Julalicious Book Paradise: Recap: Book Event (Saratoga Teens: Maggie Stiefvater "The Raven King")

RECAP: SARATOGA TEENS: MAGGIE STIEFVATER "THE RAVEN KING"

So on Saturday, me and four of my friends (Sonya, Nancy, Sophie and Aude) drove to Saratoga Springs for a book signing with the author Maggie Stiefvater (The Wolves of Mercy Fall series, The Raven cycle, The Book of Faeries series and The Curiosities). She is an author that you want to meet once in your lifetime if you have that possibility. Believe me. ;)

So after picking up everyone, we left around 10:40am for Saratoga Springs. Passing the borders didn't take as long as we feared. Yes, we are still look at weirdly when we say we are just going to a book signing, but I think they are starting to get used to it because those looks aren't as often as before hahaha

Three hours later we arrive in beautiful yet very very hot Saratonga Springs. Since me and Sonya have been there before last November, we already knew where to go for a parking so that part went quickly. Then, the walk to the bookstore was hard due to the heat, but hey... we survived it hahaha

We were the first ones to arrive for the event, so early that nothing had been places for the Q&A. They told us we could leave and come back in an hour. To be honest, it was just simply so hot outside so we didn't particularly felt like leaving... Well... I at least didn't feel like leaving that I can say for sure.

So we bought our books and waited until they started to place the chairs. We were sort in the way but the staff was nice to not ask us to leave. After everything was set up, we still had to wait before getting our places so we waited, but when people started to arrive for the event, we decided to go take our places at the front. After all, we had waited long enough to deserve those hahaha

So after our seats were secured, some of us went to grab something to eat while the rest read, studied or just stared everywhere (the last one would be me lol).

As the time for the Q&A approached, more and more people arrived. We could at least sit around 50-60 people in this place and we had a lot of people standing in the back. It's just enough to show you that Maggie is really popular.

Finally... 5pm arrives and its about to start. I prepare myself to take tons of pictures and... I didn't, I seriously found myself listening intently to everything Maggie said. She was really entertaining explaining us her "average day" which in my standards is not really average. She told us about why she changed careers and how she came up with the Raven cycle storyline and how writing could be while being on a plane.

She is such an expressive person that she does reactment of conversations she had with her lover or kids or anyone really. I would have listened to her for hours if I could. She knows how to captivate her public, that's for sure. The Q&A went really fast that I couldn't believe an hour had already passed.

But I still took a few pictures and here's a collage of some of them:

Once she finished talking, she left to go downstairs where the signing would happen. We were ordered to wait until she had reached the bottom stairs before going to place ourselves in line. Being the first in line put us at the end of the one for this, but we didn't mind due to the tons of books we had or that I had at least.

We waited a little bit more than an hour before we reached Maggie to get our books signed which gave us the time to check out every book that came across our path and plan future events. She was really sweet. I think I told her how much I enjoyed the Raven cycle, but to be honest, I think I lost my English a little at that moment hahaha She signed most of my books on that one turn since most of them were from the store and then I went back at the end of the line for the three left which one of them is a second copy of The Raven King which will be for a giveaway sometime over the month, so check out for that.

And I had to take a picture with her of course. I am just not sure if we are looking at the same camera. I feel like we are looking in two different directions lol:

I didn't take a picture of it and I'm sad that I didn't even think about it, but she had a cover for her car that she asked all of us to signed with a few words and then would put over one of her many cars. I thought it was quite original, but sadly, no picture :(

Then, it was time to come back home. We made a few stops such as Dunkin Donuts, Taco Bell and KFC for a few snacks then we were off to get back to Montreal. At the borders, it took us a long time before we could finally pass. The first two cars in front of us were there for like forever (don't I sound like a teenager here lol) and when it was finally our turn, he just laugh seeing two of us had our Nexus cards that allow us to go faster while the others didn't (I think it's a fact we kept reminding the whole time lol) and he was really cute so it was a nice way to end our time in the States.

Dropping Sophie and Aude first at Sophie's car, I quickly asked for a selfie with them because I have like zero pictures with them. I knew Nancy wasn't a selfie person so I don't bother her anymore with it and Sonya was enjoying her time alone on the backseat so it was just the tree of us.

Once I arrived home (much later than I first anticipated due to a stop at a friend's house for a drink), I was too tired to even think of unpacking my books, so I only did it the next day.

Below here, you will find all the books I got signed with the book cover for the Raven cycle and note again the second signed copy of the Raven cycle :P

My friend Kelly asked us if we could get her a book cover since she wasn't able to get home though she has the series twice now, so of course we did. She seemed quite happy about it too :)