Thursday, June 14, 2012

Hattiesburg, MS YA Day


    Hey guys! Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far. It’s been a super busy one here. The kids are out of school so that means getting my work done is more challenging than usual. Slowly but surely, despite the extra noise and activities the pages are piling up thank goodness. Work is always there but I’m finding some time for fun things too!

A very special vistor! My doctor, Rebecca
Boyd not only came by to support YA
Day but gave BEATIFUL CREATURES
a new home.
    One of the highlights of the last week was YA Day at Books A Million in Hattiesburg, MS. Over the past six months every event has been different but this one really took things to a whole new level. Inevitably there are down moments when no one is coming into the store. I get nervous and tend to fidget while I wait. But on Saturday, there wasn’t an ounce of down time to catch my breath. Every minute I was either having a conversation about writing, about a particular book or searching for a book. The customers were so interesting to talk to and there were several budding writers who hung around even after making their purchases to talk shop.
This was a fantastic gift bag featuring
a signed copy of EVERNEATH by
Brodi Ashton along with a very cool
Dead Elvises necklace.
    As always, the Books A Million team has been extremely supportive. I’m very thankful for their willingness to participate in YA Day. Special thanks to Tim Jackson manager of the Southaven Books A Million for being the first to take a chance on me and this idea of paying it forward for my writer buds. Tim is on Facebook and please drop him a thank you if you've enjoyed all the fun with YA Day. It wouldn't have been possible without him.
    I’m sad to see the first season of YA Day’s coming to an end but boy has it been a blast! Big thanks go out to all my writing pals who participated with retweets, messages of encouragement and took time out of their hectic writing schedules to send swag. Most of all, thanks for writing great stories to give YA Day a purpose. Jonathan Maberry, Rachel Cain, Colleen Houck, Cassandra Clare, Aprilynn Pike, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Tera Lynn Childs, Bree Despain, Brodi Ashton, Sophie Littlefield, Bekka Black, John Corey Whaley, Becka Fitzpatrick and Jeri Smith Ready . A special thanks to my writer bud, Michelle Ladner who co-hosted with me at the Biloxi Books A Million. YA Day wouldn’t have been nearly as fun without you!
this young lady won The Dark Divine
gift bag complete with a signed copy
of Bree Despain's the Dark Divine and
The Savage Grace nail polish.
    The new season for YA Day starts up again in the fall. Keep an eye out for dates and times because you never know, YA Day might be coming to your town. And as always, give a book some love.<3
Till Then,
KD