My BEA Recap: Part 4

[Check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.]

BEA Day 2

My third day in NYC was my second day at BEA. No getting up early this morning! I slept until 8-something and arrived at the convention center just before 9am. Unbridled Books was hosting a blogger breakfast and tweet-up so that was my first stop of the day. I met a few of the Unbridles reps and also a few new bloggers.

After browsing the booths some more – and finally making it past every booth at least once! – I got in line to see Tony Hawk. Kiddo is a new fan of skateboarding and loves Tony so this was a must-do for me. His book is called HOW DID I GET HERE: THE ASCENT OF AN UNLIKELY CEO. I was in line for about 30 minutes but it was totally worth it. Not only did I get his signature of the book excerpt but I also got a Tony Hawk hat to take home to Kiddo!

Tony Hawk

By this time I was ready for lunch – and, more importantly, a break! – so I headed downstairs to the food court. I found my roommate Monica and joined her table of bloggers. I was so exhausted that I barely talked during lunch at all.

After I’d recovered a bit of energy I headed back into the exhibit hall. My first stop was at the Title Town booth where I met author Richard Logan and picked up a signed copy of his book ALONE: ORPHANED ON THE OCEAN. [I read this entire book on the train ride home; look for a review next week.]


At 2pm I was the second person in line to meet M.L. Malcolm and get her to sign her book HEART OF LIES. Ms. Malcolm is a new-to-me author whom I’d met at the Harper Collins Blogger Event the night before. I can’t believe I don’t have a photo of her – she wore fabulous hats both times I met her! Her book is historical fiction set during the World War I era AND she said she’s very much into historical details; needless to say, I’m very excited to read this book.

Right next to Ms. Malcolm’s signing line was Alison Green signing copies of A FOX IN THE DARK. The book looked adorable so I picked up a copy.

Finally the craziness of the past few days caught up with me and I had to find a place to sit down. An empty corner nearby served the purpose, and I propped myself against the wall to read A FOX IN THE DARK. It was adorable, and it’s simple, fun story was the perfect antidote to my over-stimulated brain. [Kiddo read it to me after I got home; look for a Mom and Son review coming soon.]

Book Blogger Convention Reception

The Book Blogger Convention’s Reception was set to begin in an hour but I couldn’t take any more of BEA so I headed downstairs an hour early to see if anyone needed help getting ready for the reception. They didn’t (those ladies really had it together all week!), so I was able to chat with the two other bloggers who arrived early, Care and Kim.

Meet Care @ Care’s Online Book Club (with Copley the lobster) and Kim @ Sophisticated Dorkiness

Very soon the room began to fill up, and I have to say that this was unexpectedly my favorite part of the entire week. The room was buzzing with conversation between bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists, and everyone was excited to be talking to each other. I moved from group to group, meeting new person after new person, and generally having a fabulous time. I wish I had pictures of the mass of people, but I was too busy chatting to take any.

Smuggled to Dinner

As the reception ended I was scrambling for dinner plans. I wanted to hook up with bloggers that I hadn’t really gotten to know so that I could meet even more people. As it turns out, one of my blogger pals had accidentally double booked herself that evening so I was able to take her place at one of the events – woohoo!

And guess who I got to have dinner with? The Book Smugglers! Thea and Ana had reservations at a club/restaurant for about 10 bloggers that evening, and it was a blast. The food was delicious, abundant, AND inexpensive, and the conversation was fabulous. All the other bloggers at dinner were new to me, and that’s exactly what I was hoping for.

Thea @ The Book Smugglers and Christine @ The happily ever after

me with Ana @ The Book Smugglers

me with the two Book Smugglers

our dinner group: Kendra @ Lurv a la Mode, Christine @ The happily ever after, Ana & Thea @ The Book Smugglers, Charlotte @ Lusty Reader, Janice @ Janicu's Book Blog, Angie @ Angieville, Kristen @ Fantasy Cafe, Laura @ Laura's Review Book Shelf, and me

I got back to the hotel before 11pm and chatted with my roomies before heading to bed, very excited about what was to come tomorrow.

TO BE CONTINUED …