Showing posts with label book signing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book signing. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Near-Fiascoes in Book Event World

Inspired by Shannon Hale's Mortification Monday (thanks Wendy!) this week some of the Buzz Girls are sharing book event fiascoes with the world. Now, hopefully I'm not jinxing myself (*throws salt over shoulder*) but I've never had a true book event fiasco. I've had some near misses, though, so I'll dish on those...

  • For my debut launch party at Houston's Blue Willow Bookshop, my parents were planning on flying down from Oklahoma City to join the party. It was their only child's first book and they wanted to be there to celebrate. They packed their overnight bag, went to the airport, and... realized that they had misread the landing time as the departure time. They had missed their flight! Luckily, they caught the next one (it's only a hour long flight, thank goodness) and, despite cutting it quite close, made it just in time!
  • My next signing was at Katy Budget Books, also in Houston. Unfortunately, that was the time when my mother was in the hospital and I was up in Oklahoma City to be with her and my dad. She was still in the hospital, but stable, and I didn't want to flake out on the booksigning. So I bought a ticket down and back on the same day, leaving myself plenty of time to get to the signing. Three hours extra, in fact. Guess how late my plane took off? Yep, three hours! I made it, though... barely. However, it was summer vacation, and apparently everyone who had been in the store the week before had been buying books for their trips because, literally, two people showed up. And I knew one of them. It was a very emotionally draining day, but meeting the one fan who came in already having read my book and asking me to sign the cover with silver marker, to take pictures with her for her blog, that made it all worthwhile.

All of my other events have been pretty smooth (*knocks on wood*) with only the typical no-one-shows-up dramas and do-I-have-to-read-pages worries. If those are the worst things that ever happen in my booksigning career, then I'll county myself lucky. (*goes in search of four-leaf clovers*)

Hugs,
TLC

teralynnchilds.com

Friday, April 22, 2011

Book Event Fiascos

I absolutely love book events, whether I'm The Author, an author, or a fan of the author. And when these events run smoothly for everybody involved, great. Unfortunately, glitches are inevitable, and I've had my share.


As you might know, RWA (Romance Writers of America) holds its national conference every summer. Last year, it took place in Orlando, FL. Since it was the summer Lifted came out, I was especially excited because I was eligible to sign at the gigantic book event that takes place the night before the conference. Authors, writers, and readers flood into a ballroom in hopes to get books signed by Meg Cabot, Nora Roberts, and Wendy Toliver.



Ha! But really, I happen to have family and friends in Orlando, and they sweet-talked (bribed?) all their friends into coming. So I was expecting a fairly sizable crowd, if only to brush by me and grab a free bookmark. Brandishing my "Yes I'm supposed to be here" pass, I strolled through the rows and rows of authors (nicer to stalk this way than in the bathrooms).




When I found my name tent, I just stood there, dumbstruck. No books. As I tried to process the horrible truth that my books had not made it, people voiced their condolences and I tried to smile and pretend like it was no big deal that bunches of people were coming to see me, and that I'd booked a red eye flight and paid for an extra night at the hotel so I could be there on time. Then Marley and Tina had a fabulous idea: Write "Sold Out" on my name tent and just smile and hand out bookmarks. Sure enough, it drummed up some interest and even though I'd gotten a hold of my "fans" and told them not to come, I had a wonderful time meeting readers and other writers. The rest of the conference was perfect, from visiting Harry Potter at Universal with my fabulous agent Christina Hogrebe to hobnobbing with the Buzz Girls in our Awards Night finery (photo: left to right Tina, Marley, me, Tera).

If you're an author, have you ever had a book event glitch? Here's a link to Shannon Hale's stories, and click here for James Dashner's.






What I'm reading: The Book Thief (still, because I'm spending so much time on my proposal)

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Good Things Happen in Vegas (Sometimes)

Anyone who's read my blog or follows my tweets knows that Vegas is not my favorite place on Earth. It's hot.




The people are either angry or crazy or both.




And the tourists can be worse.




The positive energy of the Strip is quite often sucked away by negative energy everywhere else. But... occasionally good things do happen.

Like amazing views from a rooftop restaurant.




And the theatre here ranges from the bizarre to the amazing. So far this summer I've seen Cher and Viva Elvis! And they both rocked.

The best thing that's happened in Vegas this summer, though, is that I'm going to do my first ever Borders signing. My first ever chain store signing, actually. If you're in or around Vegas, here are the details:

Who: me and mer princess Lily Sanderson
When: Saturday, July 24th @ 2:00pm
Where: Borders on north Rainbow
Why: Awesomeness

Hope to see some Buzz readers there!

Hugs,
TLC

http://www.teralynnchilds.com
http://twitter.com/teralynnchilds

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Event, Chat, and a Winner!

If you or your friends happen to be in the Little Rock, Arkansas area this Saturday...come check out the Books, Blood & Bones young adult author book extravaganza!

Books, Blood & Bones
Come meet some of your Favorite Authors
Host: Books-A-Million North Little Rock
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2009
Time: 5:00pm - 8:00pm (CT)
Location: Books-A-Million
Street: 2747 Lakewood Village Dr
City/Town: North Little Rock, AR

Book Signing By Authors: Melissa Francis, Stacey Jay, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Linda Gerber, Marley Gibson, and Chloe Neill. Creatures of the Night Costume Contest. Come as your favorite Vamp, Vampire, or Mystery Character. Paranormal/Mystery Trivia Contest.

Also, tonight, please join me and my co-authors, Patrick Burns and Dave Schrader for a live chat at The Knight Agency. Click here for the login to the chat site.

And finally, the winner of last week's givaway for CHRISTMAS MIRACLES is Girlforchrist. Please contact me at marley_gibson (AT) yahoo (DOT) com with your snail mail address and I'll get a copy of the book out to you ASAP.

Thanks so much!
Marley = )

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Writer at work

Sorry for the late post today! Still on the road on the world's longest road trip...and working hard on GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON, book three in the Ghost Huntress series. The book is due on July 17th, so I'm writing my fingers to the bone.

The road trip is still going great. Spent a lot of time with my family in Alabama where we celebrated the Fourth and had a great time. (Even buzzed over to Biloxi and won about $200 at roulette at the casino...saaaaweeeeet!)

I made a pilgrimage to my alma mater, The University of Alabama, and visited the Walk of Fame displaying our many national championships in football...



Spent some time with my niece, Sarah...



Is that a halo I see above me?...



Hung out with my parents. Here's me and my mommy...



Made a new friend...unfortunately, I ate him...



I signed and sold books at the Barnes and Noble in the Easter Shore Plaza...







And now, just basking in the sun and writing my book. Hope everyone had an amazing Fourth of July! I'll close with a picture of the fireworks in my parents' neighborhood...



Hugs,
Marley = )

GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING (Available Now! Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE (Coming September 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON (Coming May 2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
THE OTHER SIDE: A TEEN'S GUIDE TO GHOST HUNTING AND THE PARANORMAL
(Coming September 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
CHRISTMAS MIRACLES (Coming October 2009, St. Martin's Press)
SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (Available from Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (Available from Puffin Books)

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Summer Travel!

Happy July 1st everyone...and to my friends north of the border, HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!



Sorry I missed blogging last week, but I was sort of handed a curve ball in my life that I've been dealing with. Suffice it to say that when life tosses a ball at you like that, you can step away from the plate and let it sail by you or you can swing hard for the fences.

I've chosen to swing for the fences.

I'm currently on a six week road trip that is taking me all over our great nation attending conferences, doing book signings, visiting friends and family, and just seeing the great American countryside.

So far, I've been to Niagara Falls...



Then, I went up to the north woods of Wisconsin. Check out the deer and the sunset on the lake...





Spent a solemn moment at the tomb of Abraham Lincoln...



Saw (and went into and up to the top of) the St. Louis Arch...



And stood at the gate of Graceland late at night...



Still on the road with a lot more ahead of me. Today, I'm stopping at my alma mater, The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa before heading down to the gulf coast to visit my parents, do more book signings, and spend time at the beach.

Hope everyone is having an awesome summer, a spectacular Canada Day, and a very Happy Fourth of July this weekend!

Hugs,
Marley = )

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Gone to the Beach...

Ahhh...vacation. What can I say? It's the end of summer, which calls for one more fling with the sun and surf. One more chance to get my skin golden brown and delicious to get me through the pasty-white New England winter. Fortunately, Tropical Storm Fay decided not to mess with my vacay too much and I have been happily floating in the pool, enjoying the sun, reading good books, and (hopefully) writing one. Couldn't ask for a better time.

And while I was in Daphne, Alabama, visiting the parentals, I stopped in at the local Barnes & Noble to sign stock of my books SORORITY 101: ZETA OR OMEGA? and SORORITY 101: THE NEW SISTERS. I was thrilled when then manager said he'd display them at the featured counter...next to a triva book about my Crimson Tide that he said is "flying" off the shelf.



While I was there, I checked out some of my friend's books!

Here's Tera Lynn's book...



And BOTH of Stephanie's books...



But my favorite view of all...the view from my beach house. Ahhhh...does it get any better than this?



What are you going to do to celebrate (mourn?) the end of summer? Let us know!

Hugs,
Marley = )

SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (Available Now! Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (Available Now! Puffin Books)
GHOST HUNTRESS Series (Coming May 2009, Houghton Mifflin)

Saturday, July 26, 2008

How do you prepare for travel?

Well...as you're reading this, I'm wheel's up over the east coast, winging it down to Louisville, Kentucky until Wednesday morning and then it's off to San Francisco, California. So, from 90 degrees to 65 in the course of a week. How does one prepare for travel like this?

First off, why Louisville, you may ask? In the continuation of research for my GHOST HUNTRESS series coming out in May 2009, I like to go on as many ghost investigations as I can. This time, we're headed to Waverly Hills Sanitarium, thanks to Darkness Radio.



Waverly Hills was the home to thousands of tuberculosis patients from 1926 until it closed in 1961. According to records, some 63,000 people died here over the years and investigators are known to get some CRAZY evidence while lurking the halls and floors. It's all in the name of research!

From there, we head to the Romance Writers of America National Conference in San Francisco. I'm very excited because not only do I get to hand with my fellow Buzz girls, I'm participating in the literacy signing for the first time. Whooohooo!! Funny, in 2004, I met Rachel Gibson at the signing and said to her, "One day, I'll be sitting next to you." And I am! If you're coming to the conference, please stop by and visit and get some books.



But in preparating for these trips, there's so much to do. There's stopping the mail and getting everything settled at work. There's laundry and dry cleaning. Figuring out what goes to Louisville and what goes to San Fran. What shoes do I take? Do I have time for a pedicure?

And speaking of pedicures...have you seen this? Wicked crazy, eh? I don't know what I think of it. It's from my old neck of the woods, Northern Virgina/DC area:



Also, during all of this, I'm working hard every day writing the second book in the GHOST HUNTRESS series, THE GUIDANCE. My editor is very anxious to read it, so I'm doing some major writing any spare minute I can grab. (BTW, I've seen the first comp of the cover and WHOA!!! Lovin' it! As soon as I have the final, I'll post it here.)

But I can't wait. What's more fun than ghost hunting, followed by a conference with (almost) all of your best writing friends? (Many will be missed this year...) And, if you're at the conference and you see me, please introduce yourself. I'd love to see you at the signing or at one of my two workshops that I'm doing:

Thursday, July 31
3:15-4:15 p.m. - Building Buzz in YA (CAREER) — Tera Childs, Heather Davis, Simone, Elkeles, Marley Gibson, and Dona Sarkar-Mishra

The Buzz girls—authors of teen romances and the Books, Boys, Buzz... blog—dish on everything from deciphering who exactly is the teen audience today, how to use the Internet, and other ways to market young-adult books.

Thursday, July 31
4:30-5:30 p.m. - Gossip Girls (CAREER) – Marley Gibson and Elaine Spencer

What really goes on when working with an agent? Author Marley Gibson and agent Elaine Spencer dish the dirt and give behind-the-scenes info on having a successful agent-author relationship.

How do you prepare for a trip? Safe travels to everyone!

Hugs,
Marley = )

SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (Available Now! Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (Available Now! Puffin Books)
GHOST HUNTRESS SERIES (Coming May 2009, Houghton Mifflin)

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Pics from the Book Launch Party!

Last night was the launch party for my SORORITY 101 books!



We had an amazing crowd of almost 100 people at The Lenox Hotel in Boston. What a great turnout! The room was decorated in pinks and greens to match the book covers.



And there were balloons!



Check out the food...passed appetizers, cheese, fruit, veggies...



And petit fours with the Greek alphabet on them...



Here's my awesome hubby, best friend, webmaster and party co-host, Mike...



So many wonderful friends, colleagues, fellow writers, and family members attended.

Here I am with my friends Jen, Kristin, Penny, and Rebecca...



And here I am with my brother, Jeff, and cousin, Donna Lee...



We had a great turn out from the lovely ladies of the New England RWA chapter...



My agent, Deidre Knight, introduces me...



And I address the crowd, thanking everyone for coming and buying the books...



Check out the room! The Lenox rocked! Amazing staff, great service and so much hospitality!



Of course, there was book signing! I used the gorgeous new Cross pen that my writing friends and agency sistahs Mel, Maria, Louisa, and Kristen gave me...





It was a phenomenal night and I can't thank everyone enough for coming out! What a thrill. Thanks to everyone who picked up the book and I hope you love it.

Hugs,
Marley = )

SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? - Now Available!
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters - Now Available!
GHOST HUNTRESS Series (Begins May 2009, Houghton Mifflin)

Friday, August 31, 2007

Booksigning!

Last week I talked about my upcoming Mesa, Arizona booksigning with Janette Rallison. Here’s the follow-up, complete with a few pictures.


Janette lives in the Phoenix area, and I had the pleasure of meeting many of the people in her life. She joked it was like attending her own funeral-- to which I must add that if her funeral ends up being as much fun as this signing, it’s well-worth it to outlive her and attend! :) In addition, we got to meet some teens, teachers, librarians, writers, industry professionals and random shoppers, all who were warm and fun and contributed to a lovely evening.


When the event was over, exhausted and elated, Janette and I clowned around in front of the two-sided sign that the marvelous events manager, Donna Power, had provided for us. Here we are, posing with the side that bore my name:



And now, speaking of good times, have you been over to Stephanie Hale’s MySpace site (www.myspace.com/stephhale) to cast your vote on who should win the Dooney and Bourke bag? If not, walk, don’t run!

Tina

Tina Ferraro
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
How to Hook a Hottie, January, 2008
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, Spring, 2009
www.tinaferraro.com