Get ready for the kick of my Rust City 2016 author features.  On Sunday, April 3rd at 3pm (EST) join me and fellow book blogger Jackie (Literary Escapism) as we discuss everything Rust City! The Rust City Book Con is the brain child of Jackie, so join us to learn more about this amazing event.  Find out the who, what, when, where and why's of Rust City 2016.  

If you're looking to attend a local event in Michigan, then you'll want to tune in to learn more about this awesome BookCon! 

After we get the in and outs of this event from Jackie, join me on my YouTube "BookTube" channel every Sunday afternoon through the end of July. Every week I will be live video interviewing a different author that will be attending Rust City! There are also Shelf Addiction Podcasts scheduled for the camera shy authors, so stay tuned for the details on that! The featured author will be announced on my blog weekly.

It's two months away from Book Expo America 2016! Finally, after four years of book blogging, I'm able to attend BEA, and for all three days. Partially because it's a tad, and I mean a tad, cheaper for me to go while it's being hosted in Chicago versus NYC.  I paid for the now sold out, Avid Reader Pass, so I'm excited to meet at least some of my favorite authors, guaranteed! I'm actually working on my short list now. Who would you top your author short list? 

Want to come along for the ride? I'll be broadcasting LIVE from BEA through out the convention via Periscope!! See other book bloggers, authors, publishers, etc! See what autographs I get, what authors I'm able to chat with, and end of day book hauls. Follow me on Periscope to see all of it real time.

​What about you? Are you gong to BEA? If so, leave a comment below, let's connect!

Happy Reading,
~Tamara

​Are you local book lover, either in Michigan or the Midwest? Then you don't want to miss this! 

I have an awesome book nerd event to share! Coming this August to Troy, Michigan is Rust City Book Con!  If you're wondering, "Where is Troy?!" - Troy is a suburb in the Metro Detroit area.  Rust City is the brain child of Jackie of Literary Escapism. Through her vision and lots of hard work, this book con has come into existence!

I'm happy to announce that I've been selected as one of the featured bloggers for this weekend of "bookish delights and new discoveries"!   Catch my live interviews and hear all about what's in store at Rust City Book Con! The kick off of my Rust City Author Feature series on Book Chat LIVE. will be begin in a few short weeks, so you don't want to miss it.  You'll have the opportunity to submit questions ahead of time, via Twitter and Facebook prior to each author's interview.  You can also ask questions during the live event!

​Metro Detroit is great fun and there's lots to do near the hotel where this convention is being held. I encourage you to come on out to the "D"!   Meet some awesome authors, mingle with bloggers and other book nerds all while having a blast!

We are several months away, so there's plenty of time to plan your trip! 

Happy Reading,
​~Tamara

First let me say, sorry it took me so long to post about this event!  This past week has been crazy busy!  The RT (Romantic Times) Booklovers Convention was the week before last.  I was able to attend the Giant Book Fair last Saturday, April 14th. That place was packed and let me tell you I learned an important lesson, several actually. So heads up to all that want to attend these types of events in the future. If you’re looking to meet a “high-profile” author, get there early! VERY early! The popular authors gave out wrist bands prior to the event starting.  Those with wristbands got to meet the author and get your book(s) signed.  No wristband, no go.  I had no clue this was going on nor did the website advise you of this.  I was there 20 minutes before the event officially started, and I couldn’t get one.  Apparently people were there 2 hours early to get bands for Richelle Mead and J.R.Ward.  Go figure these are the two authors I wanted to see the most and I couldn’t!!! I was not a happy camper at all.  I was able to snag a wristband and meet two other authors that were also on my list. I was shocked that I was able to, but I guess they weren’t as in demand with this group. Those two were Anne Rice (veteran horror writer) and Charlaine Harris (writer of the books that inspired HBO’s True Blood). 

I also got to meet Veronica Roth, author of best selling Divergent.  A dystopian novel for the older YA crowd.  I was surprised wristbands weren’t required for her, but YAY for me! She was very personable with a calmness about her.

I also met Brenda Jackson (AA romance writer), she was nice enough.  I brought an anthology of romance stories from home that she contributed to and she gladly signed it.  I also wanted to get an autograph from  ReShonda Tate-Billingsley (AA Christian fiction writer), but she pulled a no show, which was pretty disappointing. Too bad for me that I dragged with me two of her books and she wasn’t even there! 

There were tons of authors there that I’d never heard of, which was cool because I was introduced to a few authors which I’ve added to my list to check out.  All of the authors I met seemed very nice and most of them were pretty personable.  The fair didn’t lend itself to presenting an opportunity to ask more than a few quick questions, nor was it a good environment for networking. It was truly a mad house, it was more like, say hi, get your book signed and move on.  I would have loved to sit in on some of the panels and go to a few of the theme parties. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in my budget, nor I didn’t have the time to be there for several days.  Next time though!

So to recap, here are my recommendations.  I’ll be using my own advice next time!

1.     Get to any author appearance/signing event VERY early!  Like at least 2 hours.  You can pretty much count on some type of number system for the popular authors.

2.     Be open to finding new authors and/or authors you haven’t read yet. You may find some really good reads that you hadn’t known about.

3.     Go with other readers/bloggers on the same level as you.  Meaning, if you’re a serious reader, go with other serious readers. Don’t go with a someone who only reads 1 or 2 books a year.  It’s a great experience and its extra fun when everyone knows the authors and the books. No offense to the “non readers”, but trust me. If you’re traveling with someone or in a group, like minded people to should go to these type of events.  It's not as fun when you're all excited to meet certian authors and your group is like "Who is that?".

4.     Take advantage and go to workshops and other events if you have the time and money. It would have been nice to actually get to meet some of these authors in a more intimate setting with fewer people instead of a huge Book Fair.  Plan to come in the day before so you can be well rested for the next days events.

5.     For these huge book fairs, bring a HUGE bag to carry all the stuff you’ll be picking up. If you plan on bringing and buying books, you’ll need something to carry them in. Plus for all the little handouts that the authors and small publishers give out.  The bag that I brought was way to small, and it was not comfortable walking around holding things.

Now for the fun stuff, my first giveaway! Coming on Monday! Stay tuned!

P.S. Hopefully sometime in the next week I'll be able to update this post with some pictures. :-)

RT Booklovers Convention in Chicago, Illinois from April 11 - April 14, 2012. 

Check out the details here:
http://www.rtbookreviews.com/convention-home 

 I'm so excited that I'm able to attend my first book convention!  Although I'm unable to attend the entire conference, I will be there on Saturday for the Giant Book Fair and some other events!  The game plan is to meet a few authors, get a few books signed and of course get some pictures! We'll see what I can do. I know there will be TONS of people so I hope I can get to talk to at least one or two of the authors on my list.  I'll be back next week with an update!

Are you going/or have been to this convention?  Have you been to other book conventions, of so, what's your favorite part of these events?