Twisted Tree "All Hallow Eve's" Launch Party

Last week, I was very lucky to be involved to the launch party of The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge at Hot Key Books HQ. Now, it’s been a while since I’ve been to a Hot Key event (they’ve moved since I visited them last so off to a new building in a different side of London!) so off to London I go to celebrate this book with other bookish people. 

I have to admit from the get go that I haven’t read the yet. In fact, I know very little about this as I wanted to go into this blind. All I knew was it’s a ghost story so it will have the chill factor. I like a good chiller read (but not horror. I hate horror!) and when I got to Hot Key, I was very much “Oh, am I the only one who hasn’t read this yet?” 

Plus, all those lovely book bloggers pals of mine who have were going “Oh, Andrew, there’s a moment that will freak you out. The doll. The crows. The thuds!” and now I have no idea what to believe or to do a Joey from Friends and be near my freezer when I read this (which might be a mistake as I’ll be reading this on my Kindle and I am not sure it can handle the cold). 

Never Say Die Launch Party

Let me tell you a story. Are we all sitting comfortable? I first discovered the Alex Rider series back when I was in college (in around 2003 - work the mental math of how old I am!). It was Eagle Strike, the fourth book in the series. I remember reading and enjoying it. So I backtracked to Stormbreaker then attack the books from there. I got to Ark Angel a few years later and went "He can't top this so am going to stop while ahead" (plus, I was going "Where the hell is Anthony going to take this now? WE WENT TO SPACE AND EVERYTHING!!! He's going to kill Alex and nope. NOPE! Or he's going to do a evil twist involving the ending of Point Blanc [FYI, which is my fave out of the series]").

But I liked this series and am very fond of them. So, when I got an out-of-the-blue email from Walker Books, asking if I wanted to come to the launch party of the latest Alex Rider book, I emailed "Yes!" almost as soon as I read it, then went "HANG ON! I thought Anthony had finished the Alex Rider series with Scorpia Rising... I know there's a prequel - Russian Roulette. Is this a prequel? Is Alex back in a new book? What is this?" And I decided to go into this as blind as I could. Little to no information WHATSOEVER (oh, that's a brave/stupid idea when you're going to an event where you think you might be meeting the author, dear readers...)

So, last Thursday, after a long day (up at 5am to do work from 6am till 2pm only to go to London and knew I was going to be up late due to train journey home), I rushed to London and made my way to the launch party (which was only a few minute walk from my train station - THIS NEVER HAPPENS!). And I almost didn't go in as the venue looked very swish (and I'm probably not cool enough to enter the building). But after going "I'm probably at the wrong place, what's the worse that could happen?" and discovering I was in the right place (by, I didn't realise till I got home, JR Moore who was doing an internship at Walker!), I slipped into the venue and did what all book bloggers do - I saw that there were people there and went "ARGH! PEOPLE!! FIND A DARK CORNER AND HIDE!!!" 

This event was filled with people in connection with the book. Book publishers, TV peeps (well, ITV are in the early stages of turning Alex Rider into a "older family series" [PLEASE DON'T MESS THIS UP, ITV!]), friends, family, author... Oh yes, Anthony Horowitz was there. THE ANTHONY HOROWITZ! 

You guys have rock stars, actors, musicians to get starstruck over. I go starstruck over authors. Plus, Anthony is a big author of my teens and early twenties so it's kinda a big deal, ok? 

A post shared by Andrew (@thepewterwolf) on Jun 4, 2017 at 11:01am PDT

After a small speeches from Anthony's editor and Anthony himself, people got food, drink and got their copies of Never Say Die signed. I was too terrified to go over - do I need to remind you who he is [plus, I saw from a distant his sons - both very attractive and I didn't want to go "Whoa! Your sons are fit!" (I have the habit of putting my foot in it when I feel out of my element - as you are about to find out in the next paragraph or so!)

And then, out of nowhere, Jane from Federation of Children's Book Groups (who I met at the Noah Can't Even launch) appeared. We chatted and she asked if I had my copy of Never Say Die (which I bought that evening) signed. "No," I replied. "It's Anthony Horowitz. I can't go over there and ask. He -" I didn't get to finish that sentence. Jane and Rosi from Walker (who, also, just appeared - both are ninjas!) practically frog-marched me over to Anthony and went "This young man is a fan of yours! Sign his book as he's slightly imitated by your awesome!" [Ok, am para-phrasing, but you get the idea[. He signed my copy and we chatted - Rosi created a boomerang of us as Anthony wondered how you make a gif (if I can find it, will share in post!)

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOGPOST TO BRING YOU A BOOMERANG!

And of course @AnthonyHorowitz and @PewterWolf13 in their gif debut #neversaydie pic.twitter.com/3BWWBhCcW6

— Walker Books (@WalkerBooksUK) June 1, 2017

Now we're back! Now, for the awkward "ahh..." moment. While chatting to Anthony (and with Rosi and Jane in earshot!), I mentioned how, earlier that day, I mentioned to my friends/other half (can't remember which) that was going to even and said "He writes the Alex Cross books". Anthony looked at me weirdly. "Apparently, in that moment, you are James Patterson in disguise" I now explained/backpedalled/blabbed. "We've never seen you in the same room together!"

[insert cringe here]

After that, Anthony had to go and chat to other people who came and I got chatting to Anthony's publicist/author pal, Justin Somper (via Jane. Thanks Jane!). He writes the Vampirates and Allies & Assassins series. It was really cool to chat to him about books, politics (is that a wise thing to chat about with a snap election in a few days time, one wonders?) and a few other things before it was time to go.

Before I wrap this up, I want to thank the people at Walker Books for inviting to this event. It was an honour and, once I found people to talk to (I need to be more outgoing to go to people I don't know and chat at these events), I have such fun. Thank you Anthony for signing that slightly hyper 30-something fan's book - and dealing with my tweets going "What the actually hell?!" and "I blame you for listening to Sheryl Crow's Tomorrow Never Dies" and now, am going to get that stuck in you head now!

ALEX RIDER IS BACK. Check out our animated #booktrailer for Never Say Die - out now in hardback and eBook #AlexRider @AnthonyHorowitz pic.twitter.com/UPEBtZ2v27

— Walker Books (@WalkerBooksUK) June 2, 2017

The Fallen Children Launch Party

Or, as I like to the call it, NICHOLAS CAGE CAKE!!! (hence the link and my reason why is coming soon!) 

So, last week, I was very kindly invited to the launch of David Owen's The Fallen Children. This was fluke as I met David at the launch party for Melinda Salisbury's The Scarecrow Queen and he asked if I wanted to come along. So, hidden in the depths of London, a small launch party for David and his slightly creepy book was taking place, filled with lovely kind people such as family, friends, authors, book publishing peeps, bloggers gathered. 

And I managed to sneak in! 

After sneaking in and buying a mystery copy of The Fallen Children (I have always told David I was going to buy a copy at his launch party), had a glass of pale ale (NOT WINE THIS TIME!), I spent time chatting briefly to David but to other people who turned up such as Jim from YA Yeah Yeah, Darran from ShinraAlpha, Charlie from @charlieinabook, Nicola Burstein, Non Pratt, Lisa Williamson, Robin Stevens, Simon P Clark and others (who's names I have forgotten as my memory is useless! But you know who you are and I hope you shout at me!). 

During this time, we had a speech from David (a clip is down below and I want to apologise for the audio. Hand was on my phone's mic!) 

Noah Can't Even Launch Party

Last Wednesday, in the secret heart of the theatre area of London, a small book launch party was thrown. This is the launch party of Simon Can't Even by Simon James Green. And it was filled with family, friends, book publishing people, people from that glittering world of theatre and TV...

... and me. [insert the awkward here. No, wait. Insert that picture to the right now!]

Thanks to the lovely people at Scholastic (who will never invite me to anything again. See further down for reasons), I was invited to come to this launch party and, for once, I realise that I could (moved departments at work). So, out of work, changed into normal human clothes, popped onto train and, was shocked to discover that I had time to spare in London. I could pop into Foyles bookshop and have a snoop at the pretties (and, even though I should be saving money due to rent, I treated myself to a copy of The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. So, guess what I'll be reading soonish... maybe...). Then, once I figured out where the launch party was being held (very close to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Aladdin! And not that far from The Mousetrap [if you've read Simon Can't Even, you know why I reference that!]), I went in and discovered...

...bananas. Quite a few bananas. Not real bananas (because fruit is healthy and that is not allowed on this blog!), but inflatable toy bananas. Because we need any more reason to be a filthy-minded lot. (If you haven't met any YA book blogger/vlogger/person, our minds live in the gutter!)

The Scarecrow Queen Launch Party

Last Wednesday (because I have been weirdly busy - thanks work, reading and Breath of the Wild!), I was very kindly invited to the launch party of Melinda Salisbury's third and final book in the Sin Eater's Daughter trilogy, The Scarecrow Queen.

Now, as you know, I have been trying to blitz this trilogy and, since been invited, I have been trying to finish Scarecrow Queen before I got to the party. And I failed. I got a good chuck in but, alas, not completed it.

So, after doing a half day at work, rushed home, changed and on the train to London I went, speed reading (or trying to. You can't rush this book, I found!) Scarecrow Queen. After getting there a bit early (for reasons am going to explain), I popped to Kings Cross to see Platform 9 and 3/4 and the shop (it was MAD!). And bought myself some pens - because that's what this Hufflepuff likes.

Then, off to where the launch party was being held - in a crypt. That's right, dear readers, a crypt. It wasn't Melinda's natural writing habitat (I checked) and we weren't going to get locked in and have to offer a blood sacrifice to get out and go home (though, I would have loved to see how work would have reacted if I phoned up and went "I'm going to be in today. Why, you ask? Well...". Plus, I could have finished Scarecrow Queen in peace!).

But, I had to get there a little bit early because Lorraine from Scholastic asked if I fancied asking Melinda some questions on their Facebook Live feed. I said yes, then panicked because I have no filter. So I had to be professional and control and not panic over the fact that, before I left for the event, I spend ages trying to figure out what to wear! I HAVE TO LOOK ME BUT PROFESSIONAL  BOOK BLOGGER/LOVER!

I haven't watched the video. I just can't. Not only because I'm not a fan of watching myself on film, but a little bit because I got Melinda's surname wrong. Of all the things that could go wrong, I didn't think me GETTING THEIR NAME WRONG TO THEIR FACE would be one. And after me panicking over getting the characters's names wrong (how many times I asked how to pronounce Twylla before the interview?). But Melinda has a great sense of humour (as you can see) so, hopefully, she didn't get that annoyed with me. Plus, if we play our cards right, we might be able to annoy Sainsbury's supermarket chain for some freebies (unlikely but you never know!). 

Oh, if you want to enter the contest I mention, go to Scholastic UK's Facebook page and like the video. And that's it! 

Anyway, after that whirlwind panic, the launch party started! The crypt was creepy and filled with people - family, friends, publishing people (some who needed wine after London Book Fair - apparently, it was manic!) and bloggers! There was (hang on, let me check my Twitter as have a bad memory and I did have two glasses of wine on an empty stomach!): George from @TheGeorgeLester, Kate from @Magic_Kitten, Darren from @ShinraAlpha, Bex from @MyShelfMyself, Jess from @bookendsending, @littlehux (Am positive we chatted very briefly, or am I misremembering), Grace from @_gracelatter & Stephen from @MyBookishLife. I spoke to David Owen (whose upcoming novel, The Fallen Children, is coming out soon) who is very cool and will be helping me out with Zelda if/when I get stuck/find time to play it. I saw (but was too scared to talk to) CJ Daughter (Night School series and Secret Fire duology) and Chris Russell (Songs About A Girl) and I discovered that Katharine Corr (co-author of the Witch's Kiss series), Lindsay Galvin (whose novel, The Breathing Sea, will be out next year) and L.D. Lapinski (not sure if I spoke to you. If I did, yeah! If not, sorry! NEXT TIME, HUNT ME DOWN AND SAY HI!!!). 

After small, very sweet speeches, we had tiny cup cakes and got copies signed. And this is what Melinda wrote in mine... 

This fits perfectly with what Melinda wrote in my copies of Sin Eater's Daughter and The Sleeping Prince. But, HA-HA! I FINISHED SCARECROW QUEEN YESTERDAY (my reactions to this will be coming soon!) 

And then, due to it being a work night and the train journey back, we left. And the crypt looked SUPER CREEPY at night! 

Anyway, I would like to thank Melinda Salisbury, Lorraine from Scholastic and everyone at Scholastic for inviting me. It was such a fun evening and can't wait to see what Melinda writes next! 

WILD BOY Launch Party!

Last Thursday, I was very kindly invited to the launch party to Rob Lloyd Jones's Wild Boy. And, like the true pro I am, I didn't take any pictures of the invite! In fact, the only pic I have is a photo of Saint Paul's on my way back to the tube station (because after two small glasses of white wine and a pint of beer on a stomach lined with no real food since 2pm, this seemed like the most sane thing to do!)

So, in a small lovely bookshop near St Paul's Cathedral (Daunt Shop, if you want to know), a group of family, friend, publishing people and bloggers join together to celebrate the publication of Wild Boy. And as you know from my review, I loved this book (if you haven't read my slightly gushy review, here you go!) and kinda want a sequel/need the BBC to turn it into a family evening TV show (come on! It'll be so good!). So, yeah... I loved this book.

And I got invited. Which is awesome so thank you Rob and Hannah for Walker. Thank you! It was so nice of you to invite me to this evening. Even though on the day in question, I was in work clothes/shoes so you had no idea who I was as my Twitter picture is of converse trainers....

So, the event itself was so much fun. It was nice to meet people I have chatted to on Twitter/email and meet them face-to-face. It was cool to finally meet Rob and try not to act like a stalker and beg him to sign my ARC (I didn't so you guys can breath a sigh of relief as he hasn't put a restraining order on me). And I met new people!

I FINALLY met Hannah from Walker Books who is always lovely when I email her questions and I remet Sean from Walker and they talked/ordered me to read Patrick Ness soon (PROMISE!) and chatted about Doctor Who, Firefly (a show I have never seen but *SHHH!* don't tell anyone!) and a few random TV shows from the past (what happens in Daunt Books, stays in Daunt Books). I met the lovely Kim Curran, author of Shift for Strange Chemistry, and we chatted about her book and I realised that I have completely got the book wrong (basically, I thought it was one thing when, actually, it's something cooler so guess what I'm going to buy on my next paycheck?) and she said how long it took to write her first draft of Shift's sequel, Control, and... OH MY GOODNESS! I met Non, Catnip Books editor, and we chatted very briefly about music (we both LOVE music!) and Stephanie from Usborne, who said she loves my tweets (are you feeling alright? You love my random tweets of cats wearing hats and me sobbing over Fictional Boyfriends?) and I met fellow blogger, Hannah from My Book Journey and our chats about books must have got us some looks (because we are that awesome). I, also, met James Dawson again (but it was a flying visit as... well... [should I really be telling you this?] he got off the wrong stop and accidentally gatecrash another event...)

This is a small "thank you" post. I'm not that awesome to write about Rob's very warm and very funny speech (because I have completely forgotten what he said). Although, Rob, we might need you to tweet a pic of the T-Shirt... please!

So, thank you. THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU for a wonderful time. I feel very lucky and honored to go to these events and if I acted like a chihuahua, it's because all book people (authors, publishers, other bloggers, etc) are my rock stars so I was trying to "fit in" and "be cool", which must be a weird sight for you all so, for that, I apologise.

Now, for those of you, the wait is over. The only photo I took that Thursday night!

Hot Key Books Launch

Before I go any further, I want to thank Hot Key Books for inviting me. I still get EXTREMELY excited and honoured when I get invited to these events (and for someone who's still waiting for a "Hey! What are you doing here, you're not a TRUE book blogger! GET OUT!"). I, also, has to say sorry in advance. I didn't take notes so am using memory and other bloggers's write ups to refresh my memory...

At Hot Key HQ, a bunch of us Book Bloggers (hi everyone who went! Nice to see you all again and hello to everyone who I met for the first time!) chatted to everyone at Hot Key, all the bloggers and the three lovely authors who were there: Sarah Mussi (author of launch title Angel Dust), Lydia Syson (author of The World Between Us) and Sally Gardner (author of Maggot Moon).

Together in a shiny conference room, Hot Key explained the content guidance ring (which explains the story's main themes) and they chatted about their books coming through 2012 and hinted at some of their titles in 2013 (barring a few titles, all of them sound cool and up my street! And we can't talk about them! Wanna see the Launch List? Here you go!).

All three authors chatted about their books: Sarah Mussi explained how the idea came from a traffic jam at New Cross and explained that her story is about an angel who goes to earth to bring a gangster to the afterlife - but instead, she falls in love with him. Lydia Syson explained about her own grandparents in the Spanish Civil War, talked about how this Civil War isn't taught in schools and briefly touched that this story, while set against the civil war, is a love story. Sally Gardner chatted about Maggot Moon, how it was inspired from her research of her previous novel, Double Shadow, and how she wanted to really show what dyslexia is really like. 


After that, we had a skype chat with S.J. Kincaid, author of Insignia, another launch title for Hot Key. Some of you guys might be aware of this book as most UK book bloggers have raved about this book (once it's released, you'll see their quotes in the front and back covers). The buzz is going to get bigger with the news with 20th Century Fox optioning the film rights to the trilogy (which means I will be reading this soon...). 


It was fun day so, again, thank you Hot Key for the invite! 


*


Oh, while I'm chatting about Launch Parties, I need to chat to you about 3 events I went to over the last few months and haven't written up yet (sorry for the hijack!). I can't really chat about the Cat Clarke event till Quercus gives us the all clear [though it's common knowledge that her novel will be called UNDONE]. The Cassandra Clare event hosted by Maureen Johnson... well, I have a shocking memory and I blocked out most of the answers she gave as I haven't read City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls so I won't be writing that up (sorry, Neil at Foyles who invited me! You're awesome, FYI). And the Creative Voices event (with Kimblery Derting, Cat Clarke, James Dawson & Tanya Bryne)... I will try and write that up soon!

Walker Books Blogger Event

On Saturday, a few bloggers and I gathered outside a pub - The Coach and Horses pub - on a very cold morning and getting quite excited. Because we were invited to a Blogger Event organised by Walker Books as part of their YA section, UNDERCOVER READS! It was lovely to be invited as I haven't been on their radar for long. Plus it was lovely to meet up with all the awesome blogggers again, as they are awesome.

So, treated to tea, finger sandwiches and cakes, we all sat down and got told some exciting books that Walker are publishing under their Undercover range (which is continuing into 2012 as it was so popular and successful in 2011). Jack told us the interesting story on how a cover for upcoming novel, Daylight Saving, and on the idea on how the countdown (see below) came into existence. And, with that, Edward Hogan (author of Daylight Saving and two adult novels, Blackmoor and The Hunger Trace) talked about how he wrote Daylight Saving (by accident and from one scary experience when he was ten and at Centre Parcs in Sherwood Forest [thanks. Am going there in the next few months...])

So, not going to talk about all the books, but here are a few that I think you should keep your eyes and ears open for:

DAYLIGHT SAVING by Edward Hogan - a thriller ghost story set in a Center Parcs-like setting. The cover is below (it's basically the timer with a cool watery effect) and I am very excited about this. I want books that will have me on the edge of my seat, and this sounds perfect! I NEED to read this book!

BODY BLOW by Peter Cocks - the second book in the Eddie Savage series. I am ashamed to say I do have the prequel, Long Reach, in my To Read pile. And this sounds like a gripping tale that will praise Alex Rider fans with its dark grit.

FROSTBITE by Zoe Marriott - If I didn't write briefly about this, I sense Laura from SisterSpooky and Leanne from District YA would get very angry at me. There was shock when I told people that I hadn't read Zoe's first novel, Shadows of the Moon. So much so (from both Walker Books and every blogger), one member of Walker (I think it was Ruth) thrust a copy in my hands and ordered me to read it when I can find the time. But this is dark fantasy that tackles love triangles, war and racial identity. This actually might be something I could read...

It was lovely and exciting to hear of cool books to come and I would like to thank everyone from Walker for inviting me. I would like to thank Edward for coming and chatting about Daylight Saving and thank you to everyone who come as it was such a fun morning!





PS - was I the only one who thought that one of the Walkers' ladies looked like the singer Sia?
PPS - In future, Carly (from Writing In The Tub) and myself are dangerous together. Just dangerous...

Atom Books Bloggers Event

On Wendesday just gone, I went to Atom Books HQ for a Book Bloggers event. I have special place in my heart for Atom as, this time last year, they invited to me to my first EVER book bloggers event! And here I was again, a year later!

But, before that, I met up with Laura from SisterSpooky, Leanne from District YA & Clover for Fluttering Butterflies for a quick coffee in Starbucks. It was nice to chat up with Laura and Leanne since I last met them at Cassandra Clare event and it was lovely to finally meet Clover (though I fear Laura, Leanne and I scared her. SORRY!!!)

And then we walked inside and met so many other bloggers! All who are lovely and awesome and the names I know and have forgotten (I am that kinda person! Sorry everyone!) But hello Stacey, Carly, Joanna, Rhys, Bella, Vivienne, Lynsey & Matt and everyone else I forgot!

So, after we mingled, chatted and stole food and drinks, the lovely ladies of Atom (is it wrong I want to call them the A Team?) told us about the exciting new books they have planned for next year! This includes chatting about books such as 172 Hours on The Moon, Under a Never Sky, The Book of Blood And Shadow (which I have read [review coming soon...] and I kept called The Book of Smoke and Bone [thanks Laini Taylor!] and other very exciting books while having authors C.J. Daugherty & Sara Manning chatting about their novels, Night School and ADorkAble.

So, after swooning over books (mine was Night School [though I forgot it was coming out so soon!], Under A Never Sky and, much to my surprise, 172 Hours On The Moon [sounds completely chilling! Perfect as I want scary reads!]), we went out and chatted some more. Randomly chatted to Sara about knitting (most of it went over my head but she's lovely!) and discovered that the term ADorkAble is being used in a US TV show called The New Girl (Sue them, Sara! SUE!!!) and Laura, Leanna and I might have scared C.J. Daugherty about being a debut novelist, the hyper round the book in the USA and how Twitter/GoodReads are wonderful (and she didn't seem scared of us...).

It was a fun yet random book evening where chat turned to Breaking Dawn movie, Laura (without me knowing) asking when the next Tom Clempson book is out (2013), why we saw no news of Andrea Cremer Bloodrose (Because it was time new authors shine) and backing Lynsey as we went "PLEASE buy the UK rights to Hourglass by Myra McEntire!" (They looked at it but heard radio silence. Will double check for us!).

So, I want to thank Atom again for inviting me. You guys rock!

Actually, seeing as Atom were so lovely in invited me, I managed to get some books (with their permission. NEVER STEAL, KIDS!)that I want to give away to you. So, I am doing a random competition where there will be 3 WINNERS, each winning one book each. The books are BREAKING DAWN by Stephenie Meyer, MONSTER HIGH 3: WHERE THERE'S A WOLF, THERE'S A WAY by Lisi Harrison and TRAPPED by Michael Northrop! Will randomly choose who gets what book (via Random.org) as I want this to be truly a surprise for all the winners! If you fancy entering a winning a book, fill in the form below!



Good luck and thank you, again, to Atom for inviting me! :)

HarperCollins Book Bloggers Event

(aka How I Got Tongue-Tied InFront of Maureen Johnson... as you do!)

Am a bit late writing this up so BEAR WITH ME if my notes/memory are wrong!

So, on Saturday, I was invited to the first EVER Harper Collins Book Bloggers Event. It was very touch-and-go with me but, somehow, I made it! I had to leave the Person I'm With (aka the PIW) at Westfield Stratford (yes, I know! He is very understanding and yes, I know I'm a terrible boyfriend!) and rushed to Les Deux Salons around the Convent Garden/Leicester Square area for Afternoon Tea.

Oh yes, it sounded like a posh affair. And when I turned up, I felt very undressed. But it was lovely! There was a dangerous amount of food and tea. Now, as you guys know, I love my food and cups (the PIW coughed "Giant mugs of tea" then) so I was one happy blogger already. So, when you have three authors at this little event - Maureen Johnson, Will Hill and Robin Jarvis - you kinda forget why your there.

After quick introductions (where I got nervous and introduced myself as "I'm Andrew and I'm a book addict. No, wait! Wrong meeting!"), the three authors quickly chatted about their books.

Robin Jarvis chatted about his new trilogy Dancing Jax, which is about a dangerous book written by Austerly Fellows, a mysterious turn-of-the-century occultist, which has recently been discovered in a basement of an empty house. This book is dangerous and soon, children and teenagers are slowly getting caught up in this danger. Robin compared the dangers of Dancing Jax like "pushing drugs onto kids. But it's a book." and describe the dangerous world as "Narnia on crack". Now, this trilogy is a big deal as this is Robin's first novel in a DECADE!!!

Then, we had Will Hill, author of Department 19 and its sequel The Rising. He chatted about how the two books can be read together or separately (which is good as I haven't read Department 19 but The Rising sounds like awesomely scary!). He described both books as "violent and unpleasant", and yet his mum just finished reading The Rising and said "I liked it, though I'm not sure about page 300...". Will continued to talk about how Department 19 can be seen as a "rescue mission" whereas The Rising is "very much a fight for survival."

And then, Maureen Johnson talked about Name of the Star. She introduced herself as "The one with the accent". She explained how the idea of the Shade of London series came about. It came from when she was in London, researching The Last Blue Envelope. She was on a ghost tour and thought "Why aren't I putting dead bodies in my books?" then "Why do people think there's a ghost that opens a door or makes a cold spot? Why not have a ghost with attitude?". With that, she researched London, Jack the Ripper and the sewer system (Still not sure why, Maureen?). With that, she revealed that she kept up the death in the series as within the first chapter of book two, she "killed a character with a hammer". Then, suddenly, she said, "I have the title of book 2 but I haven't told my editor" [who was sitting a seat away from me]. So, quickly whispered in the editor's ear and the editor went "Love it!", Maureen revealed the title to us. The second book in the Shades of London series is...

... THE MADNESS BENEATH!

So, after that, we were offered books, more cake and a chat to quickly to the authors. I was late to the books so I only got some (but I grab a copy of Carrier of the Mark which I have my eye on for quick some time...) and then chatted to the authors briefly. I told Robin Jarvis that after starting one of his books (it was either The Alchymist's Cat, The Raven's Knot or Deathscent), I left it unfinished as it scared me beyond words! He seemed a tiny bit pleased about that.

Then, I tried to talk to Maureen and ask her to sign my copy of Name of the Star. Now, here's the thing. I get nervous easily, so I fake my confidence quite a bit. And seeing as I almost whacked my head on a lamp, it didn't go that well. But Maureen was lovely and must have been shattered seeing as she literally came from a book-signing (I bet the line was full of Nerdfighters! DFTBA!!!!). And I'm not sure why I was nervous around her when I was chatting with her one-to-one as a group of us chatted to her while drinking tea and eating scones about Misfits, John Green, Alex Day & Charlie MacDonald (Nerimon & CharlieIsSoCoolLike for those of you who use YouTube).

After the event, when having a quick drink, chatted quickly to Will Hill over his iPad (I know. How rock and roll) and going "He's random and cool. And where the hell did he get that T-Shirt from? WANT!") and with that, I left to return to the PIW at Westfield and hope he didn't spend too much money.

Now, to HarperCollins, I want to give a quick thank you for inviting me. It was a lovely afternoon!

PS - HarperCollins gave us a mysterious USB stick, which is rumoured to have extra content (video, extracts, etc). Haven't plugged it into my computer yet but will soon...!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone LAUNCH PARTY!

Last night, in a small bar in the city of London, Hodder did a launch party for THE DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor. It was filled with the author (and her amazing pink hair!), people from Hodder and the PR company Hot Cherry, booksellers, bloggers...

... and myself.

Yep. I was there! And it was one interesting and slightly random evening.

As you know, I don't see myself as a blogger (still waiting for the day when someone goes "Hey! You're faking it! GET OUT!" but still... no one notice!) so getting invited to these events and ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO GO is kind of a big (and surreal) thing for me.

So, after turning up at the location (getting lost while trying to find the place), I bumped into bloggers I have met before (HELLO!!!) and bloggers I haven't met before and only know through Twitter and spying on their blogs (HELLO! Have you survived meeting me?). And after we got our hands on a special cocktail made for the event (it was PINK! And a video of it being made is at the bottom of the blogpost), everyone went and chatted to everyone else. And there was a lot of people at this event that loved the book - basically, people who love books and get excited over books!

And then, we all met the author. Laini Taylor. She's lovely! Really nice and smiley! She was on Woman's Hour that morning (here it is - start around the 25 minutes mark!) and looked like she was enjoying herself at the event to celebrate her book's success so far in the UK! She chatted and signed copies of our books and, while she signed mine, I asked if her hair grew out pink (if you have no idea why I ask that, I suggest you read the book...) and the answer was yes (though don't look too closely to the roots)...

And with that, everyone chatted. We chatted about the book and other books (that was cool. Expect when I said I didn't get and didn't finished Delirium by Lauren Oliver, and one of the people I chatted to was from Hodder and the look of shock on her face... yeah...) and onto random stuff (One chat random went from Harry Potter to Twilight to Hobbits to big feet to... yes, it was THAT random).

And we had food. I have decide that to please book bloggers, you need three things. One: books. Two: drink. Three: food. And the food was something else. It was smoking! Seriously! As you can see from the pic, it was eeire yet cool! With this and mini delights like Chocolate Air, it was a fun evening for food. My random fave was the little meringues that, when popped into your mouth, made you look like a fire-breathing dragon as smoke came out of your nose and mouth!

The most random part of the night was discovering that, in the main room where this launch party was placed, there was a side-room which had (for no reason), a iron bathtub. Don't believe me? See below!



Told you! Anyway, it was a fun night so I have to thank Hodder and Hot Cherry for inviting me and everyone who turned up and made the event a right laugh!


And now, as promised, the video of the Special cocktail made for the event last night...


Oh, By the way! I'm hosting a competition to win a copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Well, last night, I got it signed. So, it's now a chance to win a SIGNED COPY OF DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE! You have till 7pm Friday to enter! Go! GO!

(Also, there are pics of me meeting the author, Laini Taylor. But I don't have them - other bloggers do. Once I see them, I will retweet on Twitter and share on Facebook).

Cat Clarke's Launch Party

I was invited to a launch party for a debut novel, Entangled, by Cat Clarke that happened last night.



It was so cool!

Before the event, I met up with Sya from Mountain of Insteads and Lauren from I Was A Teenage Book Geek. Now, I have been Twitter-friendly with Sya for a while, but it was lovely to meet her in the flesh! Both were lovely and, because they were friendly and made me feel completely at ease, I beg you to check their blogs!

So, when the three of us turned up at the launch party, it was FULL! Loads of people turned up! And I bumped into Book Bloggers I met once before at the Atom Books Bloggers Event. I met Liz from My Favourite Books & Sarah from Feeling Fictional again and I met new bloggers. I met Carly from Writing From The Tub, Caroline from Portrait of a Woman.

There were, also, some authors there. As well as Cat herself (who I hugged! She's awesome!), there was Michelle Harrison (who I got a bit starstruck over and, because of that, I stayed away. If I did go up to her, I would have probably come across like some crazy!) & another debut author, Karen Mahoney, who I chatted to later that evening. I love her laugh! Also, the model who was on the cover of Entangled came! A "Surprise Surprise" guest!

Actually, I have a story about Karen Mahoney. When I first entered the party and bumped into Liz, she silently pointed to a woman who had her back to me. "That's Karen Mahoney," she whispered. My reaction: "Shout up!" and Liz must have seen the giddiness/hyperness in my eyes and said, quickly, "Don't hug her from behind! She's a Londoner and will beat you up!"

It was a really cool night and I really think you should read it! Go on... you know you want to...

I got a few pictures (see below), but Sarah from Feeling Fictional or @sarahreviews took loads and they look MEGA professional! And, yes, there is a photo of me. *sobs* Click here to see them!