March Events Wrap-Up

March was an amazing month for this debut author. After the madness of launching Symptoms of Being Human in February, I had a full month of events–two book festivals, a library appearance, and a panel and signing at my local Barnes & Noble store. So this post is a digital scrapbook of sorts, because I want to share this part of the author experience with you. (For moaning about edits, please see twitter.)

 NoVa Teen Book Festival

My first ever festival appearance was at NoVa Teen Book Festival in Arlington, Virginia, last month. Highlights included panel appearances with NY Times Bestsellers Julie Murphy (Dumplin’) and Tommy Wallach (We All Looked Up), meeting my author cousin-in-law, Randy Ribay (An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes), and finally getting to thank author Robin Talley (What We Left Behind) for her generous blurb for Symptoms of Being Human. But the best part by far? Meeting and listening to readers. So inspiring.

IT’S SNOWING

All the Authors at NoVa Teen Book Festival 2016

Me, Julie Murphy, and Kelly Zekas

Robin Talley & Me

Author Sandy Hall, Librarian Kim Dare, and Me

Me & Hannah Barnaby

Randy Ribay (my cousin-in-law) and Me

The Sweet Sixteens at NoVa Teen

Maggie Thrash & Me at NoVa Teen

Danielle Ellison, the festival organizer, & Me

Representing The Trevor Project!

Author Panel at LA Central Library

L-R: Mary McCoy, Aaron Hartzler, Jeff Garvin, Marisa Reichardt, Cordelia Jensen, Ingrid Sundberg.

I think I’m reacting to Aaron’s analysis of Grease in this photo–but I don’t remember it clearly.

Thanks to author & librarian Mary McCoy for an inspiring and insightful panel at the LA Central Library last month. Mary was a great moderator. Marisa brought emotional weight and a beach vibe to the panel. Ingrid and Cordelia both inspired me with their commitment to artistic principles and creative freedom. I wanted to go home and write.

City of Commerce Book Festival

L-R Andrew Smith, Robyn Schneider, Me, Gretchen McNeil

Students & Staff holding Author Signs outside

With Andrew Smith

With fellow B+B Author Gretchen McNeil

With Julie Berry

With Students, Staff, Author Julie Berry, and Author/Illustrator Jen Wang

Representing The Trevor Project!

I was thrilled to participate in the inaugural Commerce Loves Reading Book Festival. Highlights included being on a panel with Andrew Smith (Winger, Grasshopper Jungle)–one of my YA writer heroes, and hanging out with fellow B+B author Gretchen McNeil.

YA Author Panel at B&N Chino Hills

L-R Jeff Garvin, Kali Wallace, Marisa Reichardt

Jeff Garvin, Kali Wallace, Amy Boylan (Customer Relations Manager), Marisa Reichardt

Signing books at Barnes & Noble Chino Hills

Signing books at Barnes & Noble Chino Hills

Traveling to DC was a blast, and sitting on panels around LA was a dream come true–but I was particularly excited about my last event in March: a panel and signing at my local Barnes & Noble store. This was the store I roamed weekly as an unpublished author, walking past the shelf where my book might one day appear–so it was a homecoming of sorts. Customer Relations Manager Amy Boylan made it a great one, and I was grateful that my fellow 2016 debut authors Kali Wallace (Shallow Graves) and Marisa Reichardt (Underwater) made time to come down. We were joined by friends, family, local students, and community members for a great Q&A about reading, writing, and storytelling.

What’s Next?

I’ll be at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Sunday, April 10 (details here.)
There are more events brewing for the summer–make sure you sign up for my newsletter so you won’t miss anything (and I’m running a giveaway for readers who subscribe by 4/15, so sign up now!)