Space Coast Book Lovers is such a fun event! If you've never been to it, mark your calendar for next year! This is my third year attending Space Coast Book Lovers Convention and each year it keeps getting better and better (although I'm not sure how they are going to manage to top this one next year!) Teri Dees Edney has perfected SCBL!
At registration, everyone received a special bag filled with swag and goodies. ***Here's a hint I wish I had thought about sooner... Some of the attendees brought along markers and had their favorite authors sign the back of the bag! What a great idea for a souvenir of the event!
We started out on Thursday evening with a Meet & Greet. Of course they had the signature drink, the Tipsy Bookworm (SCBL version of a rum runner) and a buffet of delicious food. This was a great chance to meet up with old friends and authors and meet some new-to-me authors as well. Here I am at a table with some of my favorite authors! S.E. (Susan) Smith, Jamie A. Waters, Savannah Verte and Evelyn Lederman! We had a great evening!
Friday morning we experienced some new adventures. Booknique! I had signed up to start my morning with Murder at Space Coast Book Lovers. This was like a live game of Clue, with the suspects being characters from the books written by the authors who put this game together... Tara Ames, Aurora St. James, Cayce Poponea, Terri A. Wilson, and Sara Stackpoole. After drinking two mimosa's made by Cayce (champagne with a splash of orange juice for color), the game became very entertaining!
My next Booknique Adventure was The Mad for Books High Tea Party sponsored by Melanie Karsak, author of Curiouser and Curiouser: Steampunk Alice in Wonderland. She even graced us with a reading from one of her books.
The room was beautifully decorated with linen tablecloths, china tea cups, flowers and a wonderful table filled with decadent desserts, sumptuous savories, finger sandwiches and tea. We learned how to read tea leaves and tried our hand at tea dueling (I lost, but had fun!). Each attendee received a beautifully wrapped china tea cup and saucer to take home with us.
My last Booknique Adventure of the day was Books, Bingo & More sponsored by two Bestselling Authors, Patricia Knight and Kris Michaels. The squares on our Bingo cards were all book-related, and the best part is... we used those little square Dove chocolates as markers! And there were cookies and wine. Lots and lots of wine! Great gift baskets for the winners, and everyone left with a book.
More mingling at lunchtime!
The afternoon was filled with Buzz Sessions and then the Author Speed Mingle (very much like speed dating, except that the attendees were able to spend a few minutes with each author). Loads of fun.
As a special treat, there was an Exclusive Book Launch, where we could see brand new book releases not available anywhere else! I managed to buy a copy of Savannah Verte's new book Portals, which is due to be released on July 19th... and I have a copy now!
There were so many more books I wanted to buy but I need to find more places to keep them. My bookshelves are overflowing and I am now beginning to hide books at my daughter's house. Not sure if it's an addiction or an obsession. I just LOVE books!
The book signing event on Saturday was AWESOME! So many amazing authors! In addition to the numerous paperback and hard cover books I won or received as gifts or just outright purchased, my Kindle is about to explode with new ebooks. I'm wondering just how many ebooks it will hold!
Here are some pics of just a few of the authors present:
Aurrora St. James
I came home with three of her books! Can't wait to start reading this series! My daughter, Tracy, downloaded the books and she has already finished Book One and halfway thru Book Two. Couldn't put them down!
Cayce Poponea
Enticing book covers! And it was so much fun meeting Cayce! I brought home Shamrocks & Secrets, Book One of her Code of Silence series. 😊
Chrys Fey
I've read all of Chrys Fey's disaster series. Now I'm anxiously awaiting her next one involving a blizzard!
Elizabeth Raven
Such an awesome table display! And fascinating books too!
Evelyn Lederman
The Purple Lady!! I always enjoy seeing Evelyn. I've read a bunch of her books and loved every one of them!
Gracen Miller
Gracen and her co-author, Julie Morgan introduced us to their new Private Dick series, to be released on July 11th. Gotta say... we had a lot of fun joking about the name of this book.
Julie Morgan
Here is an author I greatly admire. Always with a smile on her face and a heart that is super-sized. She co-authored Dick with Gracen Miller, but has a bunch of other books out, many of which I have read and enjoyed. I didn't think anyone could ever get me to read a vampire book... but I read one of Julie's and I have to admit that I really liked it!
Jamie A. Waters
Have you read her Omni Towers Series? I was hooked from the first page of the prequel and absolutely had to read the entire series. And I understand she has a new series in the works. An Epic Fantasy to be released in September.
Julia Mills
Thank you Julia for my adorable dragon! Such a treat from an outstanding author!
Okay, I just HAD to add this picture here. John Antorino is the cover model used in Author Pamela Ackerson's novels, The Gingerbread House and Out of the Wilderness. Getting a hug from this guy really made my day! Thank you Pamela! And thank you John!
Kait Ballenger
Kait brought us her new cowboy/wolf shifter books! Awesome!
L. H. Nicole
Check out her Legendary Series! The covers are intriguing!
Kerry Adrienne
When we're not talking about books, Kerry and I talk about one of our other obsessions... Rocks! Yes, we are both rock collectors and I'm always excited to see anything new she has added to her collection. A terrific lady and a terrific author!
Kris Michaels
I came home with two books from Bestselling Author Kris Michaels. Loved meeting this awesome lady! Can't wait to start reading Hot Seal, Savannah Nights... although I may just stare at the book cover for a while! (smiling and wiggling my eyebrows)
Lexi Post
And speaking of Awesome Authors... Lexi Post was there with her very own cowboy.
M.L. Guida
It is always a pleasure to see M.L. Guida... and her Dragons of Zalara (among many other of her amazing books)!
Mikea Howard
Always fun to be around, Mikea Howard is actually two lovely ladies - Mindy Howard and Kelly Smith.
Robbie Cox
And who doesn't LOVE Robbie Cox!! Not only an awesome author, he's an awesome person. I came home with a signed copy of Lore Master, the one book I was missing from Robbie's Warrior of the Way series.
Sara Stackpoole
I was so pleased to meet Sara and have her sign a copy of her true love story, Made Again. Sara is a new author with a bright future.
S.E. Smith
I have more books than I can count from this amazing bestselling author! Susan Smith is not only a fantastic writer, she's a terrific lady. Immediately upon meeting her at another book convention a few months ago, I felt a sisterhood with her. And yes, I came home with another of her books! I am now the proud owner of Hannah's Warrior, Book Two of her Cosmos' Gateway series.
Terri A. Wilson
Another awesome author! It was so much fun meeting Terri and getting to know her. Her autographed book Her Damaged Guardian now sits on my bookshelf, waiting for me to read... which will be soon! Thanks Terri!
There were many more authors I would love to show you here, but I only have so much space on my blog!
The event was topped off by a Neon Party on the last night. Great music, food, drinks and decor!
Awesome Event! Hats off to Teri Dees Edney, who coordinated Space Coast Book Lovers. I don't know how she could possibly top this next year, but one thing is for sure...
... I will be there to check it out! I hope you will be too!
((pssst... If you happen to see him, don't tell my hubby how many books I came home with! He doesn't understand my obsession.))