Author Event: Meeting Veronica Roth

Veronica Roth reading an excerpt from Insurgent 

It's no secret among my friends that I am a huge fan of the Divergent series. I have raved about this book series to anyone who would listen to me. And even to some who didn't want to listen to me. So a couple of months ago I decided to take the release day of Insurgent off from work, so I can stay home and read it. Then a few weeks ago, Jessica texted me that the author of the series Veronica Roth would be doing a book signing on release day in New York City. Needless to say, I decided to go even before I finished reading the message.



It was such a fun experience because the day before Jessica and I went to Jeri Smith-Ready's signing in Pennsylvania. So between the two of us we went to 2 signings, in 2 days, in 2 states.

The book signing was at Barnes and Noble in Tribeca. We got there early to purchase our books, and then had a quick lunch of 2 slices of pizza and soda for only 5.50 cents! (Seriously that's practically a steal in the city). The signing was at 7 pm, but I've known from previous signings at Barnes and Noble that it's always best to get there early if you want a seat. So around 5 pm we wandered back over to Barnes and Noble and sure enough there were already a few people sitting in the area the signing was going to take place at. For the next 2 hours before the signing we mingled with a bunch of other YA bloggers and a few other Divergent fans. This was definitely a fun experience. I love talking about books, and it's always nice to find someone who is just as passionate about something as you are. And I must say the crowd was very diverse. I saw groups of teens, groups of adults, and even two older gentlemen seated in the very front row. One of which had four books for Veronica to sign.

A few minutes before the signing a Barnes and Noble representative read the rules for the signing. I admit I was a little bummed that we couldn't take pictures with Veronica. But at all of the Barnes and Noble book signings I've been to, photos usually are not allowed. Also we were told that only 2 books could be signed per person. That made us a little bummed because Jessica and I wanted to get a couple of books signed for giveaways, and she had books for her friends to be signed. Luckily though the rule was amended and we were told that she would sign all of our books, but would only personalize two.

Just after 7 pm Veronica came out delighted us by reading a small excerpt from Insurgent. Now I must say that I love that the scene she chose to read was not something too spoilery from the book, and she actually stopped herself before she said a spoiler from Divergent. Because Insurgent had just come out that morning, and unless you had an advanced reader copy or can read really fast there is no way you could have finished the book already. I've gone to author events in the past where the author in my opinion will say too much about the series. And I think that can really turn someone off from reading the book.

After reading from Insurgent, Veronica took some questions from the audience. I must admit a lot of the questions were really good. One girl even asked Veronica a question about her dog. Which I thought was really cute. But my favorite was when Veronica was talking about Four and Tris's real names (Tobias and Beatrice). She said she named Tobias after her favorite character from the Animorphs books, which really caused me to chuckle because I remember one of my friends in middle school being obsessed with those books. And as for Beatrice, she said she needed a name that was older, but could have a cool nickname. And that she didn't have many options for that.

Then it was time to get our books signed. I was so excited. And even though it was a little rushed, I was glad I got to talk to Veronica for a few minutes. I told her that I took the day off of work to read Insurgent and when I heard about the signing I knew I had to come. She told me that she hoped I enjoyed the book and thanked me for coming to the signing.

Overall it was a very fun experience, and I was happy to meet one of my favorite authors. Please check back for our Divergent and Insurgent giveaways.