This Scripted Social Event was put on by Southern Belle Book Blog & they did a WONDERFUL job! Seriously, the table spacing, the volunteer coordination, everything was just marvelous. I really enjoyed being a volunteer, too! I was originally going to sit w/ my author-pal, Rochelle Paige, but things got moved around & I ended up being the ticketer-wrist bander for Olivia Cunning.
I almost thought I wasn't going to make it in time - I arrived in Des Moines Friday night, so I'd be in town on Saturday & not have to leave home super early. Heh. Plus, I love hotel stays. So, today, I headed out from the hotel in plenty of time to grab some coffee & get to the event. I thought.
Turns out, the Starbucks that is like five minutes away from the hotel was hiding from me this morning. D'oh! THEN, I had the adventure of driving around downtown Des Moines for an hour, trying to find where to park. There were several garages, but the one I pulled into apparently was the reserved one. *sigh* Then I found a Holiday Inn & asked if I could hop a ride on their shuttle, since I'm staying at a different IHG hotel & am an IHG member. They said sure! Yay! Except... the shuttle had just left to take someone to the grocery store. D'oh! The front desk ppl were super helpful & tried to give me some options (Uber, calling me a cab) but those didn't work out. I did get to see some ppl who were there for a wedding, tho. That was cool.
So, I called Erin to tell her I was lost & running late, and she graciously said it's no problem & she'd see me when I got there. I went back downtown to try again to find parking, and ended up at a DIFFERENT Holiday Inn. And this one had a shuttle coming back in a few minutes. Perfect! I joined the square dancers & - did I mention there is also a square dancing convention going on here this weekend? Yeah, ppl are in some pretty kickass costumes, too! The square dancers were all suuuuuper nice & we dropped them off first. I made it to the Marriott only 10 minutes late! GOD IS GOOD!
Of course, because I was late & already frazzled, I was REALLY frazzled trying to get to all my pre-order authors. And not be a dork. But, let's face it. I am now and will always be, a dork. So, embrace it & be honest & move on! :) And make ppl laugh in a good way, bringing joy!! I think I accomplished that... I know the authors & bloggers & readers I met brought ME immense amounts of joy! : )
Rochelle was coming out as I arrived, so I was able to give her a hug. I love hugs, but I forget to ask for pictures & hugs when I'm at the author's table... D'oh! Goal for the next signing...
Scott & Jessica Hildreth were my first table, and they are OMH SUPER SWEET! They had to deal w/ being my anti-anxiety peeps (in the grand tradition of Amber Nation & Savannah Stewart at my first multi-author signing in Indy two years ago...*grin*). Scott gave me a fist bump & then said, "That'll make sense when you read it." LOL Yup, makes sense now!
I made it to most of my pre-order peeps before it was time to put my Ticket hat on for Olivia Cunning. Stacey Lynn had cookies & cupcakes, which were yummy! Kristen Mazzola gave me a purple rubber ducky. So cute! Her BFF/assistant was awesome at the upsell for her books, too! Kathryn Andrews... gosh, her Hale Brothers series blew me away & I got the box set - which is HUUUUGE - & it was so nice chatting w/ her! Karla Sorenson - oh my heck, I didn't realize I have all her books, but haven't read them yet, but her covers are beautiful! And she was one of my favorite ppl to meet!
And then there's the HUGE surprise I got at Kelly Elliott's table... I'd pre-ordered Broken Love, because it's one of my favorites of hers (my favorite is Broken - and in this awesome bag that I won was a puzzle of Broken!!! Squee!!!) and she said, "Oh! Carrie! You won!" and I'm all like, "Oooh, what'd I win? Keychain? Signed book?" And she pulls out this bag full of stuff & it's a really cute bag & I'm all excited!! AND THEN she pulls out ... A KINDLE! I won a Kindle!!! *flop* I was floored. What a blessing! I'd been debating buying one for a while (ever since I got my new phone) & was pretty well set on it & BAM! God is good, ALL THE TIME! *bounce*
Mr Bear wanted in on the action in most of the photos.
LOL
My Kelly Elliott bag also included that awesome puzzle & Love You to the Moon plaque!
LOVE!!!
Tijan was a lot of fun & Amy Daws... oh my goodness, sweetheart! I know I keep saying that. Her banner (which was really cool) made me think of a different book & I thought I had met her in Chicago, but she wasn't in Chicago, so ... whoops! Then I felt bad, but her covers were also amazing & I the books sound good, so I had to have one! : )
Now, Ticketing! It was CRAZY there for a while, but so much fun. Everyone was happy & patient & so nice! And I was able to set all my stuff in the corner behind Olivia's table, where it was safe & sound & I didn't have to carry everything everywhere. I only pre-ordered 10 books & yet somehow came out of there w/ two bags full of books... LOL (LOVE IT!!!)
Happily, the crazy part of the line died down about 2:30/3 & I was able to go around to more tables & then head out.
One of my favorite box set book covers!
I believe Elle designed this... : )
Allison Bliss, Staci Hart, Kandi Steiner, Tracey Garvis Graves, and of course ROCHELLE were my other pre-orders. All ppl I would have liked to have hugged & gotten pictures w/ (read: EVERYONE) but I don't have ANY. By the time I made it to Tracey & Staci, my back was spasm-ing (even w/ setting the books in the corner, because I didn't move around enough w/ the clipboard, my back punishes me. Grrrr) and hugs & pictures weren't on my mind. Til I left, because of COURSE I think of it then. *sigh*
Anyway, can we talk about the awesomeness of Staci Hart's picture book for Wasted Words for a moment? It's gorgeous, and I adore the concept! I believe the couple who modeled for this story are a real-life couple, and seriously, you can feel the love & playfulness & amazing chemistry. *swoon*
So, that was my adventure at this round of bookie goodness. : ) My next event is Writers On The River in East Peoria, IL, on July 9th. I was on the fence about going, but then one of my favorite authors who will be there (A.D. Ellis - read her!!!) PM'd me to ask if I was going & how could I say no?! So, that tipped me over. It's only a couple hours away, too, so I can make it a day trip. : ) Oh, AND CP Smith will be there, and I haven't met her, but I have loved all her books, and we've chatted on FB, so I want to meet her in person!
I'd hoped to get to watch Leyton play baseball while we were all here, but his game today was at 10, so I didn't have time to go before the signing. And apparently they didn't play well today (*frown*) so no game tomorrow. But at least they get to go to the trampoline place tonight! : )
How's your weekend been? What's happening in your world?? And what authors would you like to meet (or have you met)?! : ) TTFN!
