RWA Loot + Photos

Going to the RWA Literacy Autographing was amazing- but rather than just tell you let me break it down for you...

Tuesday June 28, 2011

5:55 Wake up, alert and excited for that afternoon's RWA Autographing!

5:58 Realize that actually involves getting out of bed.  No longer so happy.

6:30-7:30 Run to catch the Metro to get to Union Station to catch BoltBus to NYC...
which sounds simple except five different Union Station workers gave me different directions to BoltBus, and the bus lines to NEW YORK and NEWARK were two feet apart (really, who does that in a loud, crowded terminal?!).  Luckily, I got on the right bus just as it was ready to leave.

11:50 Arrive at Penn Station, NYC.

12:00-3:30 Shopping on Broadway!!!
While the Autographing was the purpose and highlight of the trip, I was really looking forward to spending some time walking around Times Square area.  My three favorite places I visited were:

Toys R Us

It has a Ferris Wheel inside the building!  How cool is that!  No, I didn't go on it (there was quite a line, mostly of little kids) but I thought about it. 

Each one of the passenger cars represents a different toy. There's a pink Barbie car!

The Disney Story

This place really is magic.  You can't tell from the picture, but the tree is an LED screen of some sort- the images move and change!  Whoever designed the store was a genius.  The place was fun just to walk through.

A kids area.  It has a touch screen so people can choose to watch clips of any particular Disney movie.  The Princess and the Frog was on when I went by.

The entrance to the Princess section of the store. Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought it was photo-worthy :)

The M&M Store

There is an entire store dedicated just to M&M's- key chains, magnets, plushies, and of course, the candy itself.  Huge vats of it in every single color.

One of their fun little in store gimmicks was a "mood analyzer".  Stand under the beam, and the screen tells you what kind of M&M you are.

I was Dark Pink.  I guess the scanner knew I was off to RWA!

3:30-4:50 Chill in the Marriott's Atrium Lounge

I get to the hotel two hours early, read the Marriott's events board (at the main entrance) and see the Autographing is on the sixth floor, and decide to people watch in the hotel's bar for the meantime.  While hanging around the Atrium I spotted Roxanne St. Claire and Julie James, and chatted on and off with some RWA attendees.  I really wished I could have come back after the signing, but NYC buses wait for no gal...

4:50-5:05 Essentially, I was lost and confused

Forty minutes before the Autographing was about to start, I return to the sixth floor only to be told the line starts on the first floor (because of it's huge, wrap around the block length).  Really?!  It would have been nice if they had made that clear earlier on (i.e. at the main entrance!).  But- it turns out there are some advantages to being places you aren't supposed to be...

First, I meet SB Sarah!  Fun  fact: This photo was taken by Jaci Burton, just as Jennifer Crusie checked in behind her.  Oh yea.  (Kat- this picture is for you <3 )

And... while taking the elevator back down to the first floor, I was given some free books by a volunteer from the Librarians Luncheon.  Moral of the story- always smile to people on elevators!

-The Iron King by Julie Kagwa

-The First Love Cookie Club by Lori Wilde

5:05-6:40 Wait in line

This was the not-so-fun part.  But I was in good company.  All of us loved romance novels, so there was always something to talk about.  I met both Rita from Not Another Romance Blog and Jamie from For the Love of Romance, who were quite a bit of fun to talk to. 

6:40-7:30 Collect Swag!!!

Then, finally, I was in!

Here's what I walked out of the signing with:

-Yours for the Taking by Robin Kaye
-Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl
-Something About You by Julie James
-A Lot Like Love by Julie James
-Here Comes the Groom by Karina Bliss (unfortunately unsigned, Karina Bliss couldn't make it herself)

-The Countess by Lynsay Sands
-Unveiled by Courtney Milan
-Nowhere Near Respectable by Mary Jo Putney
-The Perfect Scandal by Delilah Marvelle
-Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart by Sarah McLean
-The Darkest Hunger by Juliana Stone

-Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

-The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton

-The Princess in His Bed by Lila DiPasqua

I didn't take as many photos during the signing (I was crunched for time, and I didn't want to hold other people up either), but here's a couple shots I snapped:

Robin Kaye, holding up Yours for the Taking.



And Eloisa James and me!

7:45-1:05am Pay, dash out to Port Authority and take the bus home. 

A very successful day :)

In Other News

A couple things have happened in the past week, but since they're not particularly related here a bit of a mash up.

1.  For all you Gleeks- Kurt/Blaine FTW!  I think we all knew it was coming, but in my opinion it played out perfectly.

I also just loved the episode as a whole.  The original songs were great and I'm sad we're going to have to wait a while for the season to start up again, but the mid-season did end on a stellar note.  I'm really counting on Finn and Rachel getting back together later in the show (it's pretty obvious right?) because they're my favorite pair.  Any thoughts from other Gleeks out there?

2. Sabrina Jeffries has officially announced that in the final book of the Hellion series Celia will be pair with Pinter.  I don't know if anyone else felt this way, but I thought the pairing was clearly set up since the first book (sort of like Minerva and Giles), which is something I've really enjoyed and am looking forward to.  She's said on her Facebook that David Gandy is her model for Pinter.

Very nice.

3.  I got to try TruBlood!  I know, I know, it's so gimmicky, right?  It tastes pretty good though.  It's carbonated blood orange soda, so it's just like a premium over price regular orange soda, but the bottles are soooo awesome!  I'm such a fan.

4.  The Iditarod recently concluded.  When it comes to this dogsled race, I am the definition of a superfan.  I constantly am running back to my computer to check the standings of the mushers.  I was pretty psyched because I won my bet this year.  I predicted Dallas Seavey would not win but place in the top ten, and he came in fourth!  Look, here's me being superfan-y.

My Spring Break is over and am now back at school. Le sigh.  Time to get back into gear.

Movies: The Jane Austen Book Club

We've been hit with several inches of snow over the past few days.  The weather people are predicting a few snow showers tomorrow night, but I hope nothing to bad.  It's days like this I'm glad I don't have car....  (Taken by my friend in the parking lot behind our dorm)

So what is there to do on these snowy evenings? Besides read, I already do that ;) Curl up and watch a movie of course!

Movie: The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

Genre: Romance

Grade: C+/B-

Summary:

Six Californians start a club to discuss the works of Jane Austen, only to find their relationships -- both old and new -- begin to resemble 21st century versions of her novels.

Review:

The Jane Austen Book Club is a fun romp through Austenland with no particular emphasis on one book.  I wouldn't say it's particularly deep, as all the connections between movie characters and book characters are obvious, and it's definitely not thorough with six characters and six books being covered.  It does, however, capture a certain essence about Jane Austen lit, maybe about the dangers and resumptions of love, and the idea that somehow it all turns out well in the end.

About sixty percent of the movie is ho-hum standard romance for me (and ten percent I can't stand), but there is about thirty percent of the movie that I absolutely love and that's why I own a copy.

First, I absolutely love the May-December relationship between Jocelyn and Grigg.  Jocelyn is an older woman who is a very successful dog breeder (and thus is related to the book Emma.  Get it, she likes pairing things up?).  Grigg is a well-off computer geek and sci-fi fan, and smitten with Jocelyn since their first meeting, not that she's noticed.  If only he would stop being such a gentleman and make a move ;)  Their courtship is sweet, hilarious, and of course, riddled with misunderstandings. 

But really, the force which drives this movie for me is Prudie, played by Emily Blunt.  At first cold and stern, we watch as she spirals out of control and her marriage falls apart.  Considering how horribly unlikeable Prudie starts off as it is amazing how easy it is to come to care for her. She is by far the most interesting of the characters and I think Emily Blunt is an amazing actress.

On those two factors alone I think the film is worth seeing once.

It ends a bit like a Jane Austen book, which is perhaps why the acting takes a turn for the worse at the end.  With everything so neatly tied up in little bows their isn't much to work with.  Every couple is neatly paired off, ecstatically happy and dialog is reduced to a mush of sappy cliches.  I suppose if the movie meant to imitate Austen, a true advocate of the happily ever after, they did it well.

RWA Literacy Signing

Yea, I totally meant to have this thing up and running waaay before now, but like with all things in my life, I tend to procrastinate. Getting to the point- Wednesday's Literacy Signing was by far the highlight of my year. I spent way more money then I should have (especially since I'm just a college student without a job) but every cent was totally worth it. And it went to a good cause, right?

Highlights of the event:

-Meeting Julia Quinn: I cannot say how awesome this was. I only brought two of my own books to be signed and one of them was Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. Julia Quinn was so incredibly nice and took time to talk to all of her fans.

-Meeting Sherry Thomas: I think this may have been one of the few times in my life I was truely starstruck. I'm pretty sure I started babbling like a lunatic, which wasn't helped by the nasal congenstion from my sinus infection (really, who gets a sinus infection in summer!?). But here's the truly amazing thing. When I asked here to make the autograph out to "D.L.", she asked "Oh, is your e-mail the.distant.light?" OMFG!!!! I had forgotten that I had left a comment on her blog that morning, but it is soooo kick ass that she remembered. Epic moment in my life!

More exciting pictures are to come!