Houston Teen Book Con and Giveaway

On April 20th I attended the Houston Teen Book Con at a local high school. It was so cool! And yes, it was kinda awkward being an adult without any teens with me but that’s why I brought a few adult friends. It was great to see all those teens interested in reading. Love that! This post might be long and crazy but stay with me ’cause there’s a giveaway or two in it for you 🙂

The con consisted of a keynote speaker, four panels (there were 7 panels to choose from though), and a closing speaker. The panels were a Q&A session where the audience got to ask general questions and all of the authors on the panel would chime in. Then the signing followed. This is a photo of all the authors sitting together on the stage. Look at them all. That’s a lot of wonderful YA authors to travel (most aren’t local authors) from wherever they live to participate in this event and sign books for their fans. Some people love movie stars, I love authors.

The opening speaker was Chris Crutcher, and he was really funny. I haven’t read any of his books but now I want to.

The first panel was “Take Me Away” with Lenore Appelhans, Tera Lynn Childs, A.G. Howard, Sophie Jordan, Stacey Kade, and Shannon Messenger. This was the first panel of the day so the momentum hadn’t gotten going yet, and I didn’t take as many notes as later in the day. But some interesting things were said so I thought I’d write them down and report back hehe. Stacey Kade mentioned the three questions to ask when plotting: 1) Who is the character? 2) What do they want? 3) What is their motivation? The panel authors said to ask a lot of “why” and “what if” questions while plotting and some of them got their idea sparks from people watching, visual aspects, and situations. They also said to any aspiring writers to read Stephen King’s “On Writing”. When asked if they were a pantser or a plotter, they explained that pantsers (writes by the seat of their pants) are “organic” writers, which I thought was an interesting way of looking at it.  I also really liked what Shanon  Messenger said about writers. She said to “be as evil as possible” while writing so that your story is interesting to read. She said “writers are evil people” and I kind of agree. Some of my favorite writers are just cruel to their characters, but that makes for a great story.

The second panel I attended was “Power to The People” with Cinda Williams Chima, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Jennifer Nielsen, Caragh O’Brien, Mary Pearson, and Morgan Rhodes. I took more notes this time. Ms. Chima had some really interesting things to say. She said that “writing a first draft is like leaping into the abyss” which I thought was pretty accurate. I felt that way writing essays in high school and college so why wouldn’t it be the same for authors writing a book. Ms. Chima also said “some books are harder to birth than others”. Mary Pearson had a funny insight on why so many books are unfinished drafts. She said the authors got stuck in “the muddle”, which is the  middle of the story, where you have to make everything make sense. She also said she loves poetry because you have to choose “just the right word to convey an emotion.”  Caragh O’Brien said she was inspired to keep writing no matter how bad it is by a Tennessee Williams quote “the ticking of the clock is loss loss loss.”  Some authors mentioned write or die, which starts deleting your text if you break for too long. Jennifer Nielsen said that site is “like setting fire to explosives and when you reach your word count you stomp it out.”  She also said that “writers share the same mental illness” that their characters become real to them. When asked about writers block they said it is a sign that you are normal and had a good explanation: “writers block is us trying to force our characters to do things they don’t want to do.” Many of the authors in the panel are fantasy writers so when asked about world building they had the following things to say: “getting the initial spark is the easy part” (Morgan Rhodes), “you take real life and you change it up” (Cinda Williams Chima), and “you have an idea of a world and then you decorate it” (Mary Pearson). Caragh O’Brien talked about thinking of the setting, and society rules and conflicts as part of world building. And did you know that Harry Potter was first written on a napkin with a tube of J.K. Rowling’s lipstick? That’s what Jennifer Nielsen told us. I’m gonna have to look up this story, cause that’s really cool. Apparently she couldn’t find either a pen or paper on the train or bus she was on at the time the idea hit her. “Strange associations is the magic of writing” was what Ms. Johnson said about getting the spark of an idea. When the authors were asked how they know it is time to end the book, Ms. Johnson said “emotional closure” is what she looks for, while Ms. Chima said “you hack away at both ends until you draw blood” then your series is done.  Wow. Some really interesting insights from my second panel!

My third panel was “Power of Memory” with Leigh Bardugo, Jessica Brody, Bethany Frenette, Claudia Gray, Dan Krokos, and Lisa McMann. This was the funniest group of people I saw all day! They all picked at each other and kept us laughing. I definitely want to read them all! I bought 3 of the authors and I wanted to go back and buy Dan Krokos’ book because he was just hysterically funny and awesome, but they sold out. Here are some of the quotables form this panel. Dan Krokos explained what the panel name means to him: “do our memories shape who are are?”  He also said to “never hold anything back for the next book” I guess because you never know if your next book will get sold but also because that helps make the current book even more awesome. Claudia Gray said that “writing fan fiction teaches you how big an idea is” and also that “any reaction is awesome” and “it makes you really excited when people get upset” at your work. She also said about why she writes YA “we try to get over everything that happened when we were 16 and then you realize that drama never stops.” Leigh Bardugo said “if you make the same decisions at 30 that you do at 16, you should look at your life choices” and “power is learning”. Dan Krokos added “if you’re not writing, you’re not learning.”  When asked about their thoughts on sappy love scenes Lisa McMann said “the actions don’t mimic what you’re feeling inside”. Dan Krokos added “I’m a dude, I had to add sap” hehe. Told ya he was a hoot. Jessica Brody said “sap is relative” and talked about having a sap radar. Leigh Bardugo said “any moment, whether romantic or tragic, needs to be earned”. I absolutely love that! That is exactly why I enjoy certain types of stories, where the characters endure and feel and grow. They “earn” their emotions and character development. This is why Leigh Bardugo’s book is the one I purchased two copies of, one for giveaway!

The final panel for the day that I attended was “Addicted to Love” with Justina Chen, Stacey Jay, Mary Lindsey, Jennifer E. Smith, and Tamara Ireland Stone. When this panel was asked why they write romance, here is what some of the authors said: “only when they figure out who they are, are the characters romance-ready” (Justina Chen), “a special kind of happiness that you only get when you fall in love” (Stacey Jay), “a relationship (whatever it is) that makes you better, that’s the essence of it all” (Mary Lindsey), “what happens when two people come together at just the right moment in their lives” (Tamara Stone). The authors were asked if they relate personal experiences in their books and Mary Lindsey referenced “method acting” and said she always puts her terrified 5 year old self (who got trapped in a locker all day) in her books in some form. Tamara Stone also had the following fun thing to say: “there’s little pieces of me sprinkled into my books – like Easter eggs for my friends to find.” On why writing is awesome Justina Chen said “being paid to dream is incredibly heavy and wonderful.” She also said that writer’s block can be “when the author does not want to face a hard truth.” Jennifer E. Smith suggested that aspiring authors keep writing because “it is easier to edit something than nothing.”

 The closing speaker was Sharon Draper. She said about writing that you “go into writing for the love, if they pay you that’s icing on the cake.” She also said that not everyone can be a writer, but everyone can be a reader, and that “the art of putting the book together is the same as the art of reading”.  She also read a few excerpts from some of her books and wow she has some really interesting stuff. I haven’t read anything by her yet but now I want to as well.

I added so many books to my to-read shelf because of this con. I have over 5000 books on my Goodreads to-read shelf. I know I won’t ever get to them all, unless I become immortal. But I add books that interest me and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Now for the fun part. I bought 7 books – 6 for myself and one to give away. I meant to only buy 5 books but the 6th just kinda happened. And more almost happened but I had to tell myself to stop. All but one of these is hard back. So not only did I have to pay hard back prices (where I spent over a hundred dollars, but wanted to buy all these awesome books and could have spent hundreds), I then had to lug them around all day until the signing. Let me tell you I got a work out! These are heavy! As it was going to 6 authors signings and waiting in each individual line took up most of the time allocated for signing, so I really couldn’t have gotten many more anyway.

So here’s my haul: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (and giveaway copy!), Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey (the only paperback), Unremembered by Jessica Brody, Sweet Shadows by Tera Lynn Childs (book 2 in Medusa Girls), Promised by Caragh O’Brien (book 3 of the awesome Birthmarked trilogy!), and Spellcaster by Claudia Gray.

I have so many books that I don’t always know all that I already have, and unfortunately I found an ARC of Sweet Shadows at home. I mean, I was still going to get a book signed by Tera Lynn Childs, but I could have chosen a different book! Gah! So.. since I now have the finished signed to me copy, I will give away my ARC that I apparently won in a giveaway some time ago. So, if you’re interested in the ARC (advanced reader copy, uncorrected proof, whatever you want to call it) of Sweet Shadows (book #2 in the Medusa Girls series) by Tera Lynn Childs, let me know in the comments and I will pick a winner 🙂 See, it pays to read this whole thing, huh?

Now, I am giving away a signed copy of Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Goodreads description: The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.

I’ve heard such amazing things about this book not only from reviewers but other authors. Also, her book is optioned for a movie by the same people who made Harry Potter movies! So, click on the giveaway link below to enter to win your own signed copy! You’re welcome 🙂 The sequel, Siege and Storm, releases June 4th.

Enter the giveaway using the rafflecopter link below. This giveaway is US only for now. (We’ll work on international giveaways soon.)

I also wanted to share some photos I took with/of the authors while getting their books signed at this event so here we go:

With Caragh O’Brien

Mary Lindsey

With Claudia Gray

With Jessica Brody

With Leigh Bardugo

With Tera Lynn Childs

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