BEA
Monday, June 2, 2008I was at Book Expo America in Los Angeles this past weekend. It is the big national event where all of the publishers are showcasing their upcoming books to all of the retailers. The convention is also attended by librarians and other book enthusiasts. It was my third time attending the event. The previous one was in New York.
I was there to help more people discover Fablehaven and The Candy Shop War, and I think I had some good success. I was pleased with how many people were already aware of my books. Probably the funnest part was some of the authors I met and hung out with.
Most of the time I was hanging out with other Shadow Mountain guys. This includes Obert Skye, James Dashner, and Jason Wright. Also my editor Chris Schoebinger. They're all cool guys. I knew James the least, but now I know him better, and we all had a nice time together, except when James got carsick and ended up jumping out of the car to dry-heave at a greenbelt in Beverly Hills. Poor guy. He was a trooper. I passionately hate getting nauseated.
I spoke briefly with Brandon Sanderson, who writes the Alcatraz books and lots of great adult fantasy. I think he's a really good writer and I like him a bunch.
I also met Dean Lorey, who writes the Nightmare Academy books. He was a nice guy, and we roamed around and chatted for a while. He has a fascinating background writing for TV and film. I expect we'll cross paths again.
I signed books at the same time as Christopher Paolini, who writes Eragon and Eldest and has Brisingr coming out soon. We were able to have a good chat before the signing started. I wasn't sure what to expect from him. Having had so much success so young, I could picture him being spoiled by that, but happily that did not seem to be the case. He was very nice and friendly, so we had a good talk. We have the same agent, who introduced us.
I was probably most geeked out when I got to meet Neil Gaiman. He has written all sorts of things, including Stardust and Coraline. He spoke at a breakfast I attended, and I wanted to meet him there, but the crowds were too big. But then I went to a party at CAA, the agency that handles my movie rights, and Neil was there. So I tried to put on a brave face and approached him. To my vast relief he was very friendly, and we had a decent chat. He had an aura of cool around him, but maybe that was just because I have huge respect for his imagination.
Overall, the book expo was a chance to mingle with lots of people who are into the same stuff I love: writing and reading books. I had a great time, and am already looking forward to next year when the expo is back in New York.
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June 2, 2008 2:32 PM
Next time cut off Dashner at two Pina Coladas.