Talk to an Author… Get Some Inspiration

Last night I went to my first book signing. I got to meet Marie Lu, author of Legend.

I was fortunate enough to get a Galley copy of the book before it was released and I absolutely loved it. The way I came to learn about this book was a story in itself. One of my friends from my Book Club has a daughter who works for CBS Films. They purchased the rights to a new book in the Young Adult category and were planning a trilogy of movies, not unlike Hunger Games. Being an enormous fan of that series, I knew I wanted to read this new one.

My friend had mentioned that she had emailed the author to let her know that she was looking forward to reading her book. I took it one step further… I emailed her and requested an advance copy to review. A few weeks later, I received a Galley copy from the publisher.

It was that simple.

Back to last night… I was excited to drive over to Montrose to one of the few independent bookstores left. “Once Upon a Time” is a tiny family bookstore with stacks of fabulous children’s books and whimsical murals on the walls. They were host to the Breathless Tour, a book tour with authors Marie Lu, Andrea Cremer, Beth Revis and Jessica Spotswood. They all write Young Adult novels and the tiny bookstore was packed with their fans.

The hour-long panel discussion gave us a unique insight to how a writer develops their characters, settings and story lines. I say listening and remembered all those pages I wrote and deleted. I was not alone. Each author had written several complete books prior to actually selling the ONE. Because a writer has to write… not because they want to sell a book (although that is a pretty strong motivator), but because it’s in their blood. The need to put words on paper and tell a story is deep inside. Writing, any writing, is better than sitting there thinking about writing. Which makes me think I just need to get up off my ass and write already. I think what is always holding me back is the thought that I need a beginning, a middle and an end. Not true. What I learned last night from these amazing authors, is that sometimes you just have to write one scene, one idea, and the rest will take care of itself.

I left the store inspired.

I was not compensated in any way to attend the book signing, I did it because I truly loved Legend. I also was not familiar with the other authors, but I can see I’m going to be doing a lot of reading in the next few weeks. Andrea, Beth and Jessica, I would love the chance to read and review your books as well… if you are interested.