Too much happened at ALA to squash it into a single post. So I decided to start with the pinnacle of my debut ALA:
They say you shouldn't meet your heroes.
"They" obviously picked the wrong heroes.
Hanging out with these guys exceeded all expectations.
Through some amazing trick of fate, I got to spend pretty much the duration of ALA with David Levithan and John Green.
And I learned a few things.
One - that David Levithan is my writing soul mate. I don't think any other person could make it seem like a good idea - natural even - to sing "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'" into a mic in front of 100 teenagers. Yet somehow this happened. And it was awesome. Meeting David has given me two new goals in life: To at some point go on tour with David, so that singing about writing is always part of the deal. The second goal is to somehow convince David that he needs to collaborate on a YA novel that has a paranormal element and then to convince him that I should be the other half of that collaboration. I do not know how I'm going to make this happen - but I am working on it.
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= Werewolf Bands of London (or New York? Chicago? David??)Two - John Green is not the zany character you think he is.
I think he is a spy - or possibly a super villain of the alluring variety. It's just something in his eyes. Sure, he's charming and witty. Sure, you love him the moment you meet him. But beneath that lively exterior lurks something else. Something complex and brooding. I'm now fleshing out a theory that Nerdfighters are actually a secret society working to overthrow the world (not that their rule would be a bad thing...). John Green would be just the guy to pull that revolution off. And nobody would see it coming.
If you haven't read John and David's books, you need to start right now. My favorite books are those that make me laugh out loud and sob. David and John both write with that type of insistent and authentic emotional quality. I reread John's Looking for Alaska on the plane right home, and had to constantly apologize to the person sitting next to me for my torrents of giggling and crying. I told him it was the book. I'm pretty sure he was convinced I was going through a break up that was somehow hilarious but tragic.
Spending time with these two authors made me feel better about the state of the world. Seriously.
Meet your heroes. Just be sure you pick good ones.
Awesome post! I too am a John Green fan. Although, I haven't read all his books and this is only because I can't bring myself to buy any books until I read some of these stinking review copies I have in my living room.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, looks like you had a great time at ALA. If I hadn't have just gone to BEA I would have gone to ALA.
I. Am. So. Jealous.
ReplyDeleteSO JEALOUS IT ISN'T EVEN FUNNY.
Wow! I'm so jealous about meeting those guys! ALA sounds like it was awesome. I'd love to meet Laurie Halse Anderson.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a rockin' good time. I've read the "Boy Meets Boy" book, actually, by Levithan. Got it from a writer friend who is bi and has a female persona that he was learning to dress as at the time. The person giving the gift was almost more fun than the gift but it is a cute little book. Plus, as a gay writer I'm bound to look up to people who have published books with gay characters.
ReplyDeleteI'll look into some of the others soon. I don't have many heroes but maybe that will change soon.
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ReplyDeleteArgh, typos.
ReplyDeleteDawn have you seen the recent NY Times article about GLBT YA? It's fantastic.
OMG, that video is AWESOME. Going to America for one of these would be HEAVEN. LOL. Great post Andrea! :D
ReplyDeleteUm, wow.
ReplyDeleteThat is amazing.
Plotting to take over the world? No, noooo, that's an evil person thing and we've got all of the evil babies in the Evil Baby Orphanage. So there is no reason to worry about a world takeover on either side. You will forgot the very thought. *waves hand before Andrea's eyes* You will also forget that I ever used the Jedi Mind Trick on you ;p
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