometimes she sees an image and can get carried away.

With drafting Stephanie likes to layer and layer based off something real and she adds her own unique flair to it. When Stacey Lee was writing her novel, The Secret of a Heart Note, Stephanie wanted Stacey to name the book Rosemary Lily and Jack of Hearts after a Bob Dylan song. However, Stacey and Stacey’s editor were not feeling it. Hence, the Prince of Hearts was formalized for one of the Fates in Legendary. Stephanie actually wrote Caraval as a standalone originally but her editor wanted a sequel.

Mackenzi was talking about how the core of Caraval is about the sister relationship and if Caraval was always going to be a sister book. How did this book evolve? Stephanie mentioned she started outlining the book with Scarlett having five brothers but she couldn’t get past writing chapter two. She revisited the manuscript after talking to Stacey about a story about two sisters and Stacey encouraged Stephanie to write the sister book. The book took around three months after Stephanie committed to writing a sister book. The sister relationship is the heartbeat and is the center of the book.

Mackenzi asked Stephanie what has been the best of the crazy and wild ride. Before Caraval sold, she wrote six manuscripts. Stephanie was living at home with her parents and was an adjunct professor for creative writing but she was doing what she loves. Her agent left the business and there was one point when her mother said “you might have to accept you won’t be a writer.” That hurt Stephanie a lot but she persisted and kept on writing because that’s her passion.

Eventually Stephanie signed with another agent and when she received a rejection, she was excited because someone looked at her manuscript and was reading it. One morning after she went out all night long, her agent texted her “OMG, OMG, OMG! Are you awake?” It was 6:00 in the morning and her agent even texted her “This is your agent,” before telling her about the great news. Her agent texted Stephanie a screenshot from an editor who was reading the manuscript. Stephanie promptly knocked on her parents’ door in her pajamas telling them that someone read her book and loved it. Stephanie told the audience that there was “no offer but it was so validating. I wrote a book someone loves. That was my heart.”

Mackenzi talked about writing and if Stephanie wrote when she was child or was she late to the writing game. Stephanie wrote a lot when she was a kid and wanted to publish a book one day. When she went to college, she found out she likes working with college students during her senior year. She was a Students Director of Orientation aka “Director of Fun.” However, the job wasn’t good for her mental health and a counselor said that she needs an outlet. Stephanie likes to write and writing is her outlet. She mentioned that she is afraid of many things and that she didn’t know how to write but she learned as much as could about writing. Prior to Caraval, Stephanie wrote a space opera, a sci-fi-thriller and a trilogy about two sisters (not about Scarlett and Tella). The books had all of her favorite tropes.

Caraval and Legendary are written in third person POV. Mackenzi asked about how was the voice shaping Caraval. Scarlett and Tella are distinct sisters. While Scarlett has some of Stephanie’s qualities like being cautious and one who calculates things, Tella is the girl Stephanie wants to be. Stephanie absolutely adores Tella. Scarlett is fearful and deliberate. On the other hand, when Tella wants something, she will go out and do it. Tella doesn’t weigh out pros and cons. She hits the ground running. At first it was hard to write Tella but then it got easier. In Finale, both sisters POVs will be showcased compared to Scarlett’s POV in Caraval and Tella’s POV in Legendary. Each sister knows want they want and knows what drives them.

Mackenzi asked Stephanie a non-book related question and centered it around how Caravel sounds like Carvel ice cream and how would a Caraval inspired dessert or cake look like. Stephanie was very excited about answering this particular question. Caraval would be a cake with multiple layers. The cake will be covered in edible glitter but one layer of glitter is inedible. There will be hidden stars and glowing magical lights and an angel. This is when Mackenzi chimes in, “there are lightbulbs in it?” Stephanie mentioned about a layer of red velvet checkerboard filled with stardust with the occasional star in it. The last layer is black like nighttime with a layer of fortunes at the bottom where one must bite the fortune in order to receive their fortune. Also, this cake disappears while you are eating it. The last bite chooses the person who shall consume it. Mackenzi then asks, “Is this the wand that chooses the wizard?”

Mackenzi wanted to know what is something that is making Stephanie happy now. Stephanie responds with AJR's The Click album but she likes listening to "Sober Up". She loves this album because it’s upbeat, fun and has interesting lyrics. Stephanie also likes "I Wish I was Sober" by Frightened Rabbit. Stephanie then turns the table around and asks Mackenzi what makes Mackenzi happy. Mackenzi says, “Um, every dog on Instagram." She is particular fond of St. Bernards since she used to have one named Zoey as a child. “We always need some happy.” Mackenzi loves watching a dog grow up on Instagram and she actually follows a mother who writes a picture journal on Instagram about the dog’s life. Mackenzi is finally going to have a St. Bernard in The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy. She also loves Doodles but not so much Poodles. She tells the audience, “you may be a Poodle but you can grow up as a Doodle.”

Someone in the audience mentioned how Scarlett reminds them of the movie Speed. And how when you meet someone, how much do you really know them? How much does Scarlett know Julian. They just met and he’s a performer. Stephanie mentions that Legendary has more information about Scarlett's and Julian’s relationship. Someone else asked what is the easiest part to write and what is the most fun. Stephanie said chapter 5 of Caraval is the easiest because it’s about Legend’s backstory. Chapter 13 in Legendary was the most fun to write.

Another person asked how Stephanie would do in a game of Caraval. Stephanie said it depends what group of people she is with. If she is partnered with her sister, she would be able to win. Stephanie said she is much like Scarlett and is very vigilant. She joked around that if she has to win, she would take a selfie with Legend. At the Legendary launch party, Stephanie’s mother wore a top hat and was telling readers to go to Stephanie saying, “Legend sent me.”

Another question was “did you always aim to write YA?” Stephanie said yes. She always wanted to write YA. She mentioned that she didn’t have a lot of YA to read back in the 90’s. She loves exploring YA and connecting with readers.

The last question was asking Stephanie what books got her into YA. When she was working in Student Development and she was one of the very first to read Twilight and got a good amount of people hooked onto Twilight. She always loved vampires. Other books she mentioned include Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr and Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor, who influenced Stephanie’s love for third person POV. Melina Marchetta's Froi of the Exiles, Mary Pearson’s Remnant Chronicles and Holly Black’s Coldest Girl in Coldtown are also other books she recommended.

I hung back chatting with some friends before jumping in Stephanie's signing line. Stephanie enjoyed last week at BookExpo and BookCon and is having a blast on her book tour so far. If you have a chance to attend a book event with Stephanie, do it! You won't regret it because she is amazing and is super thoughtful. She is very enthusiastic and she is super excited to be on this tour. She really loves her fans and it shows! If you haven't read Caraval and/or Legendary, go read these books ASAP.

Book Events I Hope to Attend This Summer

BookExpo and BookCon kick off this week and unfortunately this year I cannot attend. I want to attend ALA Annual in NOLA at the end of June but that is not in the cards for me this year. However, just because I can't attend big book conferences, there are a lot of book events locally. I am looking forward to a few events in Boston and the surrounding metro area. I am not sure if I can make them all but I can sure try to!

Legendary Tour with Stephanie Garber in conversation with Mackenzi Lee

Monday, June 4, 2018 at 7:00 pm 
Brookline Booksmith

I am super excited to finally meet Stephanie at last. I fell in love in Caraval but Legendary blows Caraval out of the water. I cannot wait to hear more about Legendary and whatever Stephanie has planned for her fans. I am sure the event won't disappoint. Also, Mackenzi is always wonderful to see at events.




Belles and Brujas Tour with Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Cordova, Julie C. Dao and Sasha Alsberg 
Tuesday, June 5, 2018 at 7:00 pm
Brookline Village Library

What a stunning line up with strong authors who write about kickass females! This is an event not to miss! We have a good range from dystopia to a fairy tale retelling. There is something for everyone at this event.




Morgan Matson and Adrienne Kisner Author Event
Thursday, June 7, 2018 at 7:00 pm
Brookline Booksmith


It's wedding season and the kick off to the warmer months. For me, the warmer months are perfect times to read contemporary during relaxing days outside in the sun. Morgan and Adrienne will be discussing their new books at this event.







Naomi Novik Spinning Silver Author Event
Friday, July 27, 2018 t 7:00 pm
Harvard Book Store

Naomi will be discussing her retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. Not only do I enjoy retellings but many people I know that had a chance to read Spinning Silver early have been raving about it. Also, who doesn't like this stunning cover art?

EDIT: NEW ADDITION ON May 31, 2018

Gloria Chao in conversation with Karen McManus

Saturday, June 9, 2018 at 1:00 pm
MIT COOP

I love both American Panda and One of Us is Lying. I was fortunate enough to meet Karen last year at the Boston Teen Author Festival. However, I haven't meet Gloria yet. Ironically, she will also be at this year's Boston Teen Author Festival. I just found out not too long ago about this event so I have to prioritize my time and attend this event!

What events are you looking forward to during this summer? Any authors visiting your local book store or library?

Bygone Badass Broads Launch Party Recap

Happy International Women's Day! In celebration of this wonderful day, I am going to chat about my experience at the Bygone Badass Broads Launch Party from Wednesday, February 28, 2018.

Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World was created because of Mackenzi Lee's well known twitter tag #BygoneBadassBroads, which delved into information about badass women whose contributions aren't well known or publicized. This twitter tag became so popular that Abrams books contacted Mackenzi to write a book about some badass women!

After work, I met up with Ellie to head to Trident Booksellers and Cafe for Mackenzi Lee's event for Bygone Badass Broads. We got there a bit early in order to get seats and to eat dinner. We met up with Kim and Molly right before the event started. Mackenzi had a fabulous dress, her display of books was perfect and the cupcakes were delicious!

One of the biggest questions is why did Mackenzi write this book? Mackenzi mentioned how history usually doesn't include female narratives. However, women have a place in history. The are kickass! 

Mackenzi once thought women were represented in history because she self selected what she read when she was younger. It wasn't until she was around 14 to 16-years-old when she working at a civil war park as a blacksmith that is discovered women were't represented for their accomplishments. Management told Mackenzi that she was being moved to the pioneer laundry. They also told her that it's not accurate for her to be a blacksmith mainly because she is a woman. Although, Mackenzi brought in historical evidence showing how some women held jobs like blacksmiths, she was denied. Even when Mackenzi was pursing her undergraduate degree, she realized that male centric history courses were requirements. Women were not included in the educational curriculum.

For those who don't know, Mackenzi is a big fan of Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein. Mackenzi talks about how there as a contest to write a ghost story and how Mary won the contest when Mary was only 19-years-old back in the early 1800's. Mackenzi also raves about how Mary kicked off the science fiction genre.

Mackenzi mentions that the way she writes is the way she talks; it's conversational. She never thought she would pursue writing a non-fiction book. However, with her every so popular #BygoneBadassBroads twitter hashtag, she took twitter by storm. Mackenzi used her lunch breaks at her old job to tweet out threads. Abrams was interested in her writing a book and the rest is history! A new book is born! As Mackenzi mentions, "These are not stories I made up. These are stories I retell." And she sure retells them in a way that grabs your attention!

Mackenzi took recommendations on twitter for #BygoneBadassBroads. She actually has lists of hundred of women. Someone in the audience asked if there is going to be a Bygone Badass Broads 2. Mackenzi hopes she has a chance to write another Bygone Badass Broads book. She did, however, mention about how cool it would to write Bygone Badass Barks, a book with a bunch of badass dogs. One person asked if she has a favorite Bygone Badass Broad woman. Mackenzi said it was impossible to pick her favorite but Irena Sendler has always been on her mind often. Mackenzi talks about how Bygone Badass Broads is like a historical girl squad.

Another person asked what is the difference writing fiction vs. non-fiction. Mackenzi claims, "I need to get it [non-fiction] right. I can't fudge anything and say well it's fiction." It's more fun to write but more stressful. While researching for the book, she didn't have a lot of information about some women and the women that had the least information didn't make the cut for the book. Another question that was asked was what was the most interesting thing you found during researching? Mackenzi found a lot of men only spaces. Also, she found it interesting that people were more concerned and upset about Anne Lister being a business owner than a lesbian. This was back in the early 1800's.

What I loved during the event was when Mackenzi was chatting about how there are a lot of awesome outfits that the Bygone Badass Broads wore. Someone asked Mackenzi to choose her favorite outfit. Mackenzi said she loved many of the outfits but ultimately selected King Christina's of Sweden. If someone can make a Modcloth manufacturing like line of all the Bygone Badass Broads outfits, I am pretty sure Mackenzi would love it!

Bygone Badass Broads is a non-fiction book is chockfull of strong women with exceptional accomplishments. Fifty two women to be exact. Pretty much one woman per week of the year. Ranging from fifth century BC to almost present day, Mackenzi includes women of different cultures, faiths, nationalities, sexuality, etc. These empowering women prove to society that they can do what men can do and even more.

Boston Book Festival 2017

I was fortunate enough to attend the Boston Book Festival this year on Saturday, October 28, 2017. I always love attending this festival but this year I only attended one panel due to the overwhelming crowd this year. I feel like every year, the festival has been increasing in numbers and unfortunately some of the attendees can be super rude. The festival takes place in Copley Square at the Boston Public Library and at many of the beautiful churches on Bolyston  Street and on Newbury Street.

I ended up attending the The Biker, the Baker, and the Dumpling Maker panel at The Boston Public Library's Rabb Hall which was beyond fabulous! At the panel, Karen Akunowicz, Joanne Chang and Stella Parks spoke about their new cookbooks, chatted about some of their experiences and even shared about recipe testing and recommended some of their favorite cookbooks.

Joanne started Flour before she ventured into owning Myers+Chang with her husband, Christopher. Prior to cooking and baking, Joanne majored in Applied Mathematics and Economics at Harvard but soon figured out that it wasn't her calling. Her passion is baking! She only has Flour bakeries in locations she can bike to. I absolutely love Flour! I've been an avid follower since 2009 and I own all of Joanne's cookbooks.

Stella mentioned that her calling is to reconnect people with their childhood memories with pastries. High skilled and fancy pastries are not necessary. Her interpretation of American classic desserts connects people with friends and family. Stella's cookbook, BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts,  intrigues me because I love how she weaves in some storytelling with her fantastic desserts. It's sort of resembles a journal of her life and what baking means to her. She transposes some of her memories onto pages for her readers so they can also create meaningful memories.

Karen talked about how culinary school is very strict and it can create a toxic environment for females. You have to take the harassment at the culinary school. There is no crying or getting upset. If you do, it's pretty much "get out of the kitchen." However, you have to be strong in order in order to succeed. Joanne mentioned how she wants to make sure that everyone has benefits at her bakeries and  restaurant. She wants them to feel safe and that there is an HR person for people to go to. Karen and Joanne work well together at Myers+Chang and they coauthored a wonderful cookbook. Karen was elated to be asked to contribute to Myers+Chang at Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery.

The three talented women talked about "why cookbooks now in the digital age?" When the audience was asked how many people use cookbooks still, almost everyone in the whole room raised their hand. Only a few prefer reading recipes off their tablets. There is something tangible about a cookbook that you can look and page through. It's okay if you get it a bit dirty. Also, they make wonderful gifts!

Stella mentioned that she didn't know that cookbooks were dying out. Actually, she was asked to write a cookbook and she decided to write it. Karen and Joanne used a Google document and worked on the book between their busy shifts. Karen said there was no romantic notions in Vermont or writing battleship style as she envisioned prior to writing the cookbook.

In terms of favorite cookbooks, Stella loves The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs for flavor pairings. Karen jokingly mentions she loves all the Flour cookbooks but she uses loves Hartwood: Bright, Wild Flavors from the Edge of the Yucatán. Joanne's most used cookbook is Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

In terms of recipe testing, Joanne talked about how scaling and rewriting for the home and not for the restaurant was sometimes a challenge. Testing out the recipes in a home kitchen was key. Joanne had three people test out a recipe and will receive feedback from them. The recipe is rewritten before she asks another three people to test out the recipe. This process continues until the recipe is perfect. Stella had her friends and associates test out her recipes and then she had professionals test them out.

The balance between stories, images and recipes were vital for Stella's book. Her book is for avid home bakers and for those how love some history. Her editor sat in during the photo shoot to help streamline the process. Karen and Joanne mentioned how their book is catered for home cooking.

After the panel, I was lined up to have Karen and Joanne sign my copy of Myers+Chang at Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery. Joanne already signed my Flour copies in the past. Afterwards, I went to check out some of the vendor booths and had some Chicken and Rice Guys at the food truck outside of the Boston Public Library. I ended the day fairly short and ended up going home early.

Definitely check out Karen and Joann'e latest book Myers+Chang at Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery and also Stella's book BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts. Thank you to the organizers and volunteers of Boston Book Festival. I always look forward to this free annual festival.

Haunting the Deep Event Recap

On Sunday, October 22nd, I was fortunate enough to attend a book event at the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, MA hosted by Wicked Good Books. Adriana Mather and Kali Wallace packed in a huge room full of book lovers. Adriana and Kali talked a bit about their current novels and answered questions from the audience. A book signing occurred after the talk and hot apple cider and delicious donuts were served!

I was able to see Adriana last October when her debut novel, How to Hang a Witch, was published. She had an event at Hawthorne Hotel last year as well. It was amazing to see how many new fans she gained over the year. Last year the event was fairly small and this year the hotel staff had to find more chairs for attendees!

When Adriana was looking for a particular book the only place that had it was in Salem, MA. When she inquired about the book, the lady at the bookstore said Mather is name not popular around Salem. This sparked the idea to write How to Hang a Witch. When Adriana was at her grandmother's house, she found a desk with older letters and old journals. There she found a letter about the Titanic and how a relative survived. Of course, Adriana did her happy dance when she found the Harper letter. This letter was inspiration for Haunting the Deep. Did you know the Harpers that Adriana is related to is also the Harpers of Harper & Brothers which is now HarperCollins? Adriana mentioned that the third book in the series (if she writes it) will take place in Sleepy Hollow since she is related to some people there. Adriana hit the trifecta jackpot for being a descendant.

The audience asked some very interesting questions this year. One person asked Adriana if she makes her books into movies. For those who don't know, Adriana is also a screenwriter in California on top of being an author. Adriana shot her book trailers in Salem, MA and in CT at her mother's house which is at least 300-years-old. How to Hang a Witch is optioned as a TV show but Adriana can't let us know the network or any of the details yet.

In terms of historical research, one person asked how was the research with the Titanic compared to the Salem Witch Trials.  With the Salem Witch Trials, the research was limited due to how far back in time the events occurred. Adriana used letters and written accounts. For the Titanic, it was a blackhole since there were so many people involved and there were a lot of interviews to comb through. One of the stories that Adriana told the audience was about Ester Hart who didn't want to go on the ship but her husband insisted. She had a feeling something bad will happen. Because of this feeling, she slept all day and at night she stayed in her day clothes. Another story was about a ship cat  who took her kittens off the boat one by one on a ramp at the last port before New York City. Adriana also read a lot of conspiracies whether it be socioeconomic, sociopolitical or even environmental.

Adriana spoke about her favorite scene that she wrote. She likes writing about Mrs. Meriweather's bakery called Sugar Spells. Adriana loves everything to do with the bakery whether it be the interior design to the bakery's sweet treats. Adriana's favorite character within the How to Hang a Witch duology is Alice. She has a soft soft for people who can't keep their mouths shut and she loves a good flawed character.

One person asked Adriana if she would bring back Sam's mother or grandmother in the series. Adriana said she was toying around with the idea to bring back an immediate family member or even Jaxson's father. In terms of a prequel, Adriana possibly will consider the option especially if the How to Hang a Witch TV show kicks off. Everyone seems to love Elijah and would love to read more about him before he met Sam.

For inspiring writers, Kali recommended to "keep writing. Your voice matters. You're the only one that can tell the story. Go with what you you like. Do it! You have to love it!" 

Adriana mentioned, "There is no right way to write. Complete it and you can break it apart. Have fun and learn. Keep writing. You learn stuff you don't know. Write what is interesting and fun for you."

How to Hang a Witch Book Signing Event

Happy Halloween everyone. I figured I will recap one of the book events I recently attended in the heart of Salem, Massachusetts! I was fortunate enough to attend book event where Adriana Mather, a descendant of Witch Trials Judge Cotton Mather, and author of How to Hang A Witch. You can read my review about the book here.

Adriana discussed about her lineage, the Salem Witch Trials and answered some audience's questions during the book event hosted by Wicked Good Books at the Hawthorne Hotel. Salem is a charming little town in the Northshore of Massachusetts and is one of my local book stores. And of course it's the perfect time to have a  paranormal witchy book event during the month of October.

I arrived to Salem quite early after work and meandered down the streets of downtown while soaking the autumn colors and the magic of Salem. The Hawthorne Hotel hosted a contest to guest the weight of this gigantic pumpkin in order to win a one night stay at the hotel. How many pounds do you think this pumpkin weighs?

I ended up meeting Isalys and her husband in the lobby of the Hawthorne Hotel and we proceeded upstairs to the Essex Room. The event was quite intimate and the audience was treated to cider and donuts which added the perfect flair to the night.

Adriana wore a light weight flowy black dress and she started the night with a talk about the history of the Salem Witch Trials. It was interesting hearing her talk about her ancestors and what had happened within Salem back in the 1600s. This history is crucial to setting the plot of her story in How to Hang a Witch. I was quite excited to finally meet her and in Salem of all places. Salem is the ideal location for a signing for her book, especially because the setting of the book takes place in Salem. After Adriana's talk, everyone lined up to for the signing. She is super nice and I was so glad to finally meet her. I brought along my ARC to get signed but I also purchased a finished copy.

Wicked Good Books has been throwing some lovely signing events in the past couple years and I am very excited to attend more local events instead of trekking to Boston. Check out my Halloween Teen Scream recap here. Halloween Teen Scream was hosted by Wicked Good Books last year at the Hawthorne Hotel featuring Gena Showalter, Kady Cross and Amy Lukavics.

Boston Teen Author Festival 2016 Recap

On Saturday, September 24th I was fortunate to attend the Boston Teen Author Festival in Cambridge, MA. The Boston Teen Author Festival expanded this year to celebrate their 5th year anniversary! This year, the festival was hosted at the Cambridge Public Library and at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.

I wanted to grab a coffee prior to the festival so I swung by Starbucks and bumped into Kim from Book Munchies. Afterwards, I met up with Elizabeth from Book YAbber to venture to the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School for the intro panel. I ended up saying hi to my friends Alberto and Jess before walking to the auditorium.

We ended up running into Rachel from Rachel Writes Things right before we entered the auditorium. The intro panel featured all 35 authors and was located in the auditorium and can I say that the place was pretty much packed. I am so glad to see so many YA readers in one room with amazing YA authors. Instead of doing 3-4 panels back to back, Elizabeth and I decided to only attend two panels for the rest of the day.

I skipped the Panel A from 11:15 to 12:00 for lunch with Elizabeth. We ended up going to a local market to get some hot foods. We ended having some rice, some really tasty teriyaki chicken and a couple other sides. It was a decent lunch although it was kind of expensive but it definitely beat the food truck. We ended up sitting outside next to Rachel and Adrienne. Of course we were sitting right across from no other than Emery Lord!!! How exciting! I was able to chat with Ellie from By Ellie M a few times when I saw her in the library helping attendees find panel rooms.

For The Panel B section, Elizabeth and I bumped into Alberto and Jess again at the Magic Beyond the Grave panel at the Cambridge Public Library. This panel was my favorite and it was absolutely hilarious! Roshani Chokshi, Zoraida Córdova and Daniel Jose Older definitely carried the panel well and self moderated the panel. They had intriguing answers to questions asked and they gave good tips to give to the audience. I also saw Cara Bertrand before the panel which is pretty cool. Her Sententia series is one of my favorite paranormal boarding school series of all time. Cara surprised me with a copy of Tangled Thoughts, which is the third book in the series.

Afterwards, the four of us ended up going to back to the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School to check out the books being sold and to pick up our Kickstarter rewards. We enjoyed the nice weather before venturing to the teen room at the Cambridge Public Library. The last panel we attended was located in the Teen Room. The Journey Toward Mental Health was a change of pace from the Magic Beyond the Grave panel. This panel was serious and heavy in terms of the subject matter. Kathryn Holmes, Emery Lord, Natasha Sinel and Francisco X. Stork self-moderated the panel with Emery Lord taking the lead!

Elizabeth and I left the panel a little bit early to beat the huge rush at the signing line near the cafeteria. During last round of OSTPSecretSister, I ended up writing to Kat while Kat ended up writing to Elizabeth. It was definitely the icing on the cake to meet Kat and her friend during the signing line! It was awesome to have all of us together!

BTAF did an excellent job organizing the signing area with authors sitting in alphabetical order by last name except for Victoria Schwab and Roshani Chokshi. I was able to meet a lot of wonderful authors like Emery Lord and Melissa Landers. I was too excited about meeting both of them because I love their books!! It's awesome how Emery remembered me from twitter! I was able to see Marie Rutkoski and Zoraida Córdova at the signing areas and I briefly saw Roshani Chokshi and Lori Goldstein when walking around BTAF.

BTAF is definitely a great place to meet up with YA book lovers! All the authors are fantastic and are super nice! Also, I was able to get together with old friends and I met some new ones. I hope you are able to attend BTAF next year if you are near the Boston area. It's definitely worth checking it out at least one time in your life.

After BTAF, Elizabeth and I walked through Harvard University and then went to dinner at John Harvard's with Kat and her friend. I was so excited to sit down to eat and chat. I had a pretty tasty dinner of salmon on a bed of snap peas and red peppers. I can't wait to see Kat again. Hopefully I will see her at BEA or at another book event!

Photo credit of the OTSP Secret Sisters: Kat

I want to thank BTAF for putting together an amazing festival this year and I would like to thank the ladies at On the Same Page for pairing Elizabeth, Kat and I for our last round of OTSPSecretSister!