Apollycon 2015

Woah! This week went by so fast! Between work, kid's school stuff, and snow days, I haven't had a chance to write about what a great experience Apollycon was. (I may have also fell into a full day worm hole of The 100 on Netflix.)  I went to Apollycon with two of my friends from work Bonnie and Alexis. We got down early and visited some of our friends that were working the bookstore since our store was providing the books. We visited Jen's table first since it was her event for launching her book "The Return". Thank God we did because she was busy the entire day. Her line ended up being so long she was still signing until after 7pm. As always she was super nice and remembers you from other events which is amazing. That woman has an awesome memory. Also pictured below is Drew who is the cover model of "The Return".

Katie McGarry is an author I was super excited to meet. Bonnie turned me onto her books and I literally couldn't put them down. She was so nice and appreciative since I told her I handsell her books at my work all the time. So excited for her new book "No Where But Here". Also SELFIE!

This is Jeaniene Frost. Mah Kween! She is probably the author I was most nervous to meet. I just feel like she is huge. She's epic! I see her name everywhere! Her books are amazing. Like I can't put them down-must finish them in a day!!! She was so lovely and she looked amazing at the after party! I didn't get photos with her later because of..nerves!!

 Here is the squad! Sarah J. Maas, Susan Dennard, and Alexandra Bracken! These three were so incredibly nice. Sarah J. Maas will be at our store in May and were all so thrilled! At the after party they were so cute dancing together! 

A new author to me, Riley Edgewood! She is THE SWEETEST! Seriously so nice. I'm excited to check out her books. We instantly just wanted to be her BFFs. Everyone we talked to raved about how awesome she is. 

Another new to me author Elizabeth Briggs, who we also fell in love with. She is so nice! Bonnie blind-bought her book and can't wait to start it. I will also be checking it out. She's located all the way over in L.A. and was so excited to see snow here in Philly. It was adorable! I hope she makes it over here again soon we would love to hang out. And the star in the middle is Cristin Terrill the author of "All our Yesterdays" one of my all time favorite books. You can't tell from this picture was I was "fan-girling" hard core which made me super awkward. I seriously probably overwhelmed her with my ridiculousness!

And finally Bonnie got in a picture! Also some new friends I met through Bonnie. Featured authors: Elizabeth Briggs, Diane Alberts, and Cora Carmack.

My SWAG Bag!!!!

Tomorrow is Apollycon!!!!!

I have been anxiously awaiting tomorrow for months! This is my first big book event and some of my favorite authors are going to be there!! I'm getting all my books in order (seriously I lost count) and making plans with two of my girlfriends from work that are attending with me. Below is information on one of my all time favorite authors Jennifer Armentrout and the main reason for this event. She is one of the funniest women I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Really excited to see what she has in store for us tomorrow. I can't wait to share pictures of the event.



ApollyCon Featured Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

About the Author

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.



Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV.



She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.



***Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads***



Books

Recent Release

It’s been a year since Seth made the deal with the gods that pledged his life to them. And so far, the jobs they’ve given him have been violent and bloody – which is kind of all right with him. But now Apollo has something else in mind for Seth. He’s got to play protector while keeping his hands and fingers off, and for someone who really has a problem with restraint, this new assignment might be the most challenging yet.



Josie has no idea what this crazy hot guy’s deal might be, but it’s a good bet that his arrival means the new life she started after leaving home is about to be thrown into an Olympian-sized blender turned up to “puree”. Either Josie is going insane or a nightmare straight out of an ancient myth is gunning for her.



But it might be the unlikely attraction simmering between her and the golden-eyed, secret-keeping Seth that may prove to be the most dangerous thing of all.



Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes



Other Titles

Half-Blood | Lux Beginnings | Cursed | Tempting the Best Man | Wait for You | White Hot Kiss | Frigid | Obsession | Don't Look Back | Unchained | Wicked

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Full details can be found on the ApollyCon website.
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Apollycon Author Spotlight: Susan Dennard and Tessa Bailey

ApollyCon Featured Author: Susan Dennard

About the Author

Susan Dennard has come a long way from small-town Georgia. As a marine biologist, she got to travel the world—six out of seven continents, to be exact (she’ll get to Asia one of these days!)—before she settled down as a full-time novelist and writing instructor.
She is the author of the Something Strange and Deadly series as well as the forthcoming Witchlands series (Tor, 2015), and when not writing, she can be found hiking with her dogs, exploring tidal pools, or practicing her tap dance shuffles.



***Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads***



Books

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Recent Release

In the conclusion to the trilogy that Publishers Weekly called “a roaring—and addictive—gothic world,” Eleanor Fitt must control her growing power, face her feelings for Daniel, and confront the evil necromancer Marcus...all before it’s too late.



He took her brother, he took her mother, and now, Marcus has taken her good friend Jie. With more determination than ever to bring this sinister man to justice, Eleanor heads to the hot desert streets of nineteenth-century Egypt in hopes of ending this nightmare. But in addition to her increasingly tense relationships with Daniel, Joseph, and her demon, Oliver, Eleanor must also deal with her former friend, Allison, who has curiously entangled herself in Eleanor’s mission.



With the rising dead chomping at her every move and Jie’s life hanging in the balance, Eleanor is convinced that her black magic will see her through to the bitter end. But there will be a price. Though she and the Spirit Hunters have weathered every battle thus far, there will be consequences to suffer this time—the effects of which will be irreversible. And when it’s over, only some will be able to live a strange and ever after.



Susan Dennard will leave readers breathless and forever changed in the concluding pages of this riveting ride.



Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes



Other Titles

Something Strange & Deadly | A Darkness Strange & Lovely

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Full details can be found on the ApollyCon website.




ApollyCon Featured Author: Tessa Bailey

About the Author

Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.



Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.



She now lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband of seven years and three-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.



***Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads***



Books

Recent Release

NYPD detective Seraphina Newsom will avenge her brother’s death at any cost. Even if it means insinuating herself into a rough, Brooklyn street gang and going so far undercover, she’s not sure she’ll be able to get out. Every minute she spends in their midst means the clock ticking down on her life, especially when she overhears something that could get her killed.



Bowen Driscol is the heir to a crime enterprise. He never asked for the job, but with his father behind bars, he has no choice but to step in and keep the operation running. But when the NYPD blackmails him with a piece of damning information in exchange for aiding an undercover cop, he finds himself on the other side of the law for the first time in his life.



Bowen knows the danger Sera is in, and keeping her safe trumps saving his own ass. The problem? She can’t know he’s on her side. And there's the matter of the seriously inconvenient heat sparking between them that's incinerating his resistance. But Sera only sees Bowen's past, and men like him are the reason her brother is dead. If they're to get out alive, he'll have to risk exposing the man beneath, and hope to hell he doesn't blow the whole operation in the process.



Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes



Other Titles

Protecting What's His | His Risk to Take | Officer Off Limits | Asking for Trouble | Staking His Claim | Unfixable | Baiting the Maid of Honor | Owned by Fate | Exposed by Fate | Riskier Business

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Full details can be found on the ApollyCon website.

Apollycon Author Spotlight: Sarah J Maas and Sophie Jordan

ApollyCon Featured Author: Sarah J. Maas

About the Author

I’m Sarah J. Maas, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series (Heir of Fire, Book 3, will be out in September 2014). The Assassin’s Blade, a bind-up of all five TOG novellas is out now! Starting in Spring 2015 – my New Adult Fantasy series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, will be published by Bloomsbury as well! Hooray! I was born/raised in Manhattan, but traded freezing winters and sweltering summers for No Winter Ever Weather when I followed my then-boyfriend (now husband!) out to California in 2008. After six years in SoCal, I’ve finally returned to the East Coast, and am currently residing in the Philadelphia area. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hamilton College with a degree in Creative Writing, and a minor in Religious Studies. I’m represented by Tamar Rydzinski of the Laura Dail Literary Agency.



***Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads***



Books

Recent Release

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.



While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?



Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes



Other Titles

Throne of Glass | Crown of Midnight | The Assassin's Blade

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Full details can be found on the ApollyCon website.




ApollyCon Featured Author: Sophie Jordan

About the Author

Sophie Jordan took her adolescent daydreaming one step further and penned her first historical romance in the back of her high school Spanish class. This passion led her to pursue a degree in English and History.



A brief stint in law school taught her that case law was not nearly as interesting as literature - teaching English seemed the natural recourse. After several years teaching high school students to love Antigone, Sophie resigned with the birth of her first child and decided it was time to pursue the long-held dream of writing.



In less than three years, her first book, Once Upon A Wedding Night, a 2006 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Nominee for Best First Historical, hit book shelves. Her second novel, Too Wicked To Tame, released in March 2007 with a bang, landing on the USA Today Bestseller's List.



***Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads***



Books

Recent Release

Months after her boyfriend dumped her, Georgia can still hear the insults he hurled at her. Boring. Predictable. Tame. Tired of feeling bad, she’s ready to change her image, and go a little wild. What better way to prove her ex wrong than a hot night of sexual adventure at the secret campus kink club?



In the shadowy den of the kink club, she unexpectedly runs into Logan Mulvaney, her friend’s little brother. A player extraordinaire too hot for his own good, he may be younger, but the guy is light years ahead when it comes to sexual experience. Now he’s telling her to go home—“good girls” don’t belong here!



Georgia is tired of having others define her. She’s going to teach Logan a lesson he won’t forget—one white hot, mind-wrecking kiss . . . that leads to another . . . and another . . . and. . . . Realizing she’s way in over her head, Georgia runs.



Only Logan won’t let her go. Everywhere she goes he’s there, making her want every inch of him. Making her forget who she is. Who he is. And just how wrong they are for each other.



Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Itunes



Other Titles

Firelight | Foreplay | Uninvited | Sins of a Wicked Duke | Wicked in Your Arms

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Full details can be found on the ApollyCon website.

Baby, it's freaking cold outside

Philly has literally frozen over. The wind hits you in the face the second you step out your door and steals your breath away! The last couple of days have been so busy. Even with the kids having "snow days" things seem to have been hectic. Olivia had her first school field trip and it was a success. While I froze my toes off on the bus ride she sat with her friends and chatted. Today she went to school and celebrated her birthday with her classmates and shared some munchkins. She was so excited. While she was at school my son John ran errands with me since his school closed for the day due to the frigid temps. We got all our party supplies and food for Olivia's 4th birthday party tomorrow. Were celebrating with just our immediate family but with all the nieces and nephews here the house fills up quickly. I'll share pics from the party when things slow down. Here are some pictures from a recent snow day and one day where it was an acceptable temparture to be outside.

This girl finally got to ride her Christmas present from Mommom and Poppop

Boys! This is what happens when you ride on the sidewalk through melted snow and dirt! Don't worry I got it out in the wash.

Apollycon Author Spotlights: Rachel Harris and Rachel Hollis

ApollyCon Featured Author: Rachel Harris

About the Author

Award-winning and Bestselling author Rachel Harris writes humorous love stories about sassy girls next door and the hot guys that make them swoon. Emotion, vibrant settings, and strong relationships are a staple in each of her books...and kissing. Lots of kissing.



An admitted Diet Mountain Dew addict and homeschool mom, she gets through each day by laughing at herself, hugging her kids, and watching way too much Food Network with her husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romance, and LOVES talking with readers.




***Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads***



Books

Recent Release

According to the guys at Fairfield Academy, there are two types of girls: the kind you hook up with, and the kind you're friends with. Seventeen-year-old Alyssa Reed is the second type. And she hates it. With just one year left to change her rank, she devises a plan to become the first type by homecoming, and she sets her sights on the perfect date—Justin Carter, Fairfield Academy’s biggest hottie and most notorious player.



With 57 days until the dance, Aly launches Operation Sex Appeal and sheds her tomboy image. The only thing left is for Justin actually to notice her. Enter best friend Brandon Taylor, the school’s second biggest hottie, and now Aly’s pretend boyfriend. With his help, elevating from “funny friend” to “tempting vixen” is only a matter of time.



But when everything goes according to plan, the inevitable “break up” leaves their friendship in shambles, and Aly and Brandon with feelings they can’t explain. And the fake couple discovers pretending can sometimes cost you the one thing you never expected to want.



Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes



Other Titles

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century | A Tale of Two Centuries | My Not So Super Sweet Life | Taste the Heat | Seven Day Fiance | Accidentally Married on Purpose

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Full details can be found on the ApollyCon website.




ApollyCon Featured Author: Rachel Hollis

About the Author

Rachel Hollis founded the LA-based event planning firm Chic Events at only 21. Six years later Inc. Magazine named her one of the Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30. She went on to turn Chic into the extremely popular lifestyle website The Chic where readers log in daily for the tips and tricks she acquired after years of planning fancy parties for celebrities!



She has designed and produced fabulous events for many of Hollywood's elite including Bradley Cooper, Al Gore, Rashida Jones, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ivanka Trump, Jamie King, Sara Rue and Cuba Gooding Jr… just a name a few.



Rachel grew up in a big loud Okie family. Daddy was a Pentecostal minister and Mama was the church pianist… and PS, she knows the words to all the old-timey hymns in case you want to break into three-part harmony later.



She moved to Los Angeles to go to college and promptly met a boy named David who was as handsome as he was funny. First she made that boy her best friend, and then she made him my husband. 10 years later they have three equally handsome/hilarious little boys named Jackson, Sawyer, and Ford. They live in LA where they spend their time doing super cool/sexy things like going to soccer practice and hitting up any restaurant where kids eat free with the purchase of an adult entrée.



***Website | Facebook | href="https://twitter.com/msrachelhollis/">Twitter | Goodreads***





Recent Release

Landon Brinkley’s dreams are all coming true. She’s landed an internship with the fabulous Selah Smith, event planner for the Hollywood elite, taking her from small-town Texas to the bright lights of LA. Landon soon finds herself in a world in which spending a million dollars on an event—even a child’s birthday party—is de rigueur and the whims of celebrity clients are life-and-death matters. At first, the thrill of working on A-list parties and celebrity weddings is enough to get Landon through the seventy-five-hour workweeks and endless abuse at the hands of her mercurial boss. But when the reality of the business reveals itself, she’s forced to make a choice: do whatever it takes to get ahead, or stay true to herself.



Drawing on the author’s real-life experiences as an event planner to the stars, Party Girl takes readers on an adventure among Hollywood’s most beautiful—and most outrageous—people, revealing the ugly side of Hollywood’s prettiest parties.



Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Tickets are almost sold out! Get yours today!




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Full details can be found on the ApollyCon website.