Texas Library Association Convention Fun!

See that sign above? That's sort of how life has been feeling lately! Not that the Blood Coven vampires were ever sparkly, but now that the series has ended, vampires have definitely taken a back seat to all things dragon. But don't worry - I still love the fanged ones. But since Rayne and Sunny have had their happily ever after, it's time to move on. 

(As you can see, even little Avalon is learning about the care and feeding of dragons!) 

And how to take them down--if need be! 

This past week I attended the Texas Library Association's annual convention in Fort Worth. There, I got a chance to meet some amazing librarians and bloggers and teachers and high school students and talk dragons! It turns out, I am not alone in my love for dragons. In fact, these scaly reptiles seem pretty universally adored by all. Which makes me very, very happy! 

Happy enough to wear extremely cool, but extremely uncomfortable shoes of fire to the "Guys Read" party I went to on Weds night -- to kick off the whole event. 

Notice my publicist's sensible purple Converse sneakers in the background. She is obviously way smarter than me. And probably sporting fewer blisters. 

I also had a really cool dragon dress that I had made from a seller on Etsy. And though I got photographed in it a bunch of times at the party, I stupidly didn't take a single photo myself. So you'll just have to imagine the awesome until another photo pops up.

One of the great things about conventions (in my opinion) is the breakfasts. At home, breakfast is Fiber One cereal. On the road: waffles! And the company of good writer and blogger friends!! What started with a single blogger inviting me to breakfast (the lovely Kari Olson) ended up with a big group! (More even than the picture shows!) 

Since my signing wasn't until Friday, I actually spent Thursday signing Blood Coven booths at the Festivals of Texas booth. However, it seems, some blogger/librarians couldn't wait (ahem: Jen Bigheart) and scored an early copy of the Scorched ARC. 

On Friday, I hunkered down at the Sourcebooks booth at 11am sharp to start signing books. The line was already so long by that point that convention hall security was yelling at the Sourcebooks peeps. "If you don't have that line cleared in 5 minutes..." I had to sign fast!! Also, note the fireballs. I did not dare eat a single one. The librarians were way braver than me! 

At the end of the signing it was picture time! Here's my lovely blue-haired cohort and fellow author girl Krissi Dallas and the lovely Girls in the Stacks blogger/librarian Stacy Vandever Wells. 

In addition to my official duties I got to hang out with a ton of out-of-town author friends. Ally Carter, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Simone Elkeles. And my two favorite troublemakers: Lindsay Cummings and Tori Scott. 

This picture does not even begin to do the TT4L madness justice. But suffice to say it was awesomesauce.

But the best part of all was Friday night. The event was TT4L. I'm not exactly sure what it stands for but what it felt like was a running of the bulls -- where a bunch of excited teens rushed in and starting grabbing books from a couple dozen authors. The books were free and the teens took full advantage, ending up with literally a large box filled to the brim with autographed books. Some not yet released like Scorched. It was so much fun to meet them all and see how excited they were about Scorched. I would say I got about 50 percent guys and 50 percent girls. Which is unusual for me - as I've done paranormal romance for so long. But I love the fact that this book will appeal to both genders!

I came back Saturday morning and promptly fell sick. Trying to recover now - since on Weds I head to Kansas City for the Romantic Times Convention. So much fun to be had, so little time. 

Hope all of you who scored an early copy of Scorched enjoy the read!

xo

MARI