Armchair BEA: Networking IRL

Banner by Nina @ Nina Reads

I've started and restarted this post, because I am not sure what to say.  I've met people in real life after meeting them through this blog and I've done true networking in real life for the blog.  But I'm not sure I have any great advice aside from, "Get out of your house and talk to people.  Go to a bookstore, a library, anywhere you stand in long lines.  You'll find other readers."

I tend to be shy when I first meet people, so I like to carry around a laminated card I got from my friend and former roommate S.  I do not know who wrote it, but it was produced by the Business Honors Program at UT-Austin.

The front reads:

Introducing Yourself

In 30-60 seconds, talk about your:

• Education and how you entered the field
• Skills, strengths, and accomplishments
• General job focus and possible future career plans

The back reads:

Making a Good Impression

1. Use direct eye contact and a firm handshake when introducing yourself.
2. Listen attentively, and acknowledge what you have heard.
3. Show genuine interest.
4. Find out what you have in common with the other person.
5. Close the conversation.
6. When appropriate, follow-up with a phone call, email, or card.

I think the making a good impression instructions are straightforward and easy to apply to meeting fellow bloggers, authors, publicists, and other publishing professionals in real life. The introduction section, however, is geared toward business and getting hired rather than blogging.  I still think it works.

How?  You should have a quick, minute or less introduction ready for you and your blog.  What do you write about?  Who is your audience?  How big is your audience?  What do you want to feature on your blog in the future?

Here's a simple version of what I usually say: "Hello, I'm [Real Name] and I write the blog In Bed With Books under the name Liviania.  I review young adult books, although I sometimes cover other books that I love."  I stop there if talking to another blogger.  To a publishing professional, I add something like,  "My audience is mostly twenty and thirty-year-old professional women.  I have over a thousand subscribers through Google Friend Connect and FeedBurner and approximately 200 page views a day."  After you introduce yourself, let them make their introduction.

It is extremely important to be honest.  At the Texas Library Association conference in April, I spoke to many non-young adult publishers despite running a young adult blog.  Why not?  I am interested in books I never post about here and it's fun to talk to people about the books that get them excited.  But because I was honest, I found books that were relevant to the blog that I would never have found on my own.  Don't try to lie about who you are and what you do in order to appeal more to someone else.  Chances are that who you really are could be exactly who they're looking for.

Just be cool.  I like to carry the card around because it reminds me that almost everyone struggles with networking.  It is awkward to forge a connection with someone in a couple of minutes.  But it's easier if you're prepared, direct, and calm.  (Also, I dress fancy because it makes me feel more confident.)

Review: Miracle

By Elizabeth Scott
Available now from Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster)
Review copy

I have heard nothing but good things about Elizabeth Scott.  Every time one of her books comes out, it seems like every blogger has nothing but good things to say about it.  I always make a note to pick up one of her books, yet I never had.  MIRACLE may be Scott's eleventh novel, but it's my first time reading one of her books.  And I feel guiltier than ever for putting it off so long.

MIRACLE is what people call Megan.  Megan walked away from a plane crash that left everybody else aboard dead.  They'd already told her parents she was dead by the time she emerged.  No one can do anything but stare at her and wonder, and talk about what a miracle it was she survived.  No one notices that Megan feels like the exact opposite of a miracle.  Except for Margaret, an old church lady, David, her brother, and Joe, the boy next door.

The characterization in MIRACLE is amazing.  You can't hate anyone for not noticing Megan's trauma.  Her parents are blinded by their relief and joy.  And while it's tough to see Megan act numb or hateful or haunted, her point of view remains absorbing throughout the story.  I rooted for her to survive and get the help she needed.  Fortunately, Margaret and Joe do see her before she really hits the downward slope.  David, meanwhile, sees her but reacts in the manner of a younger brother who can't understand why his parents are acting so differently.

MIRACLE is emotionally draining.  I cried, just a little, a couple of times while reading.  But in the end it's a cathartic experience.  I'm not the biggest fan of sad books, but MIRACLE is lovely.  It's a story of trauma, guilt, shame, and healing, beautifully told.  Count me among Scott's many fans.  (And I promise to read her other books.  Eventually.)

Armchair BEA: Best of 2012

Today's Armchair BEA discussion is the Best Books of 2012.  (It's also giveaway day, so be sure to enter to win a SHADOW OF NIGHT prize pack.)

Yesterday I mentioned that two of my favorite books so far are SMART GIRLS GET WHAT THEY WANT by Sarah Strohmeyer and FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS by Diana Peterfreund.  My reviews of those books will be posted here on their release dates.  But as I received SMART GIRLS through the Amazon Vine program, my review is already visible on Amazon.  I hope it gets you excited for this release!  You can whet your appetite for Peterfreund's latest with the prequel AMONG THE NAMELESS STARS. (Link via Bookshelves of Doom.)

I'm also a fan of recent literary release BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK, which I haven't posted about yet.  The author, Ben Fountain, was my creative writing teacher in college.  He's a great guy and has a real gift.  Today BILLY LYNN is the Nook Daily Find.  Amazon has price matched B&N on the Kindle.  If you click on the cover you'll be taken to Amazon, where you can buy BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK for $1.99.  I highly suggest you do it.  This book for two dollars is an absolute steal.

Three I love and have posted about are GRAVE MERCY by Robin LaFevers (review), SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo (review), and JANE EYRE: A COUNTING PRIMER by Jennifer Adams (review).  You probably haven't heard of the board book, but the other two can't be a surprise.  I'm often wary of hyped books, but this year the big books have been living up to their press.  That makes me a very happy bookworm indeed.

I am excited about a number of books at BEA 12, but nervous to list them because I know I'll forget something.  There's Mark Helprin's newest, IN SUNLIGHT AND IN SHADOW.  There's THE DIVINERS by Libba Bray and LEVEL 2 by Lenore Appelhans of Presenting Lenore.  There's PRODIGY by Marie Lu.  THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas.  UNSPOKEN by Sarah Rees Brennan.  I don't know what books I'll find during the next half of 2012.  I'm just eager to read and discover whatever comes my way.

Review: Shadow and Bone

Book One of the Grisha Trilogy
By Leigh Bardugo
Available now from Henry Holt (Macmillan)
Review copy

I'm never sure what to say about heavily hyped books.  I don't want to repeat what others have said, but it's hard not to when so many people are saying things.  I can say that there are times when I worried.  Of course Alina had special powers; she's the narrator of a fantasy novel.  Where did Mal go when he was so important in the first chapters?  Yes, yes, I like court intrigue, but everyone has the same goal so there isn't much use in scheming.

Fortunately, Leigh Bardugo has some twists up her sleeve.  And once SHADOW AND BONE gets twisty, it turns from a fun read into an irresistible one.

I have admitted several times on my Tumblr that I used to be obsessed with Russia.  Russian history, Russian art, Russian folktales, you name it.  Thus, SHADOW AND BONE had my goodwill from the first page, when I realized it was set in a fantastical version of Russia.  Alina and Mal are orphans being tested by the Grisha to determine whether they are Grisha.  Neither child shows evidence of magical talents and they grow up to enter the military.  Mal is a handsome tracker and Alina is an unaccomplished mapmaker.

Until they enter the Shadow Fold, that is.

The Fold is a darkness, filled with monsters, dividing the majority of the country from the ports.  Trade, particularly international trade, has suffered, and the country of Ravka is slowly perishing.  But Alina is the Sun Summoner, and with the help of the Darkling (the most powerful Grisha), she can destroy the fold and restore Ravka to his former glory.  She must survive assassins from afar and learn to use her power without being under great duress.

It's hard to say what makes SHADOW AND BONE so satisfying.  It uses typical elements, but executes them well.  Leigh Bardugo does have a lively voice.  I enjoyed crabby mentor Baghra's version of "There is no try."

"Pah!" she spat.  "Do you think the world cares if you do your best?  Do it again and do it right." (p. 186, ARC)

Or take how Alina and her friend Genya discuss the best way to seduce a geek:

"He'll come around.  He's just shy."

"Maybe I should lie down on a table in the workroom and wait to see if he welds something to me."

"I think that's the way most great love stories begin." (p. 190, ARC)

Best of all, SHADOW AND BONE builds to an actual climax.  I cannot tell you how tired I am of trilogies that begin with a book that can't standalone.  SHADOW AND BONE satisfies on its own merits, but I am eager to read the next book in the Grisha trilogy.  I can't wait to spend more time with these characters, in this world.

Armchair BEA: Shadow of Night Giveaway

Deborah Harkness's SHADOW OF NIGHT will be released July 10th by Viking.  It is the sequel to her debut novel A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES.  Together, Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont search for alchemical manuscript Ashmole 782.  You can join them on their hunt in style with a copy of the hardcover, a temporary tattoo, and a set of buttons.  If you aren't familiar with the All Souls trilogy, it has been compared to the works of Anne Rice, Diana Gabaldon, and Elizabeth Kostova.  I hope SHADOW OF NIGHT will be one of the best books of 2012.

My contest isn't the only chance to win.  You can also enter to win a copy of SHADOW OF NIGHT every Friday from now through July 6th on the Deborah Harkness Facebook page.

And don't worry if you haven't read A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES.  On June 10th - aka this Sunday - it will be the Kindle Deal of the Day.  That means you can get the ebook at Amazon for $2.99!

Enter to win below.  This is my first Rafflecopter giveaway, so please forgive me if I've messed it up.  Good luck!  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Armchair BEA.


a Rafflecopter giveaway