BEA wrap-up and Giveaway

Hmmm...how to summarize Book Expo?

I got up at 4:40 a.m. to get ready and leave by 5:15 a.m. to drive the hour to the train station. Got Dunkin Donuts breakfast after my ticket and panicked while waiting for my friend and co-worker, Miss Kim, to arrive...just before the train!

Train ride full of "Oh, we have to do this...and oh.my.god. I have to get this book signed, and do you think we could hit this one and this one before the time's up???"

Arrival at NYC Grand Central Station...asking which exit to find taxi stand...worst taxi ride of my life (serious fears of dying, people!!)

Arrival at Javitz Center...WOOT!! BEA. AWESOMESAUCE.

We tag teamed the booths first, then hit some signings...more booths, more signings...and REST. Sort of...Poor Miss Kim went off to buy lunch while I powered through with a PB&J and some yogurt covered raisins in line.

We hit the YA Book Buzz which was great...until they had no one handing out the ARCs at the end. Talk about a mad crush! Some brave souls finally ripped open the tops of the boxes stacked at the edge of the room and a huge crowd gathered to grab...people were nice, though, and were passing back to others. (Psst...I also saw Laini Taylor in the back of the room...ie. She was within 10 feet of me...Oh.My.God!! That made my day, right there...)

Other highlights...
*Popped by Harlequin after their teen signing and talked to Cara Lynn Shultz (who rememebered me from our CLA annual conference panel!)
*Bumped into Violet Haberdasher and snagged a totally unexpected ARC of The Secret Prince
*Managed to snag the one ARC Miss Kim was absolutely desperate for, even though they weren't technically handing them out
*Ran into a ton of my fave Library people!! (Jen, Bailey, Karen, Heather, and Andrea!!)
*Got to meet Michael Scott and get a totally unexpected signed copy of Warlock
*Snagged a signed copy of Trial by Fire from Jennifer Lynn Barnes, who also remembered me from our CLA event!
*I met some awesome bloggers in real life standing in line!
*Five bloggers actually recognized my blog...doesn't sound like a lot, but to me that meant the world!!

There were so many other awesome moments, I can't even get them all down. I really, really love BEA. To help share the BEA love, I'm doing a GIVEAWAY!!

Here's how it will work:
I have six extra ARCs from BEA...


Signed ARC - Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz
ARC - Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham


ARC - Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
ARC - The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima

ARC - The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer Smith
ARC - Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment with your name and email address before Friday, June 10th. On Saturday, June 11th, I will randomly choose our FIRST WINNER.

The first winner has to get back to me by Monday, June 13th with their mailing address (US only this time...sorry!) and their choice of TWO of the ARCs below.

Then on Wed., June 15th, I will choose a SECOND WINNER. This person will have their choice of one ARC from the remaining titles. The second winner will have to get back to me by Fri., June 17th with their mailing address and the ARC they want.

So...even if you couldn't make BEA this year...you can still read like you did! Good luck!!