Day #8697 - Four Times the Fun

Last night I had the opportunity to go to a stop on the Fierce Reads tour at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Illinois (my favorite independent bookstore which I declare my love for many, many times on my book review blog and Twitter). These events are really fun to me for a number of reasons, but I can tell that this one will stick with me for a few special reasons.

With Jenn and Leigh

I got to town a few hours before the event, meeting up with three other fantastic book bloggers, Heidi, Erica, and Lynn. We all grabbed dinner together and the conversation never stopped. There are no people quite like book people - our enthusiasm for stories and all that comes with them is boundless. It was the kind of discussion that other people may find crazy, but I couldn't have felt more at home or like I was among "my people."

With Emmy and Anna

And the good times just kept on coming. The event itself was a blast, featuring four authors: Anna Banks (Of Poseidon), Leigh Bardugo (Shadow and Bone), Jennifer Bosworth (Struck), and Emmy Laybourne (Monument 14). The event itself was a blast too. Even though it is the Fierce Reads Tour and many of these books have a bit of a dark side or edge to them, there were a lot of smiles to be had and laughter in the room. One aspect of it all that I found to be particularly fantastic is that all four of these incredible writers are debut novelists. As an aspiring writer myself who is currently building up quite the collection of rejection letters, it was great to see people who were once in the same position I'm in, and not so long ago. They still vividly remember how this part feels, and now their hard work has paid off. They're on their first ever book tour, answering questions, taking pictures, and signing stock. Their stories are finally out in the world and I can't wait to explore each and every one of them. We made jokes about the crazy road to publication and they even gave me hugs and words of encouragement to keep trying and querying and most importantly writing. I left with such a good feeling that even though I woke up this morning with another rejection letter sitting in my inbox, I was just able to shake that one off and get back to my story.

Then afterwards, I went out with some bloggers for ice cream. Talk about a perfect summer evening!

So thanks so much to the Fierce Reads Tour, to Anderson's for hosting an amazing event as always, to the bloggers who have welcomed me into their online community with open arms, and to the authors for sharing your stories with us, coming to visit, and just being completely kind and awesome. You all rock.


Bloggers Mentioned:
Heidi (YA Bibliophile) - Blog - Twitter
Erica (The Book Cellar) - Blog - Twitter
Lynn (Bringing the Epic) - Blog - Twitter

Authors Mentioned:
Anna Banks (Of Poseidon) - Website - Twitter
Leigh Bardugo (Shadow and Bone) - Website - Twitter
Jennifer Bosworth (Struck) - Website - Twitter
Emmy Laybourne (Monument 14) - Website - Twitter