Serena Takes a Rainbow Rowell Signing! (+ a Giveaway)
As soon as I found out Rainbow Rowell, one of my absolute favorite authors EVER, was signing relatively near me, I asked my parents if I could go. We worked it out, and I got to go with one of my best friends.
It took us about an hour and a half to drive down to Oceanside (not much traffic YAY), and we watched Tangled on the way to Barnes and Noble, as you do. The first thing I saw when we pulled into the parking lot was this cool signage on the front window.
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| The lighting was not the best, but look at how cuteeee. |
After we had ourselves situated signing-wise, we had dinner at the cafe, which had super fun Rainbow foodstuffs, like rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream that matched the original Fangirl cover colors, and we waited until the event started.
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| All of her books were on display, including the Spanish versions of Fangirl and E&P, and there were adorable Landline and Carry On buttons! |
At around 7:00 we were told that Rainbow would be doing a discussion before the signing, so we made our way over to the movie section. Rainbow showed up, and told the everyone to sit down around the table in a storytime like situation. She said instead of reading, she would play a game involving audience members and her brother, who she brought with her from Nebraska. She wanted to see who could answer a question about one of her books, an audience member or her brother. She had two Attachments hardcovers and a few Landline audiobooks as prizes. It was really fun to watch. She called on me for a question, but of course, I lost all useful information the second she did. WHY, BRAIN, WHY? Anyway, after the game, she started an open Q&A with the audience.
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| Rainbow and her brother! My view from the floor of B&N. |
Q: What TV shows do you like watching?
A: I kind of hate everything when it comes to movies and TV shows, but I love Sherlock. Except for when I hate it. It's my show. I also watched The Last Man on Earth.
Q: What are you passionate about aside from writing?
A: Disney theme parks (ME TOO, RAINBOW). I was supposed to be at ComiCon today, but there was nothing for me to do, so my brother and I went to Disneyland. I had my sunblock on, and everything just felt like Disneyland. Like, there was churro dust coming out of my ears, or whatever. I actually changed in the Target parking lot on the way over here.
Q: Who is your favorite of your characters?
A: Levi is my favorite because he makes me happy.
Q: Would you write Fangirl from Levi's point of view?
A: It would be hard to write from Levi's PoV because he's so unlike myself. It was harder for me to channel him because I had to become charismatic when I was writing him because that's just the way Levi is. He doesn't have social issues like my other characters do. He's very open and friendly.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm still wrapping up some things with Carry On. I started to write it as Cath and then I wrote Gemma T. Leslie's version, but I ultimately wanted to write Simon and Baz's story as me. So that's what I've been doing.
Q: The question was something about what was the hardest thing to write about in E&P, I think.
A: It was really hard to write scenes set in Eleanor's house because it was so bleak and depressing, and it changed the tone of the story so much.
Q: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
A: I think a lot of young writers compare their work to work they love without remembering that the book didn't come out of the author fully formed. So I'd say remember that, and be kind to yourself. And read a lot.
Q: Who would you cast as Eleanor and Park?
A: I don't know because there aren't any famous actors or actresses out there that fit. Hollywood has this very small window of attractiveness, and really only people that fit in that window are put on screen. A lot of people fancast themselves as Eleanor and K-Pop or K-Drama stars as Park. Some people even send me skinny white guys they'd like to see as Park, which I'm like UM...Anyway, I'd love to see a chubby redhead and a short Asian guy kiss on screen. I think it would be awesome.
Again, there were more questions, I just didn't get all the answers written. Signing time was after that. We waited a little while for our group to be able to line up, then we got in line. We didn't wait long at all, which was great.
Rainbow was fantastic and so cool in person, and we were awkward, but I think it went relatively well. She asked what was in my big bag, and I said, "Um, seven of your books?" And she was like "Cool!" We talked about how pretty the UK version of My True Love Gave to Me is, and then we took a picture because I forgot pretty much everything else I wanted to say. (Again, WHY, BRAIN?) She was so sweet though.
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| My stack that got signed! My E&P hardcover was missed in the stack, but that's okay because now I have an excuse to find Rainbow at another event. ;) |
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| Rainbow, me, and Becca! You can't really tell, but Rainbow's nails match Landline! |
Now, the moment you've probably all been waiting for: the giveaway!I had an extra copy of Eleanor & Park (a UK paperback!) that I got signed, and I snagged extra Landline and Carry On buttons. Enter to win in the Rafflecopter below. Don't forget to check out my giveaway policy first. Good luck! :)
What a fun event! I've yet to meet Rainbow Rowell but I would love to. My favorites by her and E&P and Attachments. I love how she can write YA, NA and adult all so well. From your description she sounds like such a genuine person. Glad you enjoyed it! :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Attachments yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I've heard great things! And she is so wonderful. She talks much like she writes. I hope you get the chance to meet her! Thanks for stopping by. :)
DeleteAh, I thought I commented! You have a great RR collection! I can't believe you got all of those signed. That's amazing.
ReplyDeleteI loved the scenes of Eleanor's home life, it was sad, but it was real and I just loved them so much.
I can't believe she kind of hates everything in shows and movies. :(
Thank you for the great giveaway! <3 I'd love to win for the buttons. I've only read Eleanor and Park but I'll be reading Fangirl this week. :)
--Amber
She was so nice about signing all my books even though I had a bunch! And yeah, she's very particular about what she watches which is definitely understandable. She loves comics and books though, so YAY. And you're very welcome, Amber! Hope you like Fangirl. It's my favorite.
DeleteRainbow Rowell's books are seriously the prettiest!! I wish i'll get the chance to meet her too. I love her books especially Fangirl. I love your RR collection, btw.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this great giveaway! :)
Her covers are all absolutely gorgeous! And I hope you do too! I'm super happy about my collection, but I'm still hoping it will grow! :) You're very welcome! Good luck!
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