Armchair BEA: Author Interaction & More Than Just Words

Armchair BEA, Day Two

Logo by Amber

Author Interaction

My number one tip for author interaction through your blog is to not seek an author out if you're giving their book a bad review.  For example, if you tweet every review you write, don't automatically tag the author.  I don't think of this as a malicious mistake, but avoiding it makes everything work easier.

As for real life, I love going to book readings and signings.  I've never failed to be entertained and to learn something new about the work.  Some authors are better oral readers than others, of course.  Some, like Kathi Appelt, will even sing a song for you.  And every single author I've met has been very nice about even the most ridiculously fannish things I've said.  (R.L. Stine was simply excited to see someone carrying around THE BEAST, one of his older works.)  My pieces of advice don't have much to do with the actual interaction.

1) Buy one of the author's books from the store hosting the event.  It supports everyone involved and helps guarantee that there will be future similar events in your area.

2) Be mindful of the audience.  For instance, I've been to events geared toward teens and events geared toward librarians, of which I am neither.  In that case, it's polite to take a step back.  Ask a question if things are getting quiet, but don't ask the first question.

Also, if you live in Texas, Jen Bigheart keeps a great list of YA and MG author events.

More Than Just Words

I love graphic novels.  I've served on the CYBILS Graphic Novels panel, and it was great fun.  You can check out my graphic novels tag for specific reviews and a few manga primers.

I've been enjoying the new trend of hybrid graphic and prose novels, such as IN THE SHADOWS by Jim Di Bartolo and Kiersten White and CHASING SHADOWS by Swati Avasthi and Craig Phillips.  They provide the best of both worlds!  Stacked has a great primer on these hybrids.

But I've pretty much always been a fan of comics, from days of picking up Sabrina the Teenage Witch at the local newsstand.  What I am new too, thanks to blogging, is audiobooks.  I originally didn't like them because they took so much longer than just reading the book.  But other bloggers have convinced me to give them another chance. 

I listened to THE DUFF while I had an hour commute to and from work, and it was pretty entertaining.  Listening to audiobooks on my drive also helped me get through my CYBILS MG Speculative Fiction reading faster! 

If you want to give audiobooks a try yourself, Sync is giving away two free audiobooks a week for the rest of the summer.  Today is the last day to get CRUEL BEAUTY and OEDIPUS THE KING.