You know how sometimes you plan things and stress out over them and then the day comes and it's all right, but filled with annoyances and you have good memories but they are a tiny bit tainted?
Luckily, I can say that the Books of Wonder signing event that I did along with ten awesome authors yesterday was NOTHING like that! To me, it was 100% perfect. And I can be a cynical person at times, so that's saying a lot!
The day started for me in New Jersey. Dwayne and I flew into Newark late Friday night and stayed with my editor and her husband. We all headed to the bookstore and arrived about an hour early, which was nice because then I wasn't stressing about being late and was able to just hang out and meet people as they arrived.
The panel itself went really smoothly. I heard a few people say they were kind of dreading sitting through the whole thing, but that we were all so engaging and our books were so different that the time just flew by. So that was nice to hear!
I was hoping to be second on the panel--I didn't want to go first, but I also wanted to get it over with--but I ended up being last. It wasn't so bad though. I alternated between calm and panicked while I waited my turn and had to try to remember proper breathing techniques, but when it was time, I was only moderately nervous. My hand holding the microphone was shaking. I'm sure Shaun could tell since he was right next to me, but the people in the front row said they couldn't tell at all.
It was fun getting to meet several folks from Simon & Schuster and also editors and agents for the other authors. A few book bloggers were there as well, including Kelsey, Mitali, and Danielle. (Sorry, no links. I'm using my husband's laptops, which is like typing with my fingertips cut off.) I was also happy to see my friends Amy, Kim, and Michelle. Yay!
When the presentations and Q&A were over, we signed books, mingled, and then many of us made our way a few blocks up to a billiard bar where we chatted and hung out for another couple of hours. So much fun!
Here are some pictures from the event. This is an endcap of all eleven of our books:
Left to right: Phoebe Kitanidis, Jess Leader, Amy Brecount White, Amber Benson, Emily Horner, Alex Bracken, Laura Toffler-Corrie, Josh Berk, Shaun Hutchinson, and Mindi Scott.
Argh! So, I do have a few more pictures that I want to share, but the internet in our hotel is slooooow speed and it just isn't working out right now. Maybe tomorrow I'll do another picture post. If not, after I get home!
Thank you so much to Books of Wonder for hosting and to the staff for being SO NICE, the other authors for being so awesome, and everyone who came out ot see us. I couldn't have asked for a better first author event! ♥