Friday, June 05, 2009

My Going-Ons!

Hello. My name is Aprilynne Pike and I am an internet-holic.

No really. The last two weeks have been SO frustrating without internet. I mean, I have it on my phone, but YOU try blogging on a three-inch-wide keyboard!:)

So I have been doing a bunch of traveling. Last week I went to New York for BEA. As soon as I got there I had a dinner that was about a mile from my hotel and we had some minor delays and it started sprinkling. So I was in the cab and frantically called up another author friend whose hotel was right around the corner and was like, "Dude! Can I come change in your bathroom!?!?!?" Luckily he was nice and said yes, so I managed to get to my dinner only about five minutes late.:)

Wow. What a dinner. My whole publishing team was there. The people behind the magic. We chatted and laughed and joked and just had a fab time. I got to meet Susan Katz for the first time and she is hilarious! She is the publisher at Harper and has been very key in championing my book. I did refrain from kissing her, but only just.

On Friday I started BEA proper. Well sort of . . . I actually started out the day at Harper where I filmed interviews for book two (still unnamed) THEN to BEA where I got to shake Neil Gaiman's hand. *swoon* (I'm just a squealing fan-girl on the inside.;)) I had a luncheon with Tara and then that night I got to get all dressed up in my brand-new little black dress (yay!) and go to a way swanky party. That was the highlight of BEA for me. It was so fun! I got to meet Holly Black, Scott Westerfield, Jeff Kinney, and re-meet Shannon Hale.:) About four hours of wandering around talking publishing with people who didn't think I was weird!! (Well, not for talking publishing anyway. They may have thought I was weird for other reasons.:)) Awesome!

The next morning I got up a bit early so I could be at BEA when the floor opened and I discovered that THAT is the secret of getting ARCs! I got tons! A bunch of books I had on my list of wants and several that just looked interesting. I also picked up Sarwat Chadda's The Devil's Kiss and had him sign it for me. So my name is a little hard to spell, so I put my nametag up on the counter where he could see it and said, "Sorry, my name is hard."

And (imagine this in a heavy british accent) he says, "Wot? No, no, I love it, I love it! Pike! *pause* Oh wait, that wasn't the name you were talking about was it?" And then he signed my book "Very, very cool name." :)

Then I got to be social. I met up with some Debs for lunch and then a bunch of Blue Boarders for dinner.

And in the middle . . .

Wait for it . . . .

Wait for it . . . .

I WENT TO SEE WICKED!!!

Oh man. It was SO GOOD!!! I was on row CC, but apparently they took out row AA because I was in the second row in the middle! I could see everything!! And if you are familiar with the set, they have this big dragon that decorates the top of the stage. Get this; I was UNDER the dragon!! Seriously, if the dragon had fallen off, it would have hit me in the head! Man, it was so amazing! I love this musical so much, but being so close had this immersion effect that was amazing!! I floated out of that theatre! It was so wonderful!

Sunday I got to meet Moonrat from Editorial Ass(istant). Yes! I seriously did!! I know who she is!! (And no, I won't tell you.) What I will tell you is that she is just as bubbly and fun in real life as she is on her blog. Exactly the same!

So then I left for the airport and as I was boarding I found a blogosphere friend and her daughter and after some creative seat switching, we got to sit together! So fun!

So yeah, I came back from New York just blissfully exhausted.

And then Wednesday I headed off again! I got to have dinner with my friend Heidi on Wednesday night and spent the whole day yesterday signing stock around San Francisco and talking to schools. I love school visits! They are so awesome! Right now I am in Portland and when I got here, I found out they had upgraded me to the equivalent of the Presidential Suite. Whoa! So I have a sitting room and a canopy over my bed and lots of treats in the mini-bar. (Not. Touching. The. Mini-Bar.;)) And I am waiting for the rest of my comrades to arrive!

Because tonight is the first stop on the Supernatural Summer Tour!! I get to do a signing with three other NYT Bestsellers who are totally amazing and fabulous!!! I feel like such a little kid bouncing on my puffy bed and saying, "Are they here yet? Are they here yet? Are they here yet??"

Hehe. I'm such a fangirl.:)

So yeah. I have internet here and and will try to put up another post before I leave tomorrow (with some awesome fan art!) so that you don't have to suffer through another really, really long entry like this one.:D

Also, I have some really, really exciting news re: foreign rights and film rights that I should be able to share soon. *squee* So stay tuned!!

Ciao!

23 comments:

Rebecca L Sutton said...

I am so glad I found your blog! I LOVE reading about your adventures as a published author...it's what I hope to experience someday. A girl can dream right?

What an exciting trip!!! I love that you're still a proud fan girl even as you've become someone who has fans. So fun.

Thanks for sharing all the insider info of what it was like at BEA and your trip to NYC. It sounded amazing. But it was the dinner with the publishing team that intrigues me, how stinkin' cool that must have been! Oh and of course the ARCs...that is one perk of becoming a successful author that I need to add to my list of goals. ; )

Valerie Ipson said...

All I can say is W. O. W.

Unknown said...

LOOK AT YOU! You know that Portland isn't that far away from here :)

I am SUPER excited for you April!
What an exciting adventure!

Lynnae said...

It all sounds so fun. I bought and read Wings before passing it on to my girls. It was really fun.
Congratulations on all your success.

kah said...

HOW FUN! Thanks for the play by play. We get to live vicariously through you. :)

Kayla said...

I just wanted to say that I absolutely loved Wings. I was at Costco the other day and picked it up because I thought the storyline looked interesting. By no means was I ready for what was in store!! I LOVED it and I can't wait for the sequel!

Jessie Oliveros said...

Film rights? Oooh, I can't wait to hear.

Rob said...

Wow!
You got the red carpet treatment going. So lucky. And you deserve it too. I've wanted to see Wicked for the longest. Everyone has been saying that it is worth it.

You . . . got to shake . . . Neil Gaimen's . . . hand!

That is awesome! That guy is one of my favorite writers. I've just started listening to The Graveyard Book. You should check it out. It's cute.

Keep up the good work.

Unknown said...

Sweet! And jealous! But sweet! Neil Gaiman is the MAN, I love his stuff. Graveyard book is a total winner. aaahh!!!

Yamile said...

How Awesome Aprilynne!!!!! And film rights? that's just fantastic!!!!!
I hope I can meet you when you come to the Orem library!!!

Jessica said...

I really wanted to go to BEA this year but because of my busy schedual aka school I couldn't go. Film rights? Can't wait to hear! I read Wings in about 2 hours and then passed it to a friend who read it through school and I had it back by the end of the day. It's safe to say we both adored it and are highly anticipating your next book.

Patti said...

What an exciting time. Enjoy every minute and I must agree WICKED is totally wicked.

Anonymous said...

Have fun in Portland. I hope it doesn't rain on you, Portland is notorious for that!

Film rights seriously?! I'm so excited I can hardly stand the suspense, that is awesome!

-HeatherM

Dara said...

Oh I am living vicariously through your post! :)

Film rights? Wow, interested to hear about that!

MARY IN SCOTLAND said...

What fun!!

I bought your book for my plane ride from Scotland to America. READ IT TWICE!! I still can't stop thinking about it! I have called EVERYONE I know and talked about the book at warp speed, EVERYONE'S READING IT NOW!!

I HAVE to know about this news...movie rights? what other news?! where can I find hints about the second book?!

I'm in LOVE with Tamani!
my husband thinks I'm crazy...I just tell him I can think of wrose habits than reading!

Congrats!

trinathegranny said...

You shook hands with Neal Gaiman? whoa. And I want to see a picture of your black dress. We are living vicariously through you and your blog, that's for sure. Thanks for sharing. It sounds so fun and adventurous, like, a, a ,Fairy Tale.

moonrat said...

rats, was i bubbly and fun AGAIN?! i am so going to have to rein that in.

literally CANNOT WAIT for the news.

sari said...

Hi,

I finished your book, I thought it was terrific! Looking forward to the next one.

Glad your trip was great. I wish I would have gone to see you at Changing Hands when I had the chance!

Best wishes!

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

sounds so fun and amazing.

you going to LA?? would love to meet you :)

Kiersten White said...

Hey Aprilynne, congratulations : ) I'm a long-time lurker. A year ago you were kind enough to help me with a query on my (poor, poor trunk) novel. It's fun to see good (umm, amazing? yeah) things happening for you!

C. Michelle Jefferies said...

I'm squeeing with you! YAY! you deserve this. Have a fun rest of your trip.

Michelle

Unknown said...

April, one question about Wicked - I read the book this year and wasn't terribly impressed (you can see the review on my blog). Aside from music and costuming, how does the musical differ?

hi, it's me! melissa c said...

Congratulations! I am very excited for you and immensely jealous.It's hard not to be. =)

I met you at the awards night after the LDS Storymakers conference. You probably don't remember me, but I was right behind you in line. We were introduced by Jenn Johanson.

Anyway, I just wanted to add my two cents worth and a cyber high five!

I'll keep my eyes on you and on your journey through fame and fortune! lol