I Went to BookExpo!

Today it's time for a story... the story of one of the best long weekends of my life.... the time I went to BookExpo! I posted back in May that I was planning to go but I had no idea what an adventure it would be. I had the time of my life - I met some lovely people, I chatted to some amazing authors and I got some wonderful books.

First of all, I have to thank the folks at Book Expo for providing me with a Media Pass. When I submitted my application I never expected that my tiny little blog would be noticed and that they would pick me. I can't begin to explain what it means to me - I could never have afforded to attend BookExpo without it and it really was a life and career-changing experience for me. So thank you, BookExpo. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

So here's the story...

I arrived at BookExpo at about 8am on Thursday to meet up with a lovely group of librarians and bloggers from the BEA prep group. They were so lovely and we all exchanged tickets we knew others would want (thank you Andrea for giving me two of your tickets!). These ladies were all so lovely and reallty took me under their wing for the day. I even finally got to meet a few twitter friends in real life, including Lexie and Jessica.  If I find the photos of us all I will share them here.

We then began lining up in the huge line for the floor and.... rushed in! The morning was a blur of signings, lines and meeting people. I met so many lovely people, including even a couple of people who recognised me from my blog. I nearly died. Someone recognised me!? What!? It was the best feeling in the world to meet a reader of my blog for the first time! The afternoon was another blur of signings and meeting so many people... before I rushed back to my hotel to collapse and prepare for day two.

Dat two: the day of the line craziness and meeting more amazing bloggers. My goal for the day was to get Muse of Nightmares, so I spent most if not all of the day waiting around the Novl booth waiting for them to announce a password for it. This was actually a lot of fun and I finally got to meet the lovely Iryna Khymych, whose art I love so much (youcan find her gorgeous work here). Anddd... it paid off! I GOT MUSE OF NIGHTMARES! I was even able to join a line later in the day and get it signed to me by Laini. I was so happy (although the craziness of the line to get it was something else. I also met some lovely booksellers and librarians this day and I finally got to meet Megan Beattie of Megan Beattie Publicity. She is so lovely in person.

And then the first day of Bookcon! I couldn't attend day two because I had to start my research scholarship, but day one was such a blast. I got to meet even more blogging friends and even some authors, including some of my faves. I even met Marisha Pessl!

And what did I do when I finally got back from New York and got to sit down. I started a book of course... and a bowl of icecream :D

Here are some of the links to just some of the lovely people I hung out with, you should check out their awesome blogs:

• Brittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles
• Iryna @ Iryna Khymych Art
• Aila @ One Way Or An Author
• Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales
• Alexandra @ Twirling Pages
• Hazel @ Stay Bookish
• Joey @ Thoughts and Afterthoughts
• Emma @ MissPrint
• Kristen @ Super Space Chick
• Sasha @ A Book Utopia
• Jessica @ The Book Bratz
• Melissa @ Live Love Read YA
• And so so many more.....;

And finally, here are some of the books I got at BookExpo which I'm most excited about. Have you guys read any of these? Which ones are you excited for? :)

So now, I want to hear from you guys! Did you go to BookExpo? Did I meet you? Any thoughts on the books I got? Let me know!

Love,