PASADENA LOVES YA: Author Spotlight on Katie Alender

Calling all booknerds! As book conventions and book festivals makes it way down the calendar! Here's another book festival worth checking out! Formerly named the Pasadena Teen Book Festival, this fun event is now named Pasadena Loves YA! Don't forget the cool giveaway at the end of this post!



So...Save the date and come out to Pasadena and meet several bestselling YA authors! And...have a fun-filled day of book signings, panels, giveaways, and more!

Let's not forget! This event is FREE! That's right! No tickets necessary! No registration required, but we would appreciate it if you could share this amazing event on all your social media! Please use the hashtag #PLYA2015.

For more info, visit www.pasadenateenbookfestival.com



When:
May 23, 2015
12:00pm - 4:00pm
Where:
Pasadena Public Library
Central Library
285 East Walnut Street
Pasadena, CA 91101

What to look forward to:
Meet 20 Young Adult authors
Panels & Book Signings
Giveaways & Refreshments
Free tote bags for the first 150 guests



Keynote speaker:
Mary McCoy
(author of Dead to Me)

Authors:
Katie Alender, Victoria Aveyard, Alexis Bass, Julie Berry, Livia Blackburne, Virginia boecker, Jessica Brody, Stephen Chbosky, Brandy Colbert, Ava Dellaira, Kody Keplinger, Lize Maccie, Morgan Matson, Lauren Miller, Alexandra Monir, Jennifer Niven, Romina Russell, Sarah Tomp and Kiersten White

Book sales by:

Book sales will begin at 11:00AM

Pasadena Loves YA presented by:

 

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Today, I have the great honor to spotlight an amazing writer and one of the several authors who will be at this awesome event! I am very excited to showcase Katie Alender and her books! My daughter and I have met her at several events, and it is always so much fun and a pleasure to be able to chat and catch up with her...and many other authors!

Today, Katie Alender is our spotlight author today! So...let's get started!

**Author Spotlight**

Katie Alender

Katie Alender (rhymes with "calendar") is the author of Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer and Famous Last Words from Scholastic as well as the Bad Girls Don’t Die series from Hyperion. She is a graduate of the Florida State University Film School and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and the world’s politest small brown dog, Scooter. When she’s not writing novels, she can usually be found in her sewing room, reading, eating delicious high-calorie foods, and hanging out with her friends (on very special occasions, she manages to do all of those things at once).

Stay connected with Katie Alender

*Author Interview*

MSnb: If you weren't a writer, what would be your career choice?

Katie: That's tough... I'm interested in everything! I think I would really enjoy teaching. I had some really incredible teachers who definitely impacted my life in a great way, and being able to do that for another generation would be awesome.

MSnB: What are you working on now? Can yo reveal it to us?

Katie: My next book is called The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall, and it's out August 25, 2015 (from Scholastic), so I'm preparing for that... and I'm working on ideas for my next book! Plus, other writing and, of course, trying to keep my life in some semblance of order!

MSnB: If you could adapt one of your books into film, which book would it be? Why?

Katie: It's hard to choose just one! I think Famous Last Words would make a beautiful, atmospheric movie.

MSnB: What is your most memorable author event?

Katie: They're all memorable for different reasons! I don't do a lot of signings or tors, but luckily, Los Angeles has a thriving YA community and that keeps me busy with events where I get to see many of my favorite authors (and readers)! I guess another memorable moment was being on a panel at a convention an the topic was "The Future of YA," so the other presenters and I were all ready to talk about what we hoped was the direction YA lit would be going in, and we found out immediately before going onstage in front of 1000-ish people that the topic meant WE were the future of YA and we were supposed to talk about that for ten minutes each. Whoops. We all basically gave our other talks, because it was actually a much better topic!

MSnB: If you could choose where to go on a book tour, where would you go?

Katie: Does it have to be a country where people have actually read my books? Ha ha. I'd love to visit Switzerland or Ireland... any place where the summers aren't 100+ degrees!

Thank you Katie for this awesome Q&A!

Check out my previous Q&A with Katie Alender for OTBF 2014!

~~~

Books by Katie Alender

  

 

(Covers are links to Goodreads)

Check out Katie's upcoming release!

Genre:

Young Adult

Paranormal Suspense

Horror

Publish Date:

August 25, 2015

Publisher:

Scholastic

Synopsis:

Asylum meets Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, in this riveting tale of ghosts, secrets, and family, from master of suspense Katie Alender.

Delia's new house isn't just a house. It used to be an insane asylum, a place to lock up "troubled" young women long ago. And a restless, wicked spirit is still at play--and it doesn't want defiant girls like Delia to go anywhere.

So the house kills her.

Now Delia is a ghost, trapped in her creepy home forever. As she meets the other ghost girls who haunt the narrow hallways, as well as the handsome ghost boy on the grounds, she learns shocking truths about the house's history. Delia also realizes that her alive and grieving sister might be the house's next target. Can Delia unlock the mystery of the old asylum, save her sister, and free herself?

***The Giveaway***

Giveaway is Open to the U.S. Only

Winner chooses any 3 books from the 2015 Pasadena Loves YA authors

a Rafflecopter giveaway

RECAP: YallWest 2015

Well, this past weekend of April 11-12, 2015 was filled with fun and excitement, especially for booknerds of all ages. Yes...YA is NOT just for teens...haha! Many adults, including me, read YA. So...what was all the excitement about!?! Well, let me tell ya, the creators and organizers of YALLFEST created and organized this sister festival for the west coast, better known as YALLWEST! Yes, west coasters...we get to have one, too! Just like YALLFEST, the weekend was filled with panels, games, prizes, food, books, and amazing authors!

For more info on YALLFEST

What is YALLWEST about!?! Well, let me tell you, it's two days (a whole weekend) of panels, book signings, photo ops, games, entertainment, food, and tons of booknerd and nerdy indulgence. Yup, I would call it indulgence for the mere fact that book fans enjoyed a WHOLE weekend with their favorite authors!

After all that fun, I am already all too excited for next year! :)

For more info on YALLWEST

Check out the YALLWEST 2015 Schedule for all the amazing fun that transpired last weekend

Day 1: April 11, 2015, Saturday

The first day of YALLWEST was held at the Santa Monica High School where tons of fun awaits! Kicking off this exciting festival was The Morning Keynote: Ransom Riggs Talks Big. But, alas, I ended up missing this cool panel since I was in line for the Veronica Roth book signing. I was bummed, but I was absolutely NOT going to miss it since I missed her signing last year at the L.A. Times Festival of Books...haha! However, the ever so cool Kristen of Recently Acquired Obsessions for her attending this panel and taking notes.

What was discussed? Of course, this weekend was officially declared YALLWEST weekend. Founder of YALLWEST, Margaret Stohl, deemed mayor of this amazing event. Then, Ransom Riggs goes into the frequently asked questions he gets at many events. Here are many points in his background in becoming a writer:

- He knew he wanted to become a writer, but did not know what to write

- He focused on film school, writing screenplays

- For a time, he was a blogger for Mental Floss, which led to working for Quirk Books

- in search for a desk at the Rose Bowl swapmeet, instead he finds a guy selling vintage photographs; hence, the start of his collecting these photographs

- the collecting of these vintage photographs "fired up" his imagination which then led to his Miss Peregrine novels

Whoa! Just reading these notes, I know I missed out on a fun panel. But, 

c'mon, I seriously was not going to miss out on a book signing...lol! I already knew that the line for Veronica Roth was going to be long. No way, no how I was going to miss her...again! Haha...

Day 1 was an extremely busy day filled with book signings with a bunch of cool authors. Well, that's pretty much what took up most of my day. I had to make that decision between panels and book signings....and book signings won! For the most part, I spent my day in line for book signings for Veronica Roth, Richelle Mead, Kass Morgan, and Andrea Cremer! A factor in my decision between book signings and panels was the signing schedule...some authors were only signing one day, not both. Moreover, I was not alone on this mission of getting books signed. Many book fans waited in the long lines and endured the beating sun just for the chance to meet and chat with their favorite authors.

Veronica Roth

Meeting Andrea Cremer!

Meeting Kass Morgan!

It wasn't a total miss with the panels though... After all the book signings I set out on obtaining, I, along with several fangirl friends, was able to go to the final panel of the day... Smackdown & Tiger Beat! Yup! This last panel was filled with so much fun as all these amazing authors gathered to close out the night with author juvenalia, a game of Taboo with Veronica Roth and Leigh Bardugo, and a game of author Hollywood Squares! Filled with fun and laughs, book fans enjoyed an evening with favorite authors. To add to all that excitement, the night ended with the amazing performance of Tiger Beat, the all YA author cover band featuring authors Libba Bray, Daniel Ehrenhaft, Barnabas Miller, and Natalie Standiford!

Shannon Hale & Brendan Reichs

Author's game of Taboo!

Author Hollywood Squares

After all the hilarity, we were treated with a performance by Tiger Beat! But, before they hit the stage, Margaret Stohl announced the keynotes for the upcoming YALLFEST! Yes, we heard it first at YALLWEST!

Margaret Stohl announces keynotes for YALLFEST 2015

Tiger Beat

View the full album of Day 1

~~~

Day 2: April 12, 2015, Sunday

On to Sunday! The second day of YALLWEST was held at the Santa Monica Public Library. This time, Sunday wasn't as chaotic as Saturday...haha! Nevertheless, the excitement still filled the air as many book fans lined up outside of the library parking lot for the first book signings of the day...and I was among them waiting to line up for our favorite and new authors. Of course, it was a sunny, beautiful day for this exciting event. We were definitely in for another day filled with exciting panels, giveaways, photo ops, and book signings!

Book signing lines!

While in line for the Epic Reads booth...I spied a fun panel with the following authors: Cindy Pon, Jennifer Niven, Jessi Kirby, Leila Howland, Maria Dahvana Headley, Aaron Hartzler, Jessica Brody, and Katie Alender! This panel was moderated by Veronica Roth and Brendan Reichs! Totally hilarious as these bestselling authors read their own writing when they were teens. Oh the imaginations of these authors...too funny! That's why we love them so much...and their books...haha!

Bad Writing by Good Authors: Juvenalia Panel

Another outdoor panel fans enjoyed! Fave Fandoms panel with Katie Cotugno, Daniel Ehrenhaft, Michelle Gagnon, Abigail Haas (Abby McDonald), Maria Dahvana Headley. This panel was moderated by Kami Garcia.

Fave Fandoms Panel

Checking out this panel! Bad Boys, Manic Pixies, Love Triangles: Tropes We Love & Hate...moderated by Melissa de la Cruz! Authors on this panel:

Bad Boys, Manic Pixies, Love Triangles: Tropes We Love & Hate Panel

In line with friends for this! Epic Reads was giving away advanced readers copy of Robyn Schneider's upcoming novel Extraordinary Means. And, yes, Robyn was on hand to sign these ARCs...bonus!

Robyn Schneider signing ARCs

Even with all these exciting panels, this second day of the festival was pretty laid back. No which way I turned, authors were everywhere...haha! We were all too happy to run into them and get some photo ops in. Oh yeah! Photo ops...haha!!!

With Melissa de la Cruz & Lauren Oliver

With Marissa Meyer

With Jessica Brody

With Katie Alender

With Leigh Bardugo

View the full album of Day 2

Here's some more fun I had at YALLWEST!

Love these fangirls!

In line for Lauren Oliver!

Double the aweseomeness! Melissa de la Cruz & Lauren Oliver!

Photobooth fun!

Oh Yeah! We had a blast!

All in all, the first annual YALLWEST was filled with so much excitement and fun that booknerds of all ages enjoyed! I totally enjoyed all the face time with several of my favorite authors! Yes, YA is NOT just for teens. Readers of all ages can enjoy a good read from these YA books, just as much as New Adult and Adult books. I, myself, do not focus on just one...I enjoy reading a variety of books...if the synopsis/summary is interesting, then I will read it. Oh the joys of the imagination..and these amazing authors achieve that in their writing! This is why I attend and enjoy book festivals like this! I am already excited for next year's festivities!

'Til next year YALLWEST!!!