I attended this year for the first time after a co-worker invited me. I had no idea what to expect, someone said it was going to be like an Anime Convention, with different vendors and special books with author events.
It wasn't.
But that was okay, it was very lowkey and I was surprised by the number of people that attended-with their children no less! Children who actually read books, on top of that! And enjoy them! I went for the weekend, left early on Saturday since I got somewhat bored. Sunday was much more interesting as there were more events to attend and distract myself with.
The rain was fun too.
Liz Braswell, "Stuffed"
Katie Zhao, "The Dragon Warrior"
William Lashner "Elizabeth Webster"
The three-spoke to the young children, and encouraged them to reach out and grasp their creativity. They all spoke about how important is it to have patience and passion and I dearly hope the younglings took their advice to heart-I know I did!
I visited this panel for Liz Braswell, the author of Part Of Your World, A Twisted Tale. I hadn't read the book yet, but The Little Mermaid was a huge part of my childhood, so I could not pass up the opportunity to get my copy signed! I knew, out of the biasedness of my heart, I would love it, regardless.
Julie Berry, "Lovely War"
Kat Cho, "Wicked Fox"
Alexandra Villasante, "The Grief Keeper"
My motivation for joining this panel was for Cho, who's book I've read and enjoyed quite a bit; Wicked Fox. I managed to get my Fairyloot edition signed by her with a pink sharpie, and I absolutely adore it!
I learned a few things about her thought process in writing her book, and it's helped me view the book differently. It's also helped me consider things such as the relationship between author and book when taking notes for future reviews. Thank you for that insight, Cho!
Unfortunately, I can't say I enjoyed the panel and ended up leaving the panel early (by like, five minutes). The moderator of the panel, Romina Garber, was quite dreadful and spent a good 15 minutes promoting her own book before introducing the authors. She read from her phone a carefully written speech about each author, then asked for them to.... introduce themselves. So it was halfway through the panel before any questions were asked-and not by the audience. Romina Garber hogged all the time with her own questions and it took one of the authors (Julie Berry) to get Garber to let the audience speak. At this point, there were only seven minutes left.
I will say; Julie Berry knows how to pitch a book. Lovely War was not a book I intended to pick up because I totally judge a book by its cover, and it just didn't entice. But hey, a cheesy love story set in the middle of World War I, told from the unreliable storytellers of Aphrodite and Hades in a manhattan hotel while World War II is happening?
That's not just my cup of tea, it's my pitcher.
Oh yes. It started to rain. I was in a panel with Stephanie Garber & Tahereh Mafi when it happened. I left the panel early because huge spoiler bombs were being dropped (Moderator! You just can't assume everyone's up to date with the latest book!) When I walked outside, it was pouring.
Not something you want in an outdoor fair of books.
F.C Yee, author of The Rise of Kyoshi
& Micheal Dimartino, Co-Creator of...!
AVATAR THE LAST AIR BENDER!
Was I excited? Yep! Am I a big fan? Sort of! I only watched Avatar this year, so I don't have the same nostalgic lens as everyone else. But it's a great series and I hope to become a huge nerd of it someday! I was happy to get my special Aang pop signed by Dimartino!
F.C. Yee also took the top spot of favorite author based on his personality alone! I was disappointed that I failed in striking a conversation with him. I'll try next time!
"It's not about honor, it's about hatred!"
I had a lot of laughs at this panel and learned quite a bit about the avatar universe. Liiiike how bone bending is indeed possible. As well as, despite how it may seem when rewatching the series and all the attention to detail. Avatar was not outlined and was sort of pantsed. Surprising! I know!
The three of them shared stories about their time working on Avatar, and F.C. Yee shared the story about how he got the gig, and his writing process through certain scenes and choices. I hadn't read the Kyoshi book yet, but Dimartino said that it really captured the atmosphere and intend that Avatar & Korra had. So if you were on the fence about reading this book--it's got the creator's approval seal, 8/10 would recommend!
No... I'm not just saying that because I'm crushing on F.C. Yee, pssshh.
Maureen Johnson, "Truly Devious"
Diana Peterfreund, "In The Hall With The Knife"
My favorite panel! I was accompanied to this panel by the lovely author of Elvort, Nathaniel Munoz. The authors worked well together and answered each question with their own flare. The diversity was great and made the panel a lot more interesting. I've learned a lot bout what goes into a book, the work, the planning, the years, the emotions. There's a lot we don't see go into a book, and there's a lot we miss that did. Meeting authors, these and all the others has really helped cleared up a few things.
Thank you, Miami Dade, for putting together this book fair, I had a pretty good time! I look forward for next year!
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