Romantic Times Re-cap

April 21, 2012 Uncategorized 2

I don’t even know that I can begin to express how awesome the Romantic Times conference was. I got to spend almost a week hanging out with YA authors and bloggers and just talking about YA lit. Can we say, “perfection”?!?!? From Wednesday to Friday there were daily panels. I pretty much only attended the ones pertaining to young adult literature. The YA track was so well run (Props to Melissa Marr!!!) The moderators did a great job staying on topic and the panelists were so interesting to listen to. It was really just all around fabulous. Saturday was teen day and fan day so there was a HUGE signing with a section of the room dedicated to YA authors. Then there were some panels, author speed dating, and author readings. To cap the event off there was a super fun YA party with all the authors in attendance. If I went in to everything it would be too much and take too long. Instead I will burry you in photos! 

On the first day you get a ticket to go in to the goody room. it is a room FULL of books and you get to take up to a certain number. There was just a stack of Bitterblue and no one was taking it!!! I freaked out. I’ve already read it but I had to grab a copy. I ended up giving it to Sarah Rees Brennan in exchange for a $100,000 IOU 😉

On Wednesday night there was a YA slumber party. It. Was. AWESOME!!! I mean, just look at the goodies covering the table!!! Plus we got a swag bag with all kinds of other awesome stuff. The authors were introduced and we got to chat with them. Then they played a round of author truth or dare (so fun!) They also gave away a bunch of door prizes! At the end there was a slipper contest. I embarrassed my self greatly by pretending to ride an invisible horse (I had on cowboy boot slippers! It seemed like an okay idea at one in the morning. I blame Lynn and Kristi.) but it was worth it. I won a kindle donated by the awesome Ann Aguirre!!  

Awesome YA banners were everywhere! 

Kristi, Vania and I went to a local Italian restaurant recommended by the hotel staff. We were a little leery at first. It was located in a strip mall and had a questionable appearance. When we got inside it looked a little better. The only other people there were quite a bit older and we’re pretty sure they were Mafia. That has to mean the food is good, right? We ate so much food! Seriously. Appetizers, soup, salad, entree, and THREE desserts. But oh my starts were they good! When we were done we realized we’d been talking and eating for THREE HOURS! I love hanging out with awesome people!!

The author speed dating during Teen Day was super fun. Basically attendees sat at a table and got to chat with a YA author for three minutes and then the authors would switch tables. It was fun to see so many authors in an hour and get to ask questions or just talk. I’m not really sure why Sarah Rees Brennan is up on that chair but,  let me tell you, she was a hard act to follow! Best three minute date ever 😉

On Wednesday night, before the YA slumber party, Kristi and I drove over to Naperville for a pre-pub event with the fabulous Leigh Bardugo. Her book Shadow and Bone comes out in June and it is awesome. Like, you NEED to read it! Kristi and I couldn’t stop raving about it. They had extra ARCs at the event so I got a few and brought them to authors at RT because I want EVERYONE to read this book! Also, Leigh is super nice and did a great job talking about the book and answering questions. It was much fun!

Pictures stolen from Jen who got them from Jamie 🙂

Friday night was the Spring Into the Future book signing at Anderson’s Bookshop. Not only were there four great authors but a ton of bloggers as well! The authors were Veronica Rossi, Anna Carey, Tahereh Mafi, and Cynthia Hand. They talked a bit about their books and then took questions. There were so many people there! It was great!!

We like to be silly 🙂 Some of my favorite ladies!
And, just in case you’re interested… a slideshow of pics with authors 🙂

Awesome Authorsphoto slideshow

Yeah, basically I just spent the whole week FREAKING OUT on the inside while trying to play it cool. I didn’t want to scare the authors too much 😉

2 Responses to “Romantic Times Re-cap”

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