What happens at Yallwest...

...stays at Yallwest? No way! The booksational magic of Yallwest weekend cannot be contained and must be shared far and wide by authors, bloggers, and pretty much everyone else obsessed with books.

If you didn't hear me mention it before, Yallwest is a book festival that happens every spring in southern California. The festival takes over Santa Monica high school and includes about a hundred authors talking and signing, publishers giving out free swag and books, and an In-and-Out Burger truck. A "few" people show up for it. And by "few," I mean thousands:

Also, I'm not kidding about the In-and-Out truck.

My Yallwest weekend started out with "Fierce Friday" at the Santa Monica Public Library. This involved a couple dozen authors doing signing sessions for fans who also got the chance to participate in a whole bunch of other fun activities and giveaways. Dhonielle Clayton kicked things off with a megaphone, so you knew it was going to be good.

For those playing the home game, you might recall that Friday was May the 4th, so Star Wars dominated all the action and activities going on. I saw a life-size (or droid-size) R2D2 roaming the halls, and amazing t-shirts were everywhere. (I forgot and didn't wear one). Here's author Angie Thomas rocking some VR lightsaber action:

I never left my signing station to full investigate a lot of this stuff because I was having so much fun signing books. I haven't done it in a while, and I could spend ages just talking to readers as they come up to me. Since I was signing at one of the library desks, it was also a handy chance to check in some books and charge fines.

The next day, Saturday, was the BIG day, the day the programming really kicks in. I was down for the morning with a migraine but finally recovered just in time to join some other authors in a trivia competition sponsored by Penguin Books. Here we all are, ready to answer questions about the hottest YA books out there!

And this is my awesome team of readers--Yalltergeist. YEAH! They were totally awesome because they were the ones who ended up answering all the questions since I really don't know anything outside of my own books. But I NAILED the question about the Glittering Court!

After that, it was on to more programming. My first panel was with superstars Maurene Goo, Marie Lu, Laurie Devore, Tamora Pierce, and Lauren Oliver. Here, I worked on my hair and answered important questions about tough, ambitious heroines (and also about bearded Captain America).

Then I signed some more books. Cuz that's what I do.

Then, it was back to business--this time on a panel about fantasy and history with the sensational Melissa de la Cruz, Emily X.R. Pan, and Dhonielle Clayton. We talked some writing stuff, and I teased fans about VA stuff...cuz that's also what I do.

Yallwest always wraps up with the "Author Smackdown," which is where authors are forced to do ridiculous and delightful things for YOUR entertainment. Consider it payback for the way we toy with your emotions.

And that was Yallwest! Seriously, if you're able to get to this next year--you should. It's an amazing time and paradise if you love books. Best of all, except for the keynotes and smackdown, it's freeeeeeeeeeee....! And who can beat that price?

BUT RICHELLE, WHAT ABOUT THE CONTEST?

Oh, yeah. Did I mention that I collected a whole bunch of poetry entries throughout the weekend (that almost made me cry on the plane ride back to Seattle)? Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it or Adrian's Cinco de Mayo. That news is coming in the days ahead, so stay tuned!

*Many of these pics are mine, but thanks also to the many attendees who shared their own pics on social media!

"It's Cinco de Mayo somewhere, Sage."

If you're following me on social media, then you probably saw today's earlier posts:

Someone told me the other day that they don't read YA because "nothing bad ever happens to the characters." And I'm just like...

Now I feel like maybe I should write something even more throw-book-across-the-room than Shadow Kiss just to prove a point. Or at least post another pic of the ghost Mason doll. #toosoon #eventhoughitsbeeneightyears

Now, I know most of you found that charming and totally not traumatic at all. But apparently, not everyone shares that view. I was promptly chastised by one of my friends:

Why are you so mean to your readers? It's like you love their tears. You should write something happy, like about Adrian. Cinco de Mayo is coming up. Isn't it like his favorite holiday? Write a bonus about how he's celebrating.

Okay, let's break this down. In fact, let's just go straight to list mode.

1. First up, I do not enjoy your tears. They get all over the books and make them soggy. And then you're unable to reread those cliffhangers.
2. I feel like it's obvious how Adrian will be celebrating.
3. I'm at Yallwest in Santa Monica this weekend, so things are going to be busy. (And if you've missed me talking about Yallwest, then quickly check out that link and make plans to get to southern California so that you can meet a bunch of authors for freeeee...).

And yet, the more I started thinking about it, the more I realized it has been a long time since you've had a bonus of anything. And maaaaaaybe we all deserve something feel good.

But you've gotta work for it.

We haven't had a contest in a long time, and if I've got all this space in a blog again, then let's make use of it. The special thing about this contest is that it's only open for people going to Yallwest this weekend. Now, if you aren't, don't worry. There'll be other contests (for real), and I want to start small. Here's what you've got to do.

1. Write a poem about any book, character, series, or whatever in the Meadverse. It can be any type of poem of any length: blank verse, limerick, unspecified rhyme, haiku, whatever.
2. Write it on paper. I'm going to read these on the plane ride back to Seattle, and it's just easier for me to do that than a screen.
3. You may submit two entries. (I mean, it's a 2.5 hour plane ride).
4. Include your name and email address.
5. Give it to me in person at Yallwest. You can do it in my signing line, at a panel, or just when you catch me running around between events.

What's the winner get?

I will write a couple of pages about Adrian's Cinco de Mayo adventures. And I will write you into it.

Yup, you heard me. You can be a guest star in the VA world. I'll also put your poem and the excerpt up here on my blog for everyone to enjoy! For privacy reasons, my default will only be to refer to you by your first name. If you'd like your last name included, put "Okay to include last name" on your entry. Lastly, for good times, I'll also post some of the honorable mentions here on my blog.

So get writing! And I'll reiterate that your poem can be about anything in any of my books.

The prize involves VA/Bloodlines, but your entry doesn't get an edge if it's about that.

Here's a copy of my Yallwest schedule for attendees looking to find me:

Friday 6pm - Fierce Friday at the Santa Monica Public Library (the event is free, but you must register. There aren't many tickets left!).
Saturday--
12pm - Trivia with Penguin Books authors
1pm - "Sorry Not Sorry" - a panel on unapologetically ambitious heroines
2pm - Me, signing your books! You have to get a wristband for a spot in line. Check the schedule for when they've giving out wristbands--I think it's at 9am.
4pm - "Fantasy Histories & Historical Fantasies" panel

This is the blog you've been waiting for

Actually, it's more of a revival of a previous blog. I've had a few over the years, and they've chronicled everything from my road trips to updates on my books to the adventures of a deer lawn ornament owned by neighbors who may or may not have been Russian spies. Like so many, though, I fell under the sway of quick and easy social media posting. And who wouldn't? You get out what you want in a handful of words, have fast interactions, and go from there. I fell away from writing complete paragraphs. I started sacrificing punctuation in order to stay under a certain character count.

Now, it's time to bring back the written word. I still love Facebook and Twitter (and occasionally Instagram), but sometimes, you've just got to write a little more in waxing on the intricacies of everyday life. You can't really tell the adventures of a spy deer in 140 characters (or 280 or whatever the word count du jour is now).

I am, after all, a writer. I write. It's what I do.

And so, here we are with a fresh blog to get my thoughts back out there. Let's get this party started.