Event Re-cap: YA IN BLOOM

This past Saturday was the first ever YA IN BLOOM event at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, CA. My cousin and I decided on making the trip which was about an 1 ½ drive, not too bad considering it was the Gold Cup final; Mexico vs. US (in Pasadena as well).

Upon arriving we were given a swag bag (it was orange! *squee* My favorite color!) filled with goodies, swag and 2 books. Upon taking our seats I happened to run into Tessa, From The Bookshelf of T.B. I was so excited to finally get to meet her. She has been one of my blogging buddies from the very beginning. I am still utterly amazed at the fact that she is only a freshman in High School. This girl can WRITE! She is also very dedicated… I don’t think I would have been able to run a blog at such a young age.

Tessa and I! Isn't she cute?!

Tessa and I were comparing books from our goodie bag when we happened to meet yet another great blogger, Lauren over at 365 Days of Reading. Both these girls are adorable and super young! (I felt so OLD!) And can I just mention how awesome Lauren is?! One of the books she received in her goodie bag was TRAIL BY FIRE by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Since she already had a copy at home, she gave me her extra copy… yeah, she’s THAT awesome! Thanks so much again, Lauren :)

We all decided to sit together up front and gave our undivided attention to our wonderful hosts Alyson and Alethea. These lovely ladies are too cool for words. YA IN BLOOM was an idea they started about a year ago and after working their butts off to have various authors’ present, books to giveaway; including 2 booster boxes that were worth over $500… I think it’s safe to say that YA IN BLOOM was a success! The event had approx 100 people present at the event; writers, author, bloggers, book lovers, etc. They also provided a delicious lunch :)

The Vroman’s staff was also super friendly and helpful. I don’t think they could have picked a better bookstore to host the event. They gave us a 20% discount coupon too! After a ton of giveaways, author Q&A and an enthusiastic YA presentation on book selling, it was time for the author signing. There were some pretty awesome authors present; 

Cindy Pon (Silver Phoenix)
Lisa Yee (Absolutely Maybe)

Katie Alender (Bad Girls Don’t Die)
Gretchen McNeil (Possess) 

Nancy Holder (Wicked) 

Jessica Brody (My Life Undecided) 

Andrew Smith (The Marbury Lens)

 

I was very excited to finally meet Cindy Pon. She was so nice and fashionable, definitely felt under dressed when I was standing next to her. After getting my books signed, I made my way over to the desert table, I grabbed myself a slice of the most delicious Lemon pie I have EVER tasted! Seriously, my taste buds were in heaven! A special shout out to Lizette Hernandez, the genius behind these creations.

Well my friends, that concludes my event re-cap. Thanks once again to everyone who helped organize this event. Also, make sure and check out the website Bridge to Books, for more info and future events.

My cousin w/Jessica Brody

Finally got to meet Ms. Nancy!

Alyson, YA IN BLOOM host. Check out her blog: http://www.kidlitfrenzy.com/

Alethea, other YA IN BLOOM host :) check out her blog http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/