Author Event Ally Carter

I am very lucky. The St Louis County Library works hard to bring author events to the public and I have had the pleasure of hearing several speak about their newly released books.

Last night I got to see Ally Carter, who drew a large crowd of middle and high school levels girls.  Some of which came dress as a Gallagher Girls. How cute is that!

Carter spent her time fielding questions some of which were very well thought out.  Here are some of the answers I got down as I listened.

Least favorite book: Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy. This was the hardest book to write and left her in a fetal position at time and eating lots of chocolate.

Her Favorite book read: To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

Book Cover: Each model is a different person. The original couldn't continue because parents made her stop in order to get he grades up.

Are the Characters in her book real? No, Sorry girls, Zach does not exist in fact there are no guys like Zach, so you need to lower your expectation.

Has anything in your books ever happen to you? I once got a bloody nose from opening a can of Pringles, but most of the stuff is made up.

Have you ever gotten any ideas while sleeping? Writing is a nap friendly job and I love taking naps. The idea and name of Blackthorn came to me after waking up from a nap. 

Did you have any English teachers who encouraged you in school? My mother was an English teacher, and she was the head of the English department at my high school. So yeah. Also my school had a fabulous librarian, Mrs Bennett. 

Do you do a lot of research for the book? Most of it made up, but I do use the International Spy Museum to get help with some of the specific details. 

Who are your favorite characters?  I like them all, otherwise, I would get rid of them. I have that power! 

How did you get the idea for Heist Society?  I was listening to a book on tape and when I heard the line, " I felt like a cat burglar in my own house"  I knew I wanted to write about a thief named Kat. I began asking questions about who she was and how she felt about being a thief.

Will there be a sequel to Heist Society? Yes, and the book has been optioned as a movie but with an older cast than the one in the book. 

While I have yet to read any of the Gallagher Girls series (something I plan on correcting soon since I bought all four last night), I did enjoy Heist Society. After hearing Carter talk about her books and her writing,  I am anxious to see what the Gallagher Girls has to offer too.  

Author Events Ann Brashares

Tonight I had the distinct pleasure of hearing Ann Brashares, author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, The Summer (of You and Me), and her just released book My Name is Memory.

Ann read from her new book which I already started while I was waiting for her to appear, and I can tell that the book is going to be amazing.  There is even a part that takes place in St Louis, which is very cool. In case you are  not familiar with this new release her is the publisher's summary from Powell's book:

From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Last Summer (of You and Me) comes an imaginative, inspired, magical book-a love story that lasts more than a lifetime. 

Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. Daniel has the memory, the ability to recall past lives and recognize souls of those he's previously known. It is a gift and a curse. For all the times that he and Sophia have been drawn together throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart. A love always too short.  Interwoven through Sophia and Daniel's unfolding present day relationship are glimpses of their expansive history together. From 552 Asia Minor to 1918 England and 1972 Virginia, the two souls share a long and sometimes torturous path of seeking each other time and time again. But just when young Sophia (now Lucy in the present) finally begins to awaken to the secret of their shared past, to understand the true reason for the strength of their attraction, the mysterious force that has always torn them apart reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.  A magical, suspenseful, heartbreaking story of true love, My Name is Memory proves the power and endurance of a union that was meant to be.

There were a lot of wonderful things Brashares discussed during the short time she was speaking. One was her special  love of libraries. "Libraries are where you go to fall in love," and she meant that both figuratively and literally. She admits to meeting  her husband at a library and that all of her books have been written at least partially at a library.

Many of the questions she got were focused on The Sisterhood books, and I learned some very interesting trivia. For instance, at one point even though she was halfway through the first book she actual wanted to scrap it. Thankfully, she decided that she was going to see it through. She also is currently writing a new book that will revisit the girls ten years later. Something to look forward to next year.

After finishing her first draft of My Name is Memory, her publisher sent it to Hollywood and  a bidding war ensued with Peter Chernin, of Chernin Entertainment a Fox-based production entity, winning the production rights.Whether or not the book will make into production is something we will have to wait and see.

My favorite quote of the night was when she talked about the connection between a reader and the author, "a book belongs to you [the reader] along with the writer. It is a collaboration."

Here is Brashares getting ready to sign my book, and another one afterwards. 

Brashares has a wonderful website that you can check out for updates.

Author Events Louis Sachar

One more week and school is out for the summer. I am ecstatic because unlike previous summers I am not teaching summer school, and I do not have to work on my father's house. Basically, my only real plan is to READ!

I am really feeling the excitement of being free to be a full time blogger and have plans to attend as many author events as I can.  In fact I attended one last night when I went to hear Louis Sachar talk about his new young adult novel Cardturner.

I received his new book in the mail this week, read it and got my copy signed. A review will be coming soon.

He read from the new book, and it was obvious from the passages he chose, how much he likes his main character Alton.

Sachar answered lots of questions about his books. I loved all the children who wanted to know about Wayside School and of course Holes.  I learned that Sachar wrote the screen play for Holes and that he also wrote a play of Small Steps, which opened in Seattle a couple of months ago.

My next author event will be to see Ann Brashares talk about her new book My Name is Memory on June 3.

Gotta love summer!