Michael Perry Author Event

A few months ago, one of our associates told me that there's a new Michael Perry book coming out in September.  Michael Perry's memoirs have always been extremely popular in our store for two reasons 1. He's a Wisconsin author writing about life in Wisconsin and 2. They're incredibly funny while still being heartwarming. I was thrilled to hear he had a new book coming out, but was shocked to see that it was labeled young readers fiction.

Scavengers is the story of a young girl named Maggie who is living during tough times.  The world has been divided into two halves: communities that live "UnderBubble" and the people who chose to live as scavengers "OutBubble." Maggie's family decides/is forced to live "OutBubble" where even basic needs such as food and shelter are not guaranteed.  The story contains adventure, family, and a terrific female protagonist that readers from ages 8 to 98 will enjoy.

I was beyond thrilled when Michael Perry agreed to come to our store a couple weeks after his book release to do a reading and signing.  Now, you should know, Michael is a writer, singer (his band is called Michael Perry & The Long Beds), nurse, radio show host, firefighter, and a real family man.  He's kind of the epitome of jack-of-all-trades.  This makes his readings entirely entertaining.  He read and spoke for about an hour, sharing snippets from his book Scavengers as well as From the Top.  The audience laughed so hard at his anecdotes... stories about his brothers, neighborhood, and creating the book Scavengers.  He puts on such an incredible event... I think the audience could have listened to him for hours!

After his reading, he signed books for everyone, chatted, and answered questions. Michael was so gracious to everyone who came out and thanked everyone personally as they stopped to get their books signed.  He even made one little girl's night by complimenting her pink princess dress and thanking her for coming because she reminded him of his two little girls at home (it was a super sweet moment, and one mom and daughter will not soon forget).  

When his event was through, he stayed to sign stock for the store and chatted with me about the events he has scheduled and how much time he spends touring (he tours like a madman!).  For Scavengers, he's doing even more touring because of school visits.  He says he absolutely loves doing these events because it lets him meet the people who read his books and allows him to keep his dream of writing, but you can tell it's hard to be away from his wife and two girls.

Authors do a lot of traveling and promoting to get the word out about their books. Obviously, they love to meet their fans, but next time you go to an event, thank the author for visiting your town/city/state.  As much as it's "part of the job," they're probably missing home and tired from the road, so give them an extra special thank you for spending this time with you and other fans.  Then go out and let everyone know how much fun you had meeting them and how much you love their books.  This will be the best thank you you can give to any author... word of mouth is the greatest advertisement for their books.

On that note: A huge THANK YOU from me and everyone who has attended author events at Barnes & Noble Appleton to all of the phenomenal authors who have visited us and spent time sharing their books with us.  I cannot say how many wonderful things I've heard about each and every event we've had, and we absolutely love having authors visit.

Now, go out and grab one (or all) of Michael Perry's books (they're all phenomenal and will definitely make you laugh out loud) and find out information about Michael's tour dates from his website here.

Happy Reading :)
  

Lori M. Lee and Erica O'Rourke Author Event

I love reading YA books and discovering new YA authors, so imagine my glee when I found out there is a YA author who lives right in the Fox Valley!  She just published her first novel GATES OF THREAD AND STONE, and was having a book signing at the local library.  I had to check out her website and see if she was willing/able to do other events!  Google Lori M. Lee and this wonderful website appears.  

Lori is the sweetest person you will ever meet... she writes a badass leading female, but as a person, she is nothing but lovely.  After meeting with her, we talked about having her do an event... to which she responded, "Can I bring a friend?"  Anytime an author wants to bring a fellow author to an event... the answer is always yes.  I mean come on, as if it's not awesome enough to meet one incredible author, two just makes it double the fun!

Google Erica O'Rourke and this amazing website appears.  I'm going to be honest, I hadn't heard of Erica until Lori told me her name... but now I've come to find out what I'm missing (love discovering new authors!).  Erica's latest book is DISSONANCE, and before that she wrote the TORN TRILOGY.

Prior to their event, I wanted to read both of the author's newest books (obviously always a good thing to try to do!), and I have to say they were hard to put down, making this an easy "homework" assignment to give myself.  I started with Lori's book GATES OF THREAD AND STONE, and my review ended up being:

4 of 5 Stars

The world that Lori Lee creates is very interesting, and the backstory behind the citizens and their ruler unravels as the story goes on, but it took a bit to get there. The main character, Kai, is a pretty awesome chick with powers that can toy with the threads of time, causing time to slow or even stop. She doesn't know why she has this ability, but knows that she shouldn't let anyone know about it. When her adoptive big brother, and only "family" that she knows, goes missing, she decides to seek answers with her friend Avan (a boy she just happens to have a slight crush on) and bring her brother home. This leads to interesting plot twists as the journey through different parts of the world that they have never been to, especially through the last third of the book. Lee did throw some great surprises into her work that I did not see coming, and that I really enjoyed.
That being said, I am glad that I kept going with this book. Once the history of the world and Kai's family tree are unearthed, it really makes for a great story. This is book one of a series/trilogy, and I am curious where Lori Lee is going to take these characters.  I'm looking forward to the sequel next year!  I'd recommend this book for anyone who enjoys YA fantasy with a bit of romance thrown in.

The more I thought about this book, the more I loved it.  The world-building that Lori must have put into Kai's world is crazy.  To develop the powers for each character and lace them all together... be sure to check this book out!

Next up, Erica's latest book DISSONANCE.  

5 of 5 Stars

I was slightly hesitant about this book since it's classified "teen romance," which can be a bit much to take (think the neediness of Bella in Twilight). But man can Erica O'Rourke write an independent, dominant female! I absolutely loved Del's character and the way O'Rourke uses string theory and music to help develop Del's world. I've been a huge music person since I was young, and dissonance in music is used as a way to tell if an alternate world is stable or unstable. Del is a "walker" who are individuals that can go between worlds and "tune" or destroy them in order to keep the Key World (our world) safe. When the boy Del has a crush on begins appearing in almost all of the world she visits and causes some interesting fluctuations in these worlds, she knows something is wrong... but once he notices her in school, does she really want to make it right?
This book is full of interesting characters, who you're never quite sure you can trust, and a family story at its core (who can Del really trust in her family?). But, the thing I was most impressed with was O'Rouke's world-building. The idea that a new world is created each time someone makes a choice, and the choice you do not choose becomes an alternate universe that plays out differently is so fascinating to me. I definitely recommend picking up a copy of this book... now I just have to impatiently wait for the sequel...

So, now that I've finished this book... I had to go on my nook and download a copy of TORN while I await DISSONANCE's sequel next year.

I already knew Lori and Erica's author event was going to be wonderful because their books offer lots of opportunity for questions... but it was such a blast!  Both women were so fun and had such great answers and advice to share with everyone who attended.  

They were asked questions about being a budding author... L: "Just keep writing, and never stop."  E: "Read critically... find what you love about a book and dissect it... use what you learn from books you love to make your own works stronger." About how they come up with character names... E: "I typically don't name characters after anyone I know, especially not bad characters... you don't want to give them that power over you." L: "I pick names I like... and have a name for my characters before I start writing."  Books/authors they'd recommend... L: "Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy, Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis, and anything by Neil Gaiman" E: "Anything by Libba Bray, The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth, and The Testing Trilogy by Joelle Charbonneau."  

Along with solid advice and fun trivia/facts they talked to everyone who came and signed copies of their books.  They were both so encouraging to the teen readers and writers who came... their young fans will definitely remember meeting such inspirational authors.

I have nothing but gratitude and admiration for both of these women.  Be sure to pick up a copy of their books and enjoy!  

P.S. They *might* both be coming back to do another event this December!!  Possibly on December 14th!  Perhaps at 1:00 in the afternoon! :)

Mary Kubica Author Event (and some of her recommendations!)

What an amazing start to the week!!  Mary Kubica, author of THE GOOD GIRL, came to Appleton!  I know I already mentioned her book in a previous post, but in case you missed it... here's my little blurb about THE GOOD GIRL: 

5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book!!! It's been getting a lot of comparisons to "Gone Girl," and I can see why, but I liked "The Good Girl" more. I felt the storyline was more realistic, and the reader actually has a reason to care for the characters. And I must say... the ending... perfect. Can't wait to read more of Mary Kubica's writing in the future!

To expand on this "review," the book is about a girl in her early 20's named Mia who is kidnapped.  The novel is told from multiple perspectives (including Mia's mom, the detective in charge of her case, and her kidnapper), and the chapters fluctuate through time from both before she is found and after she comes home (this is not a spoiler... you find out she comes home very early on!).  Throughout the novel the true story of what happened to Mia unravels, and just wait until you find out the whole story!  Seriously... so good.  This book deserves all of the wonderful press and publicity it has been receiving.

Tonight, I was fortunate enough to meet Mary Kubica (and the wonderful readers who came to her event!) and hear her talk about her book as well as her writing process and future plans.  She talked about how THE GOOD GIRL was written over the course of many years while her children were young.  It then took a few years before she got a wonderful phone call that changed her life: someone wanted to publish her book!  

Now that THE GOOD GIRL is out in the world for all to read, Mary has been working on finalizing her next novel which should be released sometime next fall (seriously cannot wait!).  She told the audience that her new book is about a young, homeless mother who meets a woman one day who decides to take the homeless mother and her baby home.  Both characters then realize the impact this decision will have on their lives.  I can't wait to see where this storyline will go!

After a reading from her book, Mary was asked so many wonderful questions by the audience.  Including:  How do you write? (Whenever she has time, on a computer... and if she's stuck she puts it away for a while and comes back after some time away which seems to help);  Did you write each character's chapters in order? (She wrote the book in different chunks... she wrote one character's section and then moved on to a different one.  After each was done, she reorganized the stories into chapters and moved the time sequence around);  What books have you enjoyed reading lately? (The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf, Forever Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (one of her all time favorites)).

Mary will be back next spring in the Fox Valley area for the Fox Cities Book Festival, and I highly recommend seeing her if you get the chance!  For more information on Mary and her upcoming events and books visit her website here.

I hope everyone had a wonderful beginning to your week!

Summer is the perfect time for reading... and author events!

One of the perks of my job is that I sometimes get to work with and/or meet authors.  This summer I have been extremely fortunate to be able to meet three talented authors so far.  I've read each of their books, so I thought I'd share details about the events and some reviews for their works :)  Brace yourself... this may be a long post!

First:  Ann Wertz Garvin.  To be honest I hadn't heard of Ann Wertz Garvin until she was part of the Fox Cities Reads book festival this past year.  At the time she had published her first book, On Maggie's Watch, and was awaiting the release of her second book, The Dog Year.  Ann contacted our store after the book festival to see if we'd be willing to have her stop in once The Dog Year was released and have a signing/workshop with her (Ann runs workshops on getting published in New York while living in Wisconsin... definitely helpful for any aspiring midwest writers!).  

Jump ahead... Ann's novel about a Wisconsin surgeon coping with the loss of both her husband and unborn child was released in early June, and we were fortunate enough to have her come visit us at the end of June.  I wasn't sure what to expect from this book... the cover has the most adorable picture of a Dalmatian on it...

...but, as much as I love animal books, I really wasn't wanting to read another dog story at the moment (loved Art of Racing in the Rain and Finding Jack is an unforgettable book, just have to be in the right mood).  But, I wanted to have read the book before I met the author. Let me tell you, Ann surprised me 100%.  Yes, this is a story about a dog named Little Dog, but more than that it's a story about grief and the different ways people deal with this emotion.  My official Goodreads review ended up being:

4 of 5 Stars

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because I wanted more from each character's storyline. The author has such awesome, off-the-wall characters and I wanted complete stories for them all. Each character is struggling with something (grief, alcoholism, loneliness, addiction, etc) and they all tie into the main character's storyline (a surgeon who copes with the loss of her husband and unborn child by stealing) wonderfully... I just wanted individual books for each character I was introduced to! This says something about how strong the characters are.
I would definitely recommend this book for fiction readers... it's not "another dog story"... yes there are dogs (cute ones and many of them!), but this book is much more than that! Enjoy!

((Side note:  I'm not all about lengthy reviews... I hate spoilers and don't like to tell the entire plot line of a book, so my reviews will typically be a couple paragraphs at the very most.))

So now I was pretty excited to meet the creator of this entertaining book.  I was not disappointed.  Ann is one of the most genuine people I have ever met.  She is full of stories and laughs, and I absolutely adored her.  I seriously could have talked to her for hours.  One of my favorite stories she told was about how she got the idea for the main character of The Dog Year dealing with grief by stealing:  She was shopping at a TJ Maxx store one day and a nicely dressed woman set off their door alarms on her way out.  Ann was expecting the woman to either 1. act shocked that the alarms were going off, or 2. run.  Instead the woman's shoulders slumped as if she knew she was caught, and she was just sad.  Ann said she wanted to run up and hug the woman rather than judge her for whatever she had done wrong.  This got Ann to wondering what the woman's backstory could potentially be... thus The Dog Year was born.  

Get to know Ann and all of her wonderfulness on her website here.  And pick up a copy her her book at your local bookstore or order it here.  

Second:  So my boss and I *might* both be huge Heather Gudenkauf fans.  We *might* always read her books right when they come out and then spend the next year or two checking for her name to pop up with a new title and wishing we hadn't read so fast.  One marvelous day we saw that Heather had a new book coming out this June titled Little Mercies.  We instantly put in our pre-orders and started a countdown.  While doing this we were discussing where exactly Heather Gudenkauf was from... my vote: east coast, her vote: west coast.  To settle this debate we went on Heather's website and checked.  She's from Iowa.  Iowa and Wisconsin share a border!  I instantly started figuring out who I could contact to see if she does events in Wisconsin, and if so would she like to do an event at our store.  The email response I got... YES.  Commence jumping up and down in my office like the booknerd I am.

The countdown was on.  While impatiently awaiting my chance to meet one of my favorite authors I read her novella (and prequel to Little Mercies) Little Lies.  My snippet of a review for that was:

4 of 5 Stars

I always look forward to new books, and in this case stories, by Heather Gudenkauf. Her writing style always keeps me wanting more (aka not putting the book done until it's finished). Although this was a novella, it still sucked me in, and now I can't wait until her next novel "Little Mercies"!

Then Little Mercies finally came into my possession, and although I attempted to savor it, I still read it in a matter of a few days (with a 1 1/2 year old, that's saying something).  My Goodreads review when I finished went something like this:

5 of 5 Stars

I LOVED this book. I always love picking up a new Heather Gudenkauf book for many reasons. First, I always know it will be wonderfully written and her characters will jump from the pages ... you feel right along with them and are compelled to keep turning pages to find out what happens to them next. Her books always tackle such interesting story lines from perspectives you might not think to look at. This particular book about a social worker who ends up being investigated by child services herself really takes a different look at a situation: What happens if the children she tries to protect every day suddenly leads to a horrifying situation in her own life? Paralleling that story with the story of a young girl who desperately needs someone to watch over her and help her through her own unexpected situation makes for a book you won't want to put down. Enjoy it, and remember to savor it (we still have a while to wait for her next page-turner!).

Days passed until finally... Heather Gudenkauf event day was upon us!  If I wasn't a big enough fan before the event, Heather's presentation and reading absolutely sealed the deal (I am a fan for life).  If you ever have the opportunity to see her speak, DO. IT.  My father came to the event and said, "Well I guess I'll be reading her books now, because I just need to hear more."  So for those of us who had read Heather's books or read fiction on a regular basis, we were in awe.  She spoke of her life, her writing process, and her love of books and reading.  I think almost everyone in the audience had a question for Heather, and she answered them all (including the fact that yes, she is working on her fifth novel and so far it's told from one point of view (her books are typically told by multiple characters in alternating chapters)).  Then we each got to chat with her and get our books signed.  Check this life goal off my bucket list... maybe not because I'd love to see her again.

Bottom line:  If you're a fiction reader and you haven't read a Heather Gudenkauf novel yet, why??  They are all excellent.  She takes very difficult topics and explores the story from multiple sides.  I love that she gives a voice to every point of view without turning certain characters into automatic villains.  That's pure talent.

Heather currently has four books: The Weight of Silence, These Things Hidden, One Breath Away, and Little Mercies.  She also has the prequel to Little Mercies: Little Lies (which is only available as an e-book).  Pick them up today, and I hope you enjoy!

Third: Mr. Patrick Rothfuss.  

Let me start this with a little story... Once upon a time I was told by a fellow manager to read Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.  "He's the most incredible author... He's from Wisconsin... His writing will amaze you,"  I was told.  But, all I could think was no science-fiction please, I'm still getting over my reading of The Hobbit (okay, I'm sure if I went back and read it now I might have a different opinion, but as a 13 year old girl reading two pages about a tree was too much detail for me.)  "I don't read sci-fi," I said, "It's not my thing."  After about a year or so of being told I need to read it (he was very persistent with his recommendation)... I finally gave in. 

Life changed.

"Hi my name is Holly, and I enjoy reading science-fiction."  What?? 

Reading Patrick Rothfuss's incredible (understatement) books opened so many doors that I hadn't wanted to even knock on in the past.  Patrick's writing, in particular, is phenomenal.  A work of art.  

Now partnering with the manager who recommended these books to me oh so long ago... we had a mission.  How do we get to meet Patrick Rothfuss?  Long story short... we happened to contact the right people at the right time, and Patrick wanted to come to our store and do an event in one month.  Wait... one month??  Umm... okay... breathe... we can totally pull this off.  Order more books!  Get posters/flyers/ads out there!  Let every customer who walks in the door know!  

Now, you should know, Patrick Rothfuss has *quite* the following.  His blog and website are followed by TONS of people from all over the world, and his charity Worldbuilders raises thousands of dollars to defeat hunger and poverty.  If you check out his website, you'll find out why.  His blog makes him relatable, yet his talents for writing (and gaming) make him someone to revere. 

So we were ready.  We pulled out all of the stops to make sure he had a successful event.  We ended up having about 200-250 people show up and everyone had a marvelous time.  He did an hour long chat with the audience during which I learned I could listen to him talk all day (Why did I not attend University of Stevens Point just so I could have had him as a professor??).  I LOVED the way he talked about writing.  He is a firm believer that anyone can write... you just need to do it.  Put pen/pencil to paper or start typing and tell your story.  It might not end up being perfect, but at least you did it.  The worst book in the world is better than something that was never written.  After his talk, he signed the audience's books. When everyone had signatures he stayed to chat and take photos with fans willing to stay longer and visited with our staff.  As if that wasn't enough, he then proceeded to sign hundreds of books in our store so we could have some signed copies on the shelves for customers who couldn't make it to the event.  All of this and he was leaving for San Diego for Comic-Con in the morning.  What an awesome guy.  Seriously.

Now I haven't written reviews for Patrick's books, The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear.  I don't know what I'd say other than read them now.  Even if you don't read science-fiction.  Even if they look waaaay too long.  If you don't like lugging around large books (check out the e-book... or the audio... I have personally listened to the audiobooks and really enjoyed them, the reader is very good).  When you're done with those, you can start your own countdown for his new novella coming out October 28th, The Slow Regard of Silent Things, because my guess is you'll be addicted too (T-Minus 79 days).

So my summer has been pretty spectacular.  

Next author I get to meet: Mary Kubica on August 25th!!  I just finished her debut novel The Good Girl, and it kept me reading well past my bedtime.  My quick review is: 

5 of 5 Stars

I really enjoyed this book!!! It's been getting a lot of comparisons to "Gone Girl," and I can see why, but I liked "The Good Girl" more. I felt the storyline was more realistic, and the reader actually has a reason to care for the characters. And I must say... the ending... perfect. Can't wait to read more of Mary Kubica's writing in the future!

Cannot wait to meet her and hear her talk about her book!

I hope you pick up a book from at least one of the authors above and enjoy it!  I'd love to hear your thoughts about their books or any encounters you've had with authors yourself!  Or, if you could meet any author who would it be and why?

Happy reading :)