Yesterday at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, California I went to an amazing YA book event called YA in Bloom! You might have heard me obsessing over it almost everyday for the past few days on Twitter! Hosted by Alethea A. and Alyson Beecher from Bridge to Books, I’d say that they did an awesome job putting YA in Bloom together! (Almost 100 people attended!)
- The check-in & welcome table!
- The sitting area! Doesn’t look like many people from here, since we were all around the room talking to others.
We had tasty sandwiches, pasta salad, and the best snicker doodle I’ve ever tasted. No really, I loved it! They also served this super sweet lemon cake with orange (or was it cranberry..?) fruit in between the cream and the cake! I practically inhaled my food.
- Tasy dessert from Amore dal Forno! The one next to the yellow cake was just a fondant display.
While we were eating our lunch, we talked about how the event happened, book events, and authors got to answer all these cool questions! (What book character you’d like to hang out with, what is your writing ritual, etc.) They also raffled off some amazing books and swag but unfortunately I didn’t win anything 
- Jessica Brody talking about her writing ritual and how she has to sit at the same spot and the same cafe drinking the same drink. She wouldn’t tell us which cafe because she doesn’t want us to take her seat! O:
- Nancy Holder talking about how she’d hang out with Heath Cliff!
- Vroman’s staff giving out book reccomendations & “book etiquette”
- Announcing one of the raffle winners!
Finally, I met some really great people! I spent most of my time with one of my new friends, Milan! We talked to (almost) everyone! Including Katie Alender, Jessica Brody, Sophia Chang, Amaris Glass, Nancy Holder, Gretchen McNeil, Cindy Pon, Lisa Yee, Khy, Chloe, and Racquel!
- Jessica Brody & myself!
- Milan, Katie Alender, and me!
- Me and soon-to-be author Amaris Glass!
- Raquel (aka @themediabunny) & I!
- Ahhh! Its Gretchen McNeil!
- You don’t know how excited I was to meet Nancy Holder!
- Meeting Lisa Yee was awesome! She was so funny!
- I felt so under-dressed when I saw Cindy Pon! I loved her dress!
- Sophia & I! Love her!
Then they gave out awesome swag bags filled with books, bookmarks, and lip balm! I’m seriously in love with The Giving Bee! They have the best organic lip balms!
- Mmm… Wild strawberry and forest honey!
- All the lovely books I got! I’m so excited to read them all <3
YA in Bloom will be a day that I will never be able to forget! I’m definitely looking forward to seeing you all again soon!
We love you too! You’re the teen we all wish we were and the one we’re writing furiously for!
Wow! Sounds like you had a GREAT time! I’m jealous!
Haha. I wish there were author signings here, but no YA authors EVER come to Virginia. 