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!!!

L.A. Times Festival of Books at USC Booknerd/Fangirl Experience 2014

It's that time again for creators of books and lovers of books to come together and celebrate our love of...you guessed it...books! This year is the 34th Annual L.A. Times Festival of Books held on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles, California! Hundreds of people from all over the country venture over to enjoy a fun-filled weekend of live music, poetry readings, author conversation panels and film screenings with Q&A sessions afterwards.

Since this festival kicked off in 1996 with it's sole purpose to: to bring together the people who create books with the people who love to read them, it has grown into a successful phenomenon that has expanded with activities such as: cooking demos, musical performances, artists creating and sharing their works, poets reading their works, cultural entertainment...and, even, celebrity Q&A sessions!

Check out this year's poster! I received it in the mail today! Pretty awesome!

~~~~~

 Saturday, April 12, 2014

This will be our second year attending this amazing event! Unlike last year, it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon to meet authors, sit in panels, book signings...and meet up with booklover friends and meet new ones as well. For Mariah and I, we met two amazing authors, Mary Ting/M. Clarke and Rebecca Ethington, at the Bernard Books booth! It was an absolute joy meeting them! I love that Rebecca Ethington favors the genre, Young Adult Fantasy and Paranormal Fiction, because that's just what her mind wants to write! Apparently, she tried Contemporary, but her brain didn't care for it....hahaha! Love her answer to "why the genre she writes/favors." It was also interesting, as well, that Mary Ting's Crossroads Saga was based on a dream she had...just never know where inspiration for stories come from...right!?! They were a joy to meet and chat with!

Here's me and Mariah with Mary Ting and Rebecca Ethington!

After chatting it up with Mary Ting and Rebecca Ethington, Mariah and I made it over to the Bovard Auditorium for the John Green panel; however, we noticed the ticket line AND the stand by line, and decided to skip the panel and head over to the signing line. Guess what we found...the signing line was already long as well...hahaha! Good thing we decided to skip the panel or else our wait time for the signing would have been a good 3-4 hours! Whoa! Yah, this is no joke! Mariah and I was somewhere in the middle in the line, and our wait time was close to 2 hours. Crazy! I even had Mariah take a couple of photos of the line (which didn't included the end part of the line) near the signing booth. Talk about WHOA! So, yah, I am so happy that we decided to skip the panel, we would have been in the line for a good 3-4 hours if we did! I found out that there was close to 2500 people in line for the signing! Yikes! Because we skipped the panel, and was in a decent part of the line, we made it in time to meet Kelley Armstrong (again) and Rainbow Rowell (for the first time) at the Mrs. Nelson's booth! Yup, signings are scheduled at individual booths as well, not just after panels. So, there's always a chance to meet authors...just have to check the signing schedules, signings vary with each book vendor.

Check out the crazy long line for John Green! And...these photos doesn't even cover another part of the line...haha!

Our turn to meet John Green! It was so exciting! Because it was such a long line and a lot of people were waiting, being able to really chat with him was not happening. It was still just a thrill to meet him! At least Mariah was able to greet him up front...I was taking pictures...haha!

View the full album of Day 1 at:

Movies, Shows & Books on Facebook

I think Mariah and I did a pretty good job at not going overboard with books...hahaha! I already knew I had to pace myself, but I did get quite a bit of new books and signings that I wanted. Yay, for us! Now, on Sunday, I can go back to get the rest of the books that I didn't get as well...hahaha!!

Watch a video clip of the John Green panel, here!

~~~~~

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Mariah and I had an early start on this second and last day of the L.A. Times Festival of Books. We were both up and ready to go, so we decided to just check out and head on over to the USC campus at 8:30AM. It was a beautiful morning when we arrived to the USC campus, of course, the festival didn't start until 10AM, so Mariah and I walked a bit then waited near the Mrs. Nelson booth since it was the place where we planned to start our day. Sunday morning was the start of several author signings that we wanted to get to. And, at the Mrs. Nelson booth, we were able to meet Marissa Meyer (again) and Sarah J. Maas (for the first time) which was amazing to be able to meet these amazing people writing stories that we love to ready, plus stories that we have newly discovered.

We even saw a squirrel enjoying the morning on the USC campus...hahaha!

The start of our Day 2 was amazing! Marissa Meyer got a "kick" when we had her sign our photos taken when she was on her Cress Tour! I told her that I have fun having authors sign the photos since they too get a "kick" remembering those events...haha! Thanks to my cousin for the cool idea, I pretty much adopted it for when I meet authors. Being a book junkie, we try to attend as many book events, such as this festival, to meet new and favorite authors!

Meeting Marissa Meyer...again!

Meeting Sarah J. Maas! 

However, the morning wasn't as fun as we hoped it would be for one particular scheduled author. While we waited for the signings with Marissa Meyer and Sarah J. Maas, news of the Veronica Roth signing after the panel was trickling its way to us. Due to the huge demand of John Green's signing Saturday, the "powers that be" decided that the signing would be limited to only the first 500 people attending the panel. As word was spreading, fans were in an uproar. A good amount of people did not get tickets for the panel, because they just wanted to go to the signing. But, because the signing was limited, a lot of people were not going to be able to get the signing. Even then, those who got a ticket to the panel and wasn't the first 500 wasn't going to be able to get to the signing either.

Now...a huge amount of fans were disappointed and upset about that...me included. It was already bad enough that all the fans in Southern California didn't get an author event when Allegiant was released, many fans didn't even get a chance for a signing when she was in Southern California! That really blows! I can totally understand why they did it, especially after John Green's signing...that lasted a good 4 hours or so with about 2500 fans (from what I heard from others) in line! But, it doesn't make it any less disappointing. Oh well...maybe Veronica Roth will come out to the Los Angeles area another time...maybe for another event!?! I don't even live in the L.A. area, and I made the trip down...not only for her, but for the event itself...haha! Meeting authors is one of the best perks there is at the Festival of Books! I don't know, but I'm over it...for now...haha!

Anyways, at least, we were able to sit in on the panel...even though we were in the "nosebleed" section of the auditorium...haha! The panel with Veronica Roth was filled with laughs and a lot of chatting about herself and writing, as well as Leigh Bardugo, who served as moderator. So, it wasn't a total loss. After the panel, Mariah and I made our way to the signing area. Although we didn't get tickets for the Veronica Roth signing, we were also there for Leigh Bardugo as well. Since we already had our books signed from a previous event, we had Leigh sign our photos from Fierce Reads event we attended last year! I just love seeing authors' reactions when they see the photos! It's great and we get a lot of laughs out of it. Definitely....fun times we get from these author events!

Watch a video clip of the Veronica Roth panel, here!

Leigh Bardugo signing our photos!

After the Veronica Roth panel and signing, we had time to kill before the YA Sci-fi: Fantastical Tales panel. I had already decided that I wanted to complete the Imdalind Series (Rebecca Ethington) and purchase the Crossroads Saga (Mary Ting). It was great chatting it up with these two amazing authors...I even brought friends to meet them as well. So, I accomplished what I set out to do; however, Mary Ting's books Crossroads and From Gods was sold out! After chatting it up with Mary and Rebecca, and purchasing the rest of the books that I wanted, we made our way to the YA Stage for the panel that we were waiting for.

Our next stop was at the YA Stage for the Young Adult Sci-Fi: Fantastical Tales panel with: Marissa Meyer, Cecil Castellucci, Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, and Andrew Smith as moderator. It was definitely a fun and interesting conversation with these amazing authors! A conversation with lots of laughs discussing their books, their ideas, their writing, and why they wrote in this particular genre...they even discussed dancing...haha! Too funny!

The Young Adult Sci-fi: Fantastical Tales panel:

(left to right) Andrew Smith (moderator), Marissa Meyer, Cecil Castellucci, Sarah J. Maas, and Leigh Bardugo.

Andrew Smith

Marissa Meyer

Cecil Castellucci

Sarah J. Maas

Leigh Bardugo

After the fun panel the audience lined up for the signing which was right next to the YA Stage! Since we already got the signings from the panelists from an earlier signing, our only goal at the time was Andrew Smith. Goal! Even thought we will be seeing him at the Pasadena Teen Book Fest, it is always exciting to meet them again and again at different events! Each and every individual author event is always fun, exciting and unique every time! While the majority of the audience lined up for the panelists, we headed for Andrew Smith! And, it was an awesome pleasure to have met him. Too funny....he even told Mariah to read Grasshopper Jungle before me...haha!

Meeting Andrew Smith...for the first time!

After the amazing conversation on the YA Stage, we headed back to the Mrs. Nelson booth to meet Tahereh Mafi (now Tahereh Riggs). Yes, after not being able to go to other past events that she had, Mariah and I was finally going to be able to meet her! As soon as it was our turn to meet her, she commented that she liked our t-shirts...haha! Tahereh even thought we were sisters!?! Whoa...too funny! She couldn't believe that we're mother and daughter! I also congratulated her on her nuptials to Ransom Riggs! I caught her by surprise when I congratulate her and Ransom in "tying the knot." With a beautiful smile, Tahereh replied with a "thank you." She was such a pleasure to meet!

Meeting Tahereh Mafi...finally!

After meeting Tahereh Mafi, we closed out our weekend at the L.A. Times Festival of Books with one of my favorite authors, Melissa de la Cruz! Yup! Melissa and her husband, Michael Johnston, was scheduled for a signing at the Mysterious Galaxy booth. After getting a snack, it was time to have a quick chat with Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston. In addition to seeing them...again...Melissa recently had another book released titled The Ring and The Crown, so, it was definitely a must to see them. Of course, I just loved their reaction when they saw the photos when Frozen was released.Too much fun! It was so much fun and a pleasure to see them again!

Whew! What a fun-filled and exciting weekend! Meeting new and old booknerd/fangirl friends, plus meeting authors, and sitting in panels was authors talk about books, writing and then some, was pretty much the highlight of the entire weekend for us! Exhausting as it was, it was so totally worth it!

View the full album of Day 2 at:

Movies, Shows & Books on Facebook

Well, see you guys next year at the L.A. Times Festival of Books!