Event Recap: NYC Launch for A World Without You by Beth Revis

Hey guys! So last weekend, my friend Izzy and I went to the NYC launch at Books of Wonder for Beth Revis' new book, A World Without You. The event was in the late afternoon (4:00-6:00 pm), but since it was a Sunday, we went into the city early, getting in around 12:30.

Once we got into the city, we ate at a delicious Japanese restaurant, wherein I had ramen for the first time (I've had tons of other noodle soups before, but never ramen, for some odd reason). Anyway, after that, we headed straight to Books of Wonder to pick up our books before the signing so we'd be able to get early numbers in line for the signing. Since it was only 2ish, I thought we were going to be early in line, but we got numbers 23 and 24.

Izzy at The Strand

After that, we walked around Union Square, got some soft serve ice cream from a Mister Softee truck (which was delicious), and headed over to The Strand, a local bookstore that sells both new and used books, often for reduced prices. We perused for about
an hour and a half before heading back to Books of Wonder.

Once we returned to Books of Wonder, we found seats and waited for the event to begin. (Side note: the wait wasn't too bad since there was a Pokéstop right across the street that we were able to collect from numerous times before the event started.)

Also, I remembered Gaby (who works at Books of Wonder) tweeted about setting up a Blind Date with a Book shelf in Books of Wonder, so I scouted that out and ended up buying a book. It was really fun, and I'll probably talk about that experience another time :)

And finally, to the event. Beth Revis was joined by Lindsay Ribar, author of Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies (among other books). I actually haven't read either of the authors' books, but I have been dying to read A World Without You, so I knew I had to come to the event. Anyway, per usual, the event started out with a Q&A session.

The main difference for this Q&A was that the authors asked each other questions for a good portion of the time, which I thought was really great. Beth and Lindsay worked really well together and asked each other some great questions about setting and inspiration. One problem I had, however, was that some of the questions addressed specific things in the book that I didn't truly understand since I hadn't read it yet (it was non-spoilery, but still).

photo credit: Izzy

Anyway, after a while, the authors opened up the questions to the audience, and they were asked about how they deal with distractions. Lindsay told us that she dealt with them poorly, and typically waited until the distractions began to bore her (distractions including Candy Crush), while Beth said that she invested in a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones. When asked about writer's block, both agreed that it was best to keep writing, even if it means backtracking to the dark alley where things went wrong and try to fix it.

After the Q&A was over, they started clearing out the chairs for the signing, and announced that the numbers actually started at 22. Meaning that I was actually supposed to be second in line. And I was not prepared at all, especially when 22 wasn't there and I had to go up first.

Both authors were extremely nice, funny, and entertaining to listen to, but once I got up there to meet them, I had no idea what to say or do. I just smiled awkwardly and thanked them for coming to NYC,  got my book signed, then took a photo and left. All in all, despite my awkwardness, it was a super fun event!