y.a. extravaganza

This afternoon, my sister and I went to the Young Adult Extravaganza at Third Place Books in Seattle. Six local YA authors (Mandy Hubbard, Kimberly Derting, Lisa Schroeder, Suzanne Young, Cat Patrick, and Eileen Cook) hosted a panel and Q/A session full of advice, silly stories, and joy. Lots of joy - these ladies love writing! (And books with making out.)

It was infectious and fun to listen to them share about their new novels, their writing processes, and their advice for other writers (my favorite: don't be afraid to fail). And my favorite Q: where and how each of them got their inspirations for their books. Kimberly said The Body Finders sparked from one of her husband's many, often crazy story ideas that he throws out at random times; Cat said Forgotten (new June release that sounds really unique, by the way!) popped into her mind when she forgot what she was doing in the middle of a household chore. Mandy said she discovered the paranormal element for Ripple while link surfing on Wikipedia. Inspiration everywhere!

Overall, I just loved hearing from these new and established writers who are passionate about words and YA. And get some new ideas for my summer reading list...