A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to the Macmillan offices for a bloggers brunch with special guest author Alyson Noel. I can't tell you how excited I was about the event and meeting Alyson and we had a fantastic day. I met up with Vicki (from Heaven, Hell and Purgatory Book Reviews) before the event and luckily she had worked out where we needed to go as I don't think I'd ever have managed to find the Macmillan offices otherwise!
When we arrived we had time to mingle with the Macmillan staff and chat with the other bloggers while we were treated to coffee and cake and it wasn't long before Alyson arrived with her husband. Alyson was lovely and so friendly and happily answered all of our questions about the Immortals series and what she will be working on next. She confirmed that Summit (the creators of the Twilight films) have bought the rights for the Immortals books and they are currently in discussions about whether to make it into a film or TV series. Nothing has been confirmed yet but we were all very excited about the possibility of seeing the series on the big screen.
Alyson Noel with the bloggers
When talking about the Immortals books Alyson confirmed that Riley is very similar to the way Alyson was with her older sister. Alyson told us about sneaking into her sister's room when she was out to try on her shoes and make up which used to drive her sister crazy. She also mentioned that Ever's grief is based on the grief that she felt when she lost 3 friends quite close together, she found it really cathartic writing Evermore.
When asked about Riley's spin off series Alyson said that originally Riley was due to have a very small part in Evermore but she had so much fun writing her character that she ended up with a bigger role in the story. It was actually her editor's idea that she gave Riley her own series (something I'm really pleased about because I LOVE Riley!). Alyson said that Riley's series has been a lot of fun to write because she can go anywhere and do anything, in fact she has just finished writing book 4 where Riley can be found in ancient Rome!
We also got to find out a little more about Alyson's new Soul Seekers series, she is currently 3/4 of the way through writing the first book and although she is finding it sad to say goodbye to the Immortals series she is having a lot of fun getting to know her new characters. The Soul Seekers series covers themes of shamanism, spirit guides and magic and sounds like it will be a fascinating read. The main character is a 16 year old girl who was raised by a single mum who works as a make up artist on movie sets. Because of her Mum's job they are always moving so she is home schooled and finds it difficult to make friends. When she suffers what appears to be a psychotic breakdown and starts seeing hallucinations she is actually coming into her shaman powers. She goes to live with her grandmother in New Mexico to begin her training. The story also includes a hot Native American romance and I can't wait to read it! Luckily the book will be released in both the US and the UK next May so we don't have too long to wait.
It was lovely to meet Alyson and we all had a fantastic time at the brunch. We even got sent home with a goodie bag full of lots of exciting looking books and I can't wait to get started on them all! I'd like to say a massive thanks to everyone at Macmillan for organising the event and also to Alyson for being so lovely!
Fab books found in my goodie bag!
We had also been invited to the Everlasting Launch Party in the evening so in the afternoon a few of us (Vicki, Lynsey, Stacey & I) did a little shopping (not books for a change!) and then spent a couple of hours in Pizza Hut catching up and nattering about books. Unfortunately Lynsey couldn't stay for the evening so after she'd left to get her bus home we headed over to Shoreditch to find the event.
The party was held in a basement bar / club called Concrete and it had been decorated beautifully for the occasion with candles, tulips and all of the books from the Immortals series. Anyone who was over 18 got to sample Red Elixir cocktails and there was a nail bar and even a Tarot reader. We had such a great time soaking up the atmosphere and chatting to everyone, it really was a fab evening! Vicki and I manged to get the first two slots with the Tarot reader which was great fun. I've never had a Tarot reading before but the things she told me were spookily accurate!
Alyson giving her speech
Alyson gave a heartfelt speech thanking her fans and book bloggers for their support and at one point managed to bring tears to my eyes. She said that when she started writing the series she never expected anyone apart from her family to read it and she couldn't have imagined the possibility of coming to the UK on tour.
The Immortals Series
We were very excited to be given another goodie bag, this one containing the entire Immortals series that Alyson very kindly signed for us all. It really was a fantastic evening and I'd like to say a massive thanks to Macmillan for all the hard work that must have gone into making it such a success!
Here are a few more pictures I took throughout the evening:
Who was there:
Sally, Hattie, Lauren, Louise, Polly, Emma, Sam, Rachel & Amy - Macmillan / My Kinda Book - Blogger Brunch Write Up & Everlasting Launch Party Write Up
Alyson Noel - Website - Event Write Up
Alice - The Reader Room
Casey & Hayley - Dark Readers - Event Report
Jo - Once Upon A Bookcase / Ink & Paper
Lucy - 5 Minutes Peace
Lynsey - Narratively Speaking
Stacey - The Pretty Books
I so wanted to go to this!
ReplyDeleteGutted I couldn't =(
It looks like you had a great time and got some fab books!!
ReplyDeleteI wish I'd been able to go to this, looks like so much fun. x
ReplyDeleteWOW! You are just doing so many great things! See you in less than a week! xoxo
ReplyDeleteThanks for such a nice post--and for taking the time to come to the brunch and the party! I had such a great time meeting all of you!
ReplyDelete@ BooksforCompany - it's such a shame you couldn't make it, it would have been lovely to meet you!
ReplyDelete@ Jules - it was such a fun day & we got some awesome books, so excited about reading them all :o)
@ Susan - we do need to find a way for you to be able to come to more events, it feels like forever ago when I saw you last! You need to move closer lol
@ Twimom227 - It really has been an amazing couple of months for events :o) It was so good to meet you at AAD!
@ Alyson - thanks so much for stopping by and commenting, I had a great time at the events and it was a pleasure to meet you :o)