Meeting John Green

John Green and his brother Hank have turned themselves into rockstars. I'm sure most of that has to do with their vlogs (if you haven't heard of the vlogbrothers, check out their videos. They're insane, yet hilarious), but then there's John's actual books. I've only read Looking for Alaska, and while it's not necessarily a style I read often (or really want to write necessarily), the dude's so smart. His smartness just oozes off the pages of his books. It's really quite frustrating. It makes you want to quit writing. It makes you want to read everything he's written. It makes you want to get out your dictionary and write a list of all the awesome new words he's introducing you to so you can incorporate them in your own writing and appear, with intense effort, half as intelligent as he is without trying.

His book tour is just that: A TOUR. It has a program and everything. It's a SHOW. His brother Hank starts off with a sock puppet routine, informing us of the death of his sock brother by dog and then he marvels at how the audience could possibly think such a tragedy is humorous.

Then the sock introduces John, NYT #1 best-selling author, of course, and he reads the second chapter from his new book, The Fault in Our Stars. (I notice how many authors do readings from the second chapter of their stories.... interesting)

We laughed, we were touched, we were forced to contemplate LIFE. All in one chapter. The dude's that good. Then Hank came back out with his guitar and sang a few songs, one of which details his desire for JK Rowling to write an 8th Harry Potter book. In his chorus: "I wan't JK Rowling to say that the epilogue was crap, cause we all know it was crap." Now... personally I needed that epilogue. I wanted to know what happened 19 years later. You can't keep dragging out a perfect series just because you like it, because then it really will turn into crap. SUCK IT UP, HANK! ;)

They ended the show with a Q&A, and when the timer runs out, whichever of the brothers is caught talking gets SHOCKED as punishment. Yep, SHOCKED. John was the unlucky one this time, and he was angry about it. I managed to snap a picture just as he was in full pain, and when it was my turn to meet him, I told him about it. What else did I have to say? I was determined not to be a gushy fan girl and blabber on, and I also didn't want to just stand there and say nothing. So I said, "I caught a picture of your face just as you were shocked." John: "That sounds horrifying." Me: "Oh... it is." John: "I must see this. Send it to me."

So I tweeted it to him the next day, and he RETWEETED it. Now, for those of you on Twitter, you understand that this tweet of mine just went out to over a million followers, including Maureen Johnson, who also retweeted it and tweeted to me: "NEW SCREENSAVER!" My Saturday was full of retweets and funny responses and a handful of new followers. My 15 minutes of fame. *dies*

Did you make it out to see John and Hank Green on their tour? Do you read his books?

It's Friday! And the Ally Carter Book Signing!! (Molto Fantastico!)

Went to Ally Carter's signing last night here in Houston. She was delightful! Hilarious, inspiring, friendly! Everything you'd want an author to be when you go to an event.

There were quite a few young girls there (understandably), and my friend and I were amazed at the questions they asked. They were so insightful! Why wasn't I that smart when I was in junior high?! Must get a time machine programmed to 1997 and tell myself, "you ARE cool", and "you should really think about reading more". Maybe I would have started writing more seriously sooner. But what's done is done and everything happens because it's supposed to! So no "shoulda coulda woulda" from me!

A few points of interest from the evening, Ally mentioned how securing the Gallagher Girls series with the publisher was like them asking, "What's your favorite type of food?" "Pizza." "Well congratulations you get to eat pizza every night for the rest of your life!" And at first it's fantastic, but then you start to feel that you want to taste something else. That's where Heist Society came in to play. Inspired from a line she heard in an audio book she was listening to in her car. Something about a cat burglar. Then she knew she had to write a book about a burglar named Kat.

Her inspiration for the Gallagher Girls happened while she was half heartedly watching an episode of Alias (obsessed with that show! Miss it terribly!) with the TV on mute. She looked up from what she was doing just at the right moment that made her think, "Does that girl go to a boarding school for spies?" She unmuted and discovered she was very wrong, but the idea stuck.

Another interesting tidbit; a girl asked why we never see the girl's entire face on the cover of the Gallagher Girls books. She's a SPY that's why! And they originally wanted the first model to do all the covers, but she can't model again until her grades are up (hilarious!), and they've actually had a different model on each of the 4 covers done so far. The second book is a photoshopped face of the first girl on a different girl's body. HA! Marketing... which is also the reason the uniforms are a different color on each cover, so the reader could easily see which one was new.

She took the time to talk to every single person, and was very personable with the young girls, who were a bit star struck. She took photos, signed ALL the books they brought, asked everyone questions... it was such a joy to see an author signing done this way. I was already a fan of her work, but I'm even more so now a fan of her.

And yes, I did snag an extra signed copy for a GIVEAWAY!! I will probably announce it officially on Monday, or Tuesday (mio compleanno), so shhhhh!

Anyway! Tonight also has fun things in store, because I will get to meet these lovely boys again!!

Can't wait to shake their hands (after I wipe the sweat off of mine), and hopefully sneak a picture in with them since I wasn't able to last time... we'll see. THANKS FOR THE TICKETS DAD! Grazie papa! Sono molto eccitato! (I don't know why I feel the need to teach y'all Italian today! lol.)

Venerdi felice! (Happy Friday!)

Ally Carter - Heist Society - Tonight!

Tonight (and tomorrow night), Ally Carter (The Gallagher Girls series) will be in Houston promoting the first book of her new young adult series, Heist Society. It sounds like a lot of fun! The film rights for this were snatched up VERY quickly, so that's exciting to hear about a new book! Buzz buzz buzz!! I'm anxious to hear what wisdoms Ally has to pass along!

From Goodreads:
When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat's dad needs her help.

For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in history-or at least her family's (very crooked) history.

Now, would any of you be interested in winning a signed copy of Heist Society in a contest if I get my hands on an extra one? First edition hardback! Let me know (today, please ;)!!