SDCC 2016: Book Haul and Author Events

I was swimming in books this Comic Con, but there were some cool author events and giveaways I went to inside the convention.

* Seanan McGuire AKA Mira Grant

Seanan McGuire is one of my very favorite authors. If her name appears on a book, I buy it without question because I love each and every one of her novels. She was signing at the Penguin booth and they were giving away a cool purple tote bag and the first in the InCryptid series Discount Armageddon. I gushed to her that I loved her new novella Every Heart a Doorway and that I wished it was a 10 books series. A second book in that series has already been written about Jack and Jill before they arrived at the school and I can't wait for it!! I see her practically every year I go to Comic Con and she is always super nice.

* Pierce Brown

I'm a huge fan of the Red Rising series (even though I still have to read the last one!). Random House gave out copies of Red Rising, which I already own, so I got it inscribed for a friend of mine. The line was super long and we didn't talk for long. He recognized me from his signing at a convention (I think Comikaze or Wondercon) and was thankful that I was getting other readers to his work. I hope he comes out with something new soon and he is also always delightful.

* Todd Lockwood

My fiance and I see Todd Lockwood every year at Comic Con because he's an incredibly talented artist that we know from Magic: the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons. His art style changed the way people draw dragons because he drew the skeletal system and musculature that makes scientific sense, based on large cats. Needless to say he's amazing and now he can add author to his list of achievements with the release of The Summer Dragon. We also always buy an art print which was a closeup of the book's cover art.

* Purchases and giveaways without signings

In years past, the book publisher booths usually just had books on display or books on sale for full price. There were some amazing deals this year, so I loaded up. At the Tor booth, I bought V.E. Schwab's A Gathering of Shadows for half price and then received Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings and a super awesome Twin Peaks tote for free.

At the Penguin booth, I bought Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable Path Adventure by Ryan North and Alice by Christina Henry at a crazy low price.

Not only did I meet some awesome authors, but I discovered some new books that I never would have otherwise heard of. I hope to return next year for more days so I can go to even more signings and panels.

SDCC 2016: Mysterious Galaxy Signing and Shopping Spree

Mysterious Galaxy is an amazing indie bookstore in San Diego that puts on so many awesome author events. I hadn't been to their new location since they moved, so it was a bit hard to find. However, the interior layout is so much better organized and open than the old store. Check it out if you're ever in San Diego.

Friday night of Comic Con, they held a Gail Carriger book signing for her new releases, Imprudence and Poison or Protect. The first hour or so was a loose Q&A session where fans asked questions and Gail answered as best she could. She gave her book recommendations (Uprooted by Naomi Novik and Court of Fives by Kate Elliott), character name creation (usually having some hidden meaning about the character), and easter eggs of minor characters showing up in other book series in the same world. She also spoke of her past as an archaeologist specializing in ceramics which she studied and excavated all over the world. Next year, she will be entering a writing hiatus, but will still be attending events.

Poison or Protect is a self published romance novella feature Sophronia from the Etiquette and Espionage books. Gail admitted to being a bit squeamish about writing romance especially the "nookie" scenes (her words). She decided to self publish in order to write in a shorter, harder to sell format and also continue the series with LGBT characters in perhaps a more explicit way than her publisher would like. I'm excited about it (even though romance really isn't my thing) since it delves into minor characters in her world we wouldn't normally see as closely. Needlessly to say, the signing was awesome and informative with many fun people who exchanged book recommendations with me.

On the Monday after Comic Con, I went back to the store to go on a shopping spree with my left over money. Here are all the books I bought (which I meant to take a picture of before I put them all away):

Your Brother's Blood by David Towney
The Dark Earth by John Hornor Jacobs
Dinner by Cesar Aira
Thirst by Benjamin Warner
Imprudence by Gail Carriger
Poison or Protect by Gail Carriger
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory
The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home by Catherynne Valente
The Boy Who Lost Fairyland by Catherynne Valente
My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
Disappearance at Devil's Rock by Paul Tremblay
Fellside by M.R. Carey

I love this bookstore because I never would have heard a lot of these books and authors in a bigger store or Amazon. This store focuses on mystery, horror, science fiction, and fantasy and is willing to include lesser known books alongside the big names. I hope to have you all read reviews for most if not all of these books whenever I finish them.