Smart Chicks Kick It Tour: Recap!

Last Saturday, I was lucky enough to attend a stop on the third and final Smart Chicks Kick it tour! It was in Montreal, at Chapters Pointe-Claire and it was a fantastic day.

Emilie and I (photo cred to Emilie!)

The day of the signing, I woke up in a panic. I had dreams all night that I didn't get a spot, that I forgot my books, my camera, etc. and all I wanted to do when I woke up was be in Montreal. Yeah, it was 8:30 a.m. and the store wasn't even open so that was impossible. I spent the next two hours frantically running around the house, trying to get my parents to get ready faster, and make sure I had everything all prepared for the signing. At 10:30, my dad, myself, and the wonderful Emilie from Emilie's Book World, loaded into the van and set off for Chapter Pointe-Claire! The two hour drive consisted of Emilie and I gabbing about books non-stop and my dad shaking his head at us. Just as we were about ten minutes from the store, I got a text from Lucy at Moonlight Gleam's Bookshelf saying there was lots of people already at the store, and no seats left. *Cue the nightmare flashbacks and ensuing panic*. I may have started hyperventilating and and nervously fidgeting. Emilie couldn't stop laughing. When we finally got the the store I practically dived out of the van, and was met with the one and only Lucy! Lucy and I have been chatting on the Chapters Community and Twitter for about three years so it was amazing to finally meet in person! She had a huge bag of books for me, and led us over to meet the other bloggers at the event!

Lucy and I!

The Bloggers! (Top: Stephanie from Tynga's Review, myself, Cindy
from Tynga's reviews, Cindy from Cindy's Love of Books)
(Bottom: Emilie from Emilie's Book World, Lucy from Moonlight Gleam's
Bookshelf, AH from Bad Ass Book Reviews)

While we were waiting for the event to start, the emcee (I believe his name was Mathieu) kept the crowd energized with his trivia questions and constant cheers. Three of the bloggers (myself included!) won a $5 giftcard for answering one of the questions (my answer was "The Edison Group"). Time seemed to flyby and then it was time for the authors!

My camera kinda sucks, and I was on the floor so yeah...poor quality!

The authors were all really charismatic and so much fun! They started off with great introductions, including Margaret Stohl trying to say "Smart Chicks" in French and instead said the smart chickens. Introductions were followed by general questions and a lightening round in which they made Rosemary Clement-Moore run around since she was the newbie Smart Chick. There were many interesting questions, and creative answers to things like "what was the wildest thing you've ever done", "which characters of yours are you in love with", and "what are the three things you couldn't live without" (common two responses: family and caffeine). Some swag and books were given away, including an ARC of Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine which I nearly died when I saw it. After lots of laughs, it was time to begin the signing!

Photo cred to the Indigo Green Room twitter account!

Rosemary Clement-Moore was the first author in the line, and she was such a sweetheart! I'm usually so nervous and can't seem to find words to say to the authors, but she was so friendly that I was able to push aside my fear and have an actual conversation! From there I went to Melissa de la Cruz, whom I chatted with about the Au Pairs novels and my desperation for The Gates of Paradise. Next was Melissa Marr where I gushed about my love for the Smart Chicks Tour! Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl were next, and they were too funny! They took pictures of my Smart Chicks shirt, saying how much they loved it! After them, I got in the longer line for Rachel Caine.

Myself and Rosemary Clement-Moore!

Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl and moi!

If you know me well, you'll know how much I love Rachel Caine. Her Morganville, Weather Warden, and Outcast Season series are some of my favorites, and I've always wanted to meet her. When I found out she was going to be at the Smart Chicks signing, I nearly fainted! I couldn't believe I was going to finally get the opportunity to meet one of my all time favorite authors! When I finally got to the front of the line, I gushed about her books, and how excited I was to finally meet her! She was so kind and funny, telling me about her once signing 5,000 books, and that Firestorm, my favorite of her Weather Warden series, was also one of her favorite books to write. I ended up in her line four different times, due to the signing limit, and by the last turn she called me a "doll" and thanked me for coming. (Side note: huge thanks to Emilie and Cindy who went in line twice for me as well!)

Rachel Caine!!

Last but definetly not least was the Kelley Armstrong line, which was by far the longest. I met up with Lucy to get my book signed with her, and we chatted about how amazing all the authors and the signing was. I was really excited to meet and talk to Kelley Armstrong for the third time, because she is always so easy to talk with and amazing to her fans. We talked about Hidden and Angelic, her hard-to-get novellas which I have copies of, and then she got to my name. A couple months back, Kelley had an impormptu Twitter contest to have your name in her next book! I tweeted her my name, and she ended up choosing it! I was extactic! At the signing, she told me how she's been writing my name all the time and that I really wasn't going to like how I died. Oh, did I mention that my name is the name of an important corpse in her Omens and Shadows series? Yeah...I'm still really excited!

Kelley Armstrong and I! I really love this picture!

After the signing, all the bloggers waited so we could get a big group shot with the authors! A huge, huge thank you to the authors for taking the time to stick around and hang out with us crazy book fanatics! 

Bloggers and authors!

Authors, Bloggers and emcee Mathieu!

We stuck around a bit long to chat with the authors and some of the staff, then headed out. We went to a bookstore nearby, said goodbye to the lovely bloggers then Emilie and I grabbed Subway and waited for my dad to pick us up. I pretty much crashed when we got home, but not before my mom saw my four bags of books and nearly fainted. What can I say, I'm a book addict.

Overall, it was one of the best signings I've ever been to, and I couldn't have asked for anything more. Huge thanks go out to the staff of Chapters Pointe-Claire who were extremely accommodating and helpful. Also big thanks to the authors for taking time to chat with us, sign all our mass amounts of books, and for just generally being awesome people. Last, I want to say thanks to the bloggers I met. You were all so much fun to chat with, and I hope to see you guys again soon!

- Ciara (Lost at Midnight)

Smart Chicks Kick It Tour, Take Three (Pre-Post)

I love the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour.

When I first heard about it, I believe there was some screaming. A book signing, with tons of amazing authors, with stops in CANADA?! My mind was boggled. I'd only ever been to one signing before, and never one this big. Although Brampton, Ontario (where the first signing was) was about a five hours drive from me I found out about the signing over a year and a half before it was happening, and made arrangements early. I was also lucky enough to attend the Teen Read Awards that day, win a Kobo, meet tons of amazing authors (including Richelle Mead *fan girls*), and have one of the best weekends ever.

The second Smart Chicks signing was fantastic as well, this one being in my hometown of Ottawa! I got there three hours early (they hadn't even set up for the signing yet!) and convinced some friends to come and get books signed for me. I got some cool swag, lots of signed books (got cut in line, but that was another story), and had a great time.

The crowd at the Ottawa signing (I'm behind Charles de Lint!)

My Smart Chicks shirt and shorts!

This year is the third and final year for the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour, and I'm so lucky to be going again. This time, it's outside Montreal which is about a two hour drive. I'm so excited to meet some of my favorite bloggers including Lucy from Moonlight Gleam's Bookshelf (whom I've been talking books with for years)! I also get to meet a ton of authors, including Rachel Caine, whose books I absolutely adore! The signing limit might stop me from getting them all signed, but I'm hoping to pawn some of the books off on some bloggers to get signed for me! I have a total of...thirty-seven books to be signed (twenty-three of which are Rachel Caine books) this Saturday...which is crazy! I'll be sporting my well worn Smart Chicks shirt and carrying my signing bag. I couldn't be more excited.

My signing stack (and messy room) *missing three books

All Post-It noted up

Haven't heard of the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour? Well, it's an author-run tour with some kick-ass female authors (and one smart dude), including organizers Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr. Lots of authors participate, with a different line-up at each signing. This years stops are in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Edmonton, Montreal, Dartmouth, and Philadelphia. If you want to check out the schedule, just click here. If you are attending a signing, be sure to call your store and ask about the signing policy. It should be the usual three books per author per turn in the line, but I believe one of the signings has a different policy. And if you're going to the Montreal event, let me know! I'd love to say hi!

Smart Chicks really do kick it!

- Ciara (Lost at Midnight)