LA WEATHERLY BOOK SIGNING

Hi, guys! Something that very rarely occurs in little ole Arkansas happened this evening: an author event! I was so excited a few weeks ago when I heard author LA Weatherly was coming to her home state of Arkansas and would be appearing at two events. When I heard this, I had to go support and meet an fellow Arkansas who had earned such success. I was able to attend the second event, at a Barnes & Noble in Little Rock. There were several people in attendance, but it was a nice, quiet group that was very attentive and respectful.

Ms. Weatherly began by giving a very thorough and intriguing overview of her books, Angel Burn and Angel Fire. I haven't read the series yet, but I had heard from fellow bloggers that the books are very good. And wow, when she described the books, how she perceived her "angels" and the way the interact in our world, I was hooked. She told of how the story came about. The characters had been with her for some time, but it wasn't until she was in a bookstore (go figure!) and came across books about angels, that the story began forming. Weatherly and her husband traveled the same route as her characters across the United States so she could get a true feel of what she wanted to convey to the reader. And in Angel Fire, they traveled to Mexico City to gain perspective on the setting of the story.
After this, Ms. Weatherly performed a brief reading from Angel Burn.

Next, she took questions. The advice she gave was like many authors: write, write, write! She began writing books at the age of five! Her mother, unbeknownst to LA, kept her stories, which as a mother, I completely understand. She even recited one of her earliest stories from memory. It was an adorable story that I'm sure my kids would love.

The time came for the books to be signed. I decided to browse the YA section surrounding us while others moved through the line. When my turn came, Ms. Weatherly was extremely kind. She asked how I had learned about her books, and of course, I gave a huge shout-out to my fellow bloggers. LA seemed pleasantly surprised about this, saying that as this was her first YA series and had been originally published in the UK, this meant a lot. She encouraged me to blog about this, which I had already planned to do, but it was lovely that she was so enthusiastic about blogging. Her assistant gave me a cool Angel Burn tote bag and dog-tag necklace. Then Ms. Weatherly graciously took a picture with me.

I have to say, tonight was wonderful. It's always nice to see someone from my small, often overlooked state who has made an impact on the writing world. The Angel series sounds absolutely wonderful and I can't wait to get started. Ms. Weatherly was a lovely and I highly encourage each of you to attend an event with her if you ever get the chance.

Find ANGEL BURN (ANGELS, #1) at GoodReads.
Find ANGEL FIRE (ANGELS, #2) at GoodReads.