Well, it's October and it is officially Breast Cancer Awareness month. All throughout October various campaigns, events, and fundraisers takes place to raise awareness and support programs dedicated to the research and education for treatment and a cure for this disease. And...Authors In The OC is just one event, among many, that has taken place this month to raise funds for this worthy cause. For more information about Breast Cancer Awareness, go to: http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-awareness-month
About Authors In The OC
Authors In The OC event is a book signing event with a Meet & Greet afterwards. We come together to meet our favorite authors, meet new ones and hang out with our fellow book lovers while raising money for a very good cause: Our Tatas!
Money raised from this event will benefit the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer via the Fifty Shades of Pink team.
For more information about these events, go to their site:
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Well, this was the second year I have attended this awe-inspiring event, in which proceeds goes to benefit such a wonderful cause! This year, just like the last, had an impressive list of authors attending. However, there was a very last minute drop due to Health reasons. Alas, the author that had no choice but to drop out was Colleen Hoover. Although many fans were disappointed, we all had an abundance of compassion for her and understood. There was a lot of love pouring out for Colleen before, during, and after this event. And, of course, we all know there will be other events and opportunities to meet this amazing author!
I got to the hotel a bit early with about thirty minutes to spare, and already a line had formed and had almost reached the lobby...at the time. Of course, the line continued to get longer! Yup! Many attendees had come from all parts of the United States to attend and support this exciting event benefiting an incredible cause! Soon we were able to check-in and pick up some pre-orders (that's if you pre-ordered swag and/or books). In addition to all the "check-in" activity in the lounge, there was an official bookseller present! Yup, Barnes&Noble was the official bookseller! Yay! Moreover, we were there to support this great cause, even attendees were treated with raffle giveaways! That was totally fun! Basically, we were given a table map of where each author table; we get a stamp from each table, then turn it in...for a chance to win a Kindle Fire! Although it was a great incentive, I was just as determined to meet ALL the authors...raffle or no raffle! I wanted to meet all these cool writers!
Luckily, I got a VIP upgrade...woohoo! That allowed VIP ticket holders in early for an hour before the official event started to meet & greet authors! I was so amazed at how many people had come to attend this wonderful event! I mean...last year was so incredible that this year's event got even bigger and even more successful. I can only see this getting bigger and bigger every year! I was definitely awe-struck! I didn't see any difference between VIP and General Admission tickets...much. VIPs just get that hour early meet & greet, plus VIP tickets to ticketed authors. Yes, a few authors had to be ticketed due to their popularity. After that VIP hour, it was time for lunch! But, it didn't look like anyone was going to lunch, except the authors, since people just started to line up again. So...that pretty much meant skipping lunch...hahaha!!! And...I did! I definitely did not want to miss meeting all these awesome authors...LOL! However, VIP or not, there was plenty of time to meet all the authors...that's as long as attendees arrive on time.
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| VIP line waiting to enter for that early VIP hour |
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| Tarryn Fisher line (ticketed author) |
Since this being my second time at this event, I pretty much learned to pace myself and pick out which authors to see first and which authors to come back to. Otherwise, there is an opportunity to see all the authors, get books and souvenirs signed, pick up a bunch of swag, and even get photo ops with the authors. Oh yeah! Posed pictures are so allowed! On top of all that, there's plenty of opportunity to make new friends with booknerds!
By the end of the day, I was exhausted and hungry! But, I was very happy to have meet them all! I even had a collage made (actually three) for them to sign, because I already knew my budget. But, it definitely was not going to stop me from meeting them. Mission accomplished! I totally had a blast meeting favorite and new authors...and made some new friends! I was absolutely thrilled to have met a few authors that I have been wanting to meet since reading their books; in addition, to returning favorite author(s). Shanora Williams, Ruth Clampett, Cambria Hebert, and Mary Ting were just a few authors that I definitely was determined to meet. I was absolutely thrilled about it that I was completely giddy with excitement. Oh yeah, I was so fangirling the entire day...LOL!
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| Jasmine with Author Shanora Williams |
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| Jasmine with Author Ruth Clampett |
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| Jasmine with Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke |
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| Jasmine w/ Author Cambria Hebert & model Nathan Weller |
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| My collage signed by all the authors & models! |
View more photos at: Movies, Shows & Books on Facebook
Can't wait til next year!
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