This is certainly one of the most exciting Mailbox Mondays I've created. This week was special in not only getting signed books, but getting them from authors in person. This rarely happens to me.
I go to movie conventions every year and meet celebrities and actors, but rarely do I get a chance to meet writers I know. It was exciting to finally be able to meet R.L. Stine, an author I devoured growing up. I knew him mainly through Fear Street series, and was an older teenager when the Goosebumps rolled around. Apparently it was Goosebumps that really made him popular. At the Q&A almost all questions were focused around these.
The only thing irritating was the convention center didn't give him a microphone like they usually do, so it was hard to hear, especially made worse since next door they had another Q&A going on that was loud and they had microphones. I was lucky to be sitting in the front row but I really feel bad for those a few rows behind me.
My Spooky Convention Signings
I was able to get two books, Melissa ended up getting four. Since I'll borrow hers once she reads them and because they're fun to display, will show all four here. Here are the two I received:
Stine said he wrote Red Rain with some of his earlier readers in mind. He's realizing almost everyone who made him so popular has now grown up! The reviews have been mixed but the plot sounds intriguing. Excited about this one and will get to it soon. Due to time issues (only had one hour to sign and a long line) he was not personalizing. The bottom right picture is a Goosebumps I brought for him to do for my son.
Travel writer Lea Sutter finds herself on a small island off the coast of South Carolina, the wrong place at the wrong time. A merciless, unanticipated hurricane cuts a path of destruction and Lea barely escapes with her life. In the storm’s aftermath, she discovers orphaned twin boys and impulsively decides to adopt them. The boys, Samuel and Daniel, seem amiable and immensely grateful; Lea’s family back on Long Island—husband Mark and their two children, Ira and Elena—aren’t quite so pleased. But even they can’t anticipate the twins’ true nature—or predict that, within a few weeks’ time, Mark will wind up implicated in two brutal murders, with the police narrowing in.
The next I got was from Heather Brewer. She has a young adult series out there and brought all the books. Honestly I hadn't heard of her yet but keep meaning to get into more young adult fiction and hers sounds good. When I went to purchase the book, was pleasantly surprised to find that it was "two books in one." Apparently she has two books that are consecutive series - one from the point of view of the hunter, one from the point of view of the 8th grade vampire/human hybrid. Never read a series told from different points of view before, so glad that both "first books" are included in this edition.
Eighth Grade Bites: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Book #1
Junior high really sucks for thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: his mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: he's being hunted by a vampire killer.
The Book Video:
First Kill: The Slayer Chronicles, Book #1
The Chronicles of Vladmir Tod is still sinking its fangs into readers. Now, "New York Times"-bestselling author Brewer brings fans the other side of the story, from the perspective of Vlad's former friend-turned-mortal enemy, vampire slyer Joss Macmillan.
The Book Video:
Melissa's Spooky Con Signings
Who Framed Boris Karloff looked cute. The autograph is kind of hard to read from the picture, but says: To Melissa: Enjoy the Terror! Just kidding...there is no terror. The author seemed very sweet. On the left is Melissa and the author, on the far right the book cover.
It's 1938 and there is murder afoot on the set of Son of Frankenstein — Boris Karloff has been framed for murder! He joins forces with Basil Rathbone, in full Sherlockian mode, and a gleeful Bela Lugosi. It's a case of the legends of horror meet the three stooges as our heroes search for a missing movie mogul and cross swords with the Hollywood Mob.
We ran into this author and book in the Vendor room. The back of it seemed intriguing and the author was a delight to meet, very enthusiastic. She says it is her answer to Twilight, which she dislikes. I don't think this one is on Goodreads and it's Melissa copy so I can't dig up the ISBN, it seems it may be a self-published book but I have no idea.
Borrowed Book
Although she only gave it a mediocre rating (said the end angered her!) this cute cover caught my eye and Melissa let me borrow this Zombie bash.
First book in a series:
"One woman's story as she blogs - and fights back - the zombie apocalypse"
Allison Hewitt and her five colleagues at the Brooks and Peabody Bookstore are trapped together when the zombie outbreak hits. Allison reaches out for help through her blog, writing on her laptop and utilizing the military's emergency wireless network (SNET). It may also be her only chance to reach her mother. But as the reality of their situation sinks in, Allison's blog becomes a harrowing account of her edge-of-the-seat adventures (with some witty sarcasm thrown in) as she and her companions fight their way through ravenous zombies and sometimes even more dangerous humans.
