BOOKSCAPADES: Gayle Forman's Book Signing Event
5:36 PM
So guess what happened yesterday?
I FINALLY GOT TO MEET GAYLE FORMAN!
Thank you National Book Store for this wonderful opportunity! :)
And I had to do it alone too, since my co-bloggers, Beryl and Audrey had *other* stuff to do (Guys, I am judging you for not going - haha just kidding, love you guys).
Anyway, I spent the whole day at National Book Store just waiting for Gayle to finally arrive. All the while, I was reading. I actually finished 3 books that day!
Oh and I also met some really cool and friendly girls, who talked to me and fangirled with me over my favorite books. Our discussion ranging from what year in school we are currently in to our thoughts about John Green. Cool, eh? We screamed for Gayle together, we squealed together, we laughed together, we got squished together! Only regret: WE NEVER ASKED FOR EACH OTHER'S NAMES! Why?!
My favorite conversation with these gals would have to be:
Me: It's already 4:10! Where is she? Maybe we should tweet her.
Girl 1: Yeah, WHERE SHE WENT?
Girl 2: We've been STAY-ing here for hours!
Girl 3: Yeah, and it's been JUST ONE DAY!
You guys are awesome. In the rare chance that you guys do see this, please comment and I hope I could get to know you people more!
Gayle finally arrived at 4:15 pm, and we were all screaming - and she was screaming with us too! The event started with the host introducing Gayle (the awkward lady basically just read the author's description at the last part of every book) and then interviewed her. I was *trying* to record the whole thing, since I was somewhere in front, but then this annoying guy was getting in the way. Here are some parts which I did get though:
"The story just had to come out of me. I sat down and started writing it. I saved it on my computer hard drive as "Why Not?"" Gayle on writing IF I STAY
"I wrote all the Adam songs. I know nothing about the cello, I don't play the cello, I love it when you guys think I can, because it's like I FOOLED YOU!" Gayle on her musical abilities
"In the first draft of If I Stay, Adam was named Nick. Nick's my husband's name."
"When I finished it, I realized so much of this book is the sacrifice you make for your children. I have been this galavanting journalist and I had to find something to write with my kids." Gayle on sacrifice
"It's been playing nonstop in my house. (sings) Do you wanna build a snow man? It doesn't snow in the Philippines! Leave me alone!" Gayle on the songs from Frozen
"People are generally kind."
"August 22nd - is something happening? I think I have my dentist's appointment."
"If you guys don't follow my Twitter- OUT! OUT!"
"It will come out Winter 2015. (moans from the crowd) Guys come on, you got 2 books last year. You're getting a movie this year!" Gayle on her new book and when we freaked out 'cause it won't be coming out til 2015!
"I gotta cook dinner and do laundry too! My children get very mad at me!" Gayle when we freaked out because there won't be a new book this year
"It's called I Was Here. And um, my short hand for it is suicide mystery love story. It's about a girl named Chloe, and it opens about a month after her best friend Meg, who's not only her best friend but she's also like her sister. Chloe's got a kind of flakey mom, no dad, no other siblings. It opens about a month after Meg's wake, which completely blindsided everyone in the wake. It's about Chloe's search for forgiveness, for redemption, and also along the way she comes across clues that show Meg didn't actually intend the way she killed herself. AND THERE'S A GUY. I think he's the hottest guy I've ever written. His name is Ben." Gayle on her new book
"You just let your love for writing be the thing that motivates you, as opposed to external things like I wanna get published."
"You should read. Everything you read, even the bad stuff, you absorb, You learn from them. You are inspired by them - you realize 'I wanna do that, I don't wanna do that.'"
"Don't tie out when you're 16 years old. You get better as you older. You get better as you unmask more writing experiences."
"Its not a spurt, so just give yourself time."
Gayle's advice to aspiring writers
I'm so sorry if that's all I've got (and if there are errors too - feel free to correct me in the comments!) but most of the audio is inaudible since everyone around me was freaking out (including myself).
Damn, I should've brought a mic! Next time.
After the interview, the signing began. When it was my turn, the first thing I blurted was: Hi, Oh my God, I love you! Can I hug you?" and Gayle just laughed at me and SHE LET ME HUG HER! She signed my book, took a picture with me, and that was it. She was so cool because she was so nice and accommodating, and didn't even look tired at all! I LOVE HER!
This is the very first book signing event I've ever gone to, and I'm so glad it's Gayle Forman!
My fave Gayle moment:
Were you at the signing too? How was your experience? Have any other BOOKSCAPADES? Sound off below! :)
10 comments
I was there!!! :D And it was my first book signing event too. :)
ReplyDeleteYay to us! :) thanks for stopping by :)
DeleteWow, you lucky thing! :D I have only read one Gayle Foreman book but it was amazing. I've never been to a book signing before but I'm going to a festival in May where I'll be meeting some book blogging friends. Can't wait!! :) Great post, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHave fun at the festival! Sounds like fun!
DeleteThanks for stopping by, Zoe! ;)
That's so awesome! I would love to meet Gayle. She's one of my favorite writers. It looks like you had a lot of fun and those puns before she arrived were too funny!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by blog.:)
Yeah the puns were great! :) thanks for stopping by too!
DeleteIt was my first signing event too! I was on the second floor and couldn't hear the Q & A well, so thanks for this! Looks like you got there early! :)
ReplyDeleteAw sure! Sorry i couldn't transcribe the whole thing! Thanks for stopping by, Chel! Hope to see you in other signings next time :)
DeleteAh, you were there too! It was so much fun, right? <3 Hope to see you at the April event! ;D
ReplyDelete- Kazhy @ My Library in the Making
Yes! It was! Hope to see you too Kazhy!
DeleteHi guys! Thank you for stopping by our blog. We really appreciate it if you've taken the time to leave a comment. Though it will take some time, we will do our best to reply to each one of you. :)