Forgot to tell ya I went to BEA and BBC!! Wrap-up Finally

Am I the worst or what?? I just disappeared without a trace! Here's the thing, I've been dying to go back to BEA (Book Expo America) ever since last year's ended. I just really wasn't sure if I'd be able to get the days off from work. So this was quite last minute. So last minute I literally registered for my badge the Monday before lol. It's a good thing that I live in New York! So anywho, it became a scramble to prepare everything at the last minute. Needless to say I had a blast! First event I went to  was the Teen Author event at the Mulberry Library. It was pretty tight in there and quite hot but I was able to meet a few cool authors including Susan Colasanti, Hannah Moskowitz, Ellen Hopkins, Michelle Zink and Carrie Jones below. 

I wasn't able to go to BEA until that Wednesday so I had to move quickly because I'd already missed so much. My first stop was the Elizabeth Scott signing. She is the best!  

I was just walking around and saw someone with a crown on their head. Who else could it be? Flavor Flavvvvvvv LOL. Apparently he has a book coming out. This should be interesting. I just hope it's filled with his personality.

The day started off a little slow for me because everywhere I went they were running out of books. At first I was a little discouraged but then the bottom line is they alll have to come out some time :) I also found myself being a lot more selective than I was last year. Last year I was just a kid in a candy store. I took pretty much anything that was given out. Needless to say I still have most of those things just collecting dust. So this year I only took what I knew I was going to read. 

After Day One was over I went to the Class of 2k11 event at Books of Wonder. I had such a great time there as usual. There were so many authors there including , Gae Polisner, Amy Holder, Amy Fellner and more. They were all so nice. A few had even heard of my blog so that was a nice surprise!   

 Emma Michaels, Keri from Quill Cafe, and me. They were so fun to hang out with.

Even later that night I went to a Blogger/Author dinner that Good Choice Reading put together. The authors that came were Kristie Cook, A.M. Robinson and Emma Michaels. So many bloggers showed up including Bookshelf Lust, Sniffly Kitty, Read My Mind, Yara from Once Upon a Twilight, and Reader Teens just to name a few. I had a really good time. The food was good of course and the drinks were strong! We even had a little question and answer period with the authors. We talked about negative reviews, what they like to see from us, and what can be hurtful. Kristi Cook even came bringing books that other bloggers didn't get a chance to snag during the expo. A.M. Robinson also brought 2 copies of her book and I won one for myself woohoo! 

Damaris from Good Choice Reading eating her tempura and Jenna from Avid Reader's Musings.

Sorry it's a bit blurry but this is the Blogger table.

Okay, now Day Two at BEA was a lot more quieter. First stop of course was Ellen Hopkins signing for Perfect!

 Melissa Marr and I! 

 Want to know what my lunch was on Day Two? One chicken empanada from a little stand! I ate that sitting on the floor chatting with Pirate Penguin. BEA puts me on a mandatory diet that I never plan on being on. I tend to forget to eat until I suddenly feel like I'm going to pass out in the aisle. Usually the last is good because the booths start giving away almost everything in their booths including books, and swag. They are also easier to chat with because it's not as busy anymore. Last year, each day I lugged tote bag after tote bag all the way home. This time I got a little smarter. Not a whole lot just a little. I decided to open up a box at the convention and just keep loading it up and at the end I Fed Exed it to my house (yes in NY). 

The Book Blogger Convention was fantastic!!! I'm so happy I was able to go this year. It was really nice to be around so many people that were into what I'm into. I met so many bloggers and publicists. Below is Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches Trashy Books who was the first seminar. She had some great things to say about blogging. She said that as bloggers we had to kick our own ass. Very informative.

 Then I went to the Publisher's panel below.They had great things to say about bloggers. They said that we help to sell books. Did you hear that? Bloggers sell books!! There was also a question and answer period that was priceless. Do they care about negative reviews? Nope.

 Then I went to the panel for publicists. They really know how to make a blogger feel appreciated. One publicist even admitted to going out and purchasing books from the store just to mail them to bloggers to review. That's dedication.

 There was lunch which was awesommeeeee. Then the very exciting Author Speed Dating event. It was basically tables filled with bloggers and one or two authors would come sit with us and pitch their book. That was the idea. Well let's just say things got awkward at times but in a funny way. One side was YA and the other side was Adult. Of course I sat on the YA side. Well at one point an Adult author had wandered over to our table and it was strange because obviously none of us were interested. In the end you could probably hear a pin drop. Other than that hilarious moment it was great. Seeing right next to some of these authors was unbelievable. Below is myself and Lisa McMann!! I couldn't believe she was there. We got to ask her anything. 

 Below is myself and a few other bloggers with Michele Hodkin author of the Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Did I mention I got a t-shirt?? Love it! Slept in it the first night. Anywho, Michele was sooo sweet.

 Other authors that were there that I didn't get a picture with were Elizabeth Scott, Daniel Nayeri who says I should brand "Only Sexy" and get t-shirts lol. Can't wait for his new book to come out in the Fall. Violet Herbadasher was also there. My goodness she is the cutest thing. So small and full of energy! Apparently she's into so many other things and she just happens to be an author as well lol. 

BBC and BEA was the best experience this year. I met so many bloggers and sooo many authors. The time and money spent was well worth it. If you can come next year definitely do! It's so worth it.