Are you jealous? You should be!!! :o)

So today was amazingly incredibly stupendously made of awesome! (And thank you to @AudryT for telling me about it and encouraging me to go!)

Why, you ask?

This is why...

Why, yes. You are absolutely correct. This is a picture of Margie Stohl and Kami Garcia!!!




And where did I get this picture, you ask?

I took it. 'Cause I was sitting right there. In front of Margie and Kami. *falls on floor* *dies*

I can hear the jealousy now. ;o)

So anyway... Margie and Kami were at the Borders in Glendale today for the new YA Book Club they (the fine people at Borders Glendale) are now hosting. They (Margie and Kami) answered questions and discussed Beautiful Creatures. We also discussed libraries, books, food, family, books, teenagers, fencing, books, squirrels, bacon-wrapped donuts (well, that was later with Kami's really cool husband! Although, Kami did talk about a certain bacon wallet), and (did I mention?) books.

And... LOOK WHAT WE SAW!!!

Yes. That is an ARC of Beautiful Darkness Margie is holding in her hot little hands. Now move back from your computer before you get drool on the keys! Margie brought that (and some really cool foreign release versions of Beautiful Creatures) to show us.

And then she read the ENTIRE book (Beautiful Darkness) to us! (Okay, that last part was a lie... They weren't there that long! We didn't get to see or hear anything... :o( We didn't even get to touch it... Or hear about the top secret nuclear defense codes... Hehe! (If you had been there, you would understand that, but you weren't, and I was!!! *blinks* Oops! Sorry! That was mean. I'm not trying to rub it in. I know your tears are competing with your drool to see who can ruin your keyboard first...))

So as an aspiring (published) author, I now have two, count that - TWO, more writers to emulate. Two more favorite authors! (and I haven't even finished Beautiful Creatures!)

How can they be among my favorite authors if I haven't finished their book yet, you ask? Well, mostly because I have read enough of the story to be hooked, and I just know I'm gonna love it. But also because they are accessible. And aside from writing an amazingly incredible book, I want to be the kind of author they are: accessible to people who love the world that exists in their/my head. (Accessible author alert!! If you are on Twitter, follow them: @mstohl and @kamigarcia Website: http://www.beautifulcreaturesthebook.com/)

I also learned something that I can apply to my own writing: Rules were made to broken.

1. BC is really long. I mean really long (which, as a reader ('cause we all know I am), is exactly my kind of book. And Tamy's). I have been struggling to keep my word count down because I've heard over and over that (especially for first time authors) the word count needs to be X. And my word count is probably going to be somewhere around X and a half... (BC is about 2X)
2. BC was sold as a series. I've also heard over and over that debut authors should never write a series. Unfortunately (or not), I didn't hear this until after I was more than halfway through my ms. And there is not a snowball's chance in hell this book will work without any more following it. Granted, the story itself is self-contained, but if I were reading my book as a reader and I found out that there was not going to be a sequel, I would come to my house and throw rocks at my windows. (BC was sold in a two book deal, and they are working on Book 3 with another one to follow!)
3. Not that this really applies to my current wip, but BC opens with a prologue followed by a dream sequence followed by a mention of the weather. A strict no-no on all counts! But guess what? It totally works! (I've read that much of it...)

Anyway, I just wanted to share my amazing experience with you guys! I hope you guys get the chance to meet Margie and Kami because they are really incredible, down-to-earth people!

I can't wait for the next YA Book Club! They are hoping to get Heidi R. Kling in July. That would be awesome because I want wait to read Sea and I would love to meet Heidi!

So... Thank you Borders Glendale!

And thank you Margie Stohl and Kami Garcia!!!

*sighs* Today was made of awesome... Now off to write!

Some final pics for you guys...

Margie sitting in front of a signed stack of Beautiful Creatures. Go to Borders in Glendale to pick one up!

So this is the copy of Beautiful Creatures that I am reading. My bff got it from the library and is sharing the love! It was already signed my Kami, but Margie added her awesomeness to it (along with a stamp for the Gatlin County Library! Now where am I supposed to return it?? Hehe).

Oh! And I also got some really cool swag!!

Ending thought... I can't wait to be in the author's seat at one of these... *sighs again and really runs off to write this time* *stops and considers finishing Beautiful Creatures* GAH!! What to do?!?!?


So, question for you... Have you ever had a squealy, amazing, fan-girly experience? With whom?

:o) Thanks for dropping by! See you next time you pull into the station!!