Love in the Pages...

Love, love, love. We’re celebrating all things love related, so how can I not mention my love of books!

I love how books bring people together. I love how wonderful it is to meet readers. I love talking about stories and characters and enjoying the “community” of the book together. Stephen King says (and here I’m paraphrasing) that books require that you enter the author’s world and that together, you imagine. The author imagines and captures her world on the page. The reader absorbs the world and imagines it in her mind. Together, you build the story. Isn’t that cool and so true?

Your reading of a book is unique. It’s intimate and special and all your own. And yet – all readers of a book have shared something together. It’s unlike anything else in the world. So there you go. My love affair with books revealed.

Well, I have to say, this has been an extremely lucky month for a booklover like me. Last week I got to meet Carrie Jones, the amazing author of Need, Captivate and other great books, and vampire-book author Alyxandra Harvey, together on their signing tour across the US.

I found Carrie extremely humble, super sweet, and hilarious. She’s a friend of a friend, so along with a few other YA authors, we chatted and laughed over turkey and chili-veggie burgers at a local joint. I always love hearing how everyone approaches writing their books – and it’s just amazing to me how different everyone’s process can be. Here’s a pic of Carrie, along with Liz Gallagher and Alyxandra, showing off their books at B & N.

To top off an already great week, this last Saturday, Liz and I got to meet Buzz Girl Dona Sarkar for a delicious brunch before heading to our signing at Mockingbird Books. Look how cute these two talented ladies are! Liz was decked out in pink in honor of the day - and Dona is, well, Dona is always decked out no matter where she goes.

They have an annual event at Mockingbird Books, and in other indie bookstores, called Kids *Heart* Books – a day of signings and readings all for young readers. The store owner, Sue, and her fabulous staff made it a super great event. And I left with a bag of homemade chocolate madeleines as a thank you! That’s a win-win, if I’ve ever tasted one.

So now for today's giveaway:

To win a freshly signed copy of Alyxandra Harvey’s new twist on a vampire YA novel, Hearts At Stake, tell me in the comments what you love most about books or reading.

I’ll randomly pick a winner at the end of the week, and Buzz Girl Wendy Toliver will announce the winner on Sunday! Feel free to pass on a link to our blog and tell your friends to comment to win. Remember you can comment on any of the posts this week up until the winners are revealed.

Much love to all you Buzz Blog readers and booklovers everywhere!

Heather

www.heatherdavisbooks.com

The Clearing – April 2010 HMH

Never Cry Werewolf – Sept 2009 HarperTeen

Powell's Bookstore!

I first want to say this morning that I'm incredibly saddened by the tragedy in Haiti. Please keep the people who are dealing with so much devestation in your prayers and if you are able, donate to one of the many charities in motion to help with relief... When things like this happen, it's important to do what you can for those who are hurting and remember to hug the ones you love.

In much lighter news, my post today is about one of the world's great bookstores --

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to spend time in Portland, Oregon, home of one of the country’s great book destinations – Powell’s Books. It’s a humongous store, chock full of so many volumes, there is a giant board to direct you to the right room of the store. People plan their trips to Portland around this amazing store – so it’s a good thing there are some great hotels nearby. www.powells.com

I loved walking around the store. There’s such amazing energy at Powell’s – you’re surrounded by people who love books as much as you do probably, and the walls are covered with shelves – rows and rows of stories you’ve yet to discover.

In the teen section, I found Buzz Girl books – and mine, though it was on a high shelf, was faced out! The bookseller, Florence, was very sweet and let me sign the copies for the store. Me, signing books at Powell’s?

It’s still unreal and I can’t believe that this dream of mine to become a writer has come true. I truly have a “pinch me” moment when I see Shelby staring out from the cover of Never Cry Werewolf. And seeing her there at Powell’s reminded me how grateful I am for young adult readers and my writing friends that have help bring my dream to life!

I know I’ve talked about Indie Bookstores before, but I’m curious if there are any other big bookstores like Powell’s around the country? Do you have a destination bookstore in your hometown? I think I may need to plan some more book field trips…

Hugs!


Heather

http://www.heatherdavisbooks.com/
The Clearing – April 2010 HMH
Never Cry Werewolf – Sept. 2009 HarperTeen