YAB Fest 2013 and The Book Spot

This Saturday was my best day as an author so far. I met so many amazing authors and dedicated readers and librarians. I was impressed with the young people I met in the panels and at the signing. They asked awesome questions and showed great passion for the written word. If you don't already know, this was at the Young Adult Book Festival (YAB Fest) in Round Rock, Texas.

Copyright Ernest Cline

I learned lots of interesting things, such as:

• Ernest Cline has a DeLorean. He says that the downside is that when he shows up in his Camry, people are "disgusted."
• Dinosaurs don't pee. Greg Leitich Smith, author of the dinosaur time-travel novel Chronal Engine, shared this fascinating fact during the Out of This World Panel.
• Camp Fusion from the Phantom Island series by Krissi Dallas is a real place. Krissi Dallas is also afraid of fish just like her main character. I suspect that the magic portal is real too.
• The authors on the Out of This World Panel are dangerously sexy. Here we are doing Blue Steel. Try not to look directly at the photo, the hotness might burn your eyes. 

  

  Ernest Cline, Sharon Bayliss, Krissi Dallas, Rachel Harris, Greg Leitich Smith, & Cory Putman Oakes

The only photo that circulated social media more than "Blue Steel" was the photo of the guy in the T-shirt that said "I like big books and I cannot lie."

I was star struck by everyone, but I especially want to brag about meeting David Levithan and Andrea Cremer.

I was sitting down eating lunch in the author's room when they sat down across from me. I played it cool until I tweeted about the fact that I was eating lunch with them. Then I told them I tweeted about it, making me even less cool. :)

But they are very friendly. And I enjoyed getting to hear them read from their joint work, Invisibility. They said that they wrote it by alternating sending each other chapters and didn't even really sit down to plot the story together. It was written as a natural back-in-forth between two people. I can't wait to read this one.

I also really enjoyed getting to know some incredible authors including (but not limited to) Krissi Dallas, Cory Putman Oakes, Rachel Harris, P.J. Hoover, Mari Mancusi, and Jessica Lee Anderson. It was so exciting to get to know these awesome Texas authors and hear their advice on writing, publishing, and marketing.

Mari Mancusi

Rachel Harris

Krissi Dallas

Cory Putman Oakes

Finally, I want to thank Danny & Julie from The Book Spot. The Book Spot is a local, family-owned bookstore in Round Rock, Texas with a great selection of new and used books. They are also becoming a major hub for literary events in the area, including the very successful YAB Fest. 

If you haven't already heard me shouting it from the rooftops, The Charge is available for purchase at The Book Spot, and now you can buy signed copies there! If you live in the area, I strongly encourage you to support this local business by buying The Charge at The Book Spot.