Authors in Black

Shannon and Dean Hale, the husband-and-wife co-authors of The Princess in Black were the guests of honor at an October 29 event at The King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City. Attendees were invited to come dressed in their Halloween costumes; black masks were supplied to guests, just like that worn by the book’s protagonist, who trades Princess frills for a superhero costume to battle monsters. The authors (back center) also sported princess crowns with their black costumes.

Goodbye to Sammy Keyes

Authors (and spouses) Wendelin van Draanan and Mark Parsons will conclude their joint He Said She Said tour for the final book in Draanan’s Sammy Keyes series, Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye and Parsons’s Road Rash. The two visited 80 indie bookstores across 27 states in 15 weeks. And they rode in style, in their van wrapped in cover images of their books. The final stop on their journey will be for a celebration at Hicklebee’s in San Jose, Calif., on November 7, where the authors will not only speak about the writing process but also about sharing an office and raising a family while maintaining successful writing careers.

Not Just Horsing Around

Seventeen YA authors joined forces at the end of October for the Compelling Reads Tour, beginning just outside Washington, D.C., and making stops at bookstores and other venues throughout the southern states. The authors will eventually conclude the tour at the YALLFest in Charleston on November 8. Here, during a stop in Tryon, N.C., authors (l. to r.) Kimberley Griffiths Little (Forbidden, Harper), Meagan Spooner (the Skylark Trilogy, Carolrhoda), S.E. Green (Killer Instinct, Simon Pulse), Martina Boone (Compulsion, Simon Pulse), and Claudia Gray (A Thousand Pieces of You, HarperTeen) pose in front of the city’s famous Tryon Horse. The authors had an event at the Lanier Library, where books were sold by Tryon’s indie bookstore, The Book Shelf.

You Say It’s Your Birthday!

Author Shan-Shan Chen and illustrator Heidi Goodman attended a storytime and signing event for their picture book Mei Mei’s Lucky Birthday Noodles: A Loving Story of Adoption, Chinese Culture and a Special Birthday Treat (Tuttle) on October 25 at Barnes & Noble Santa Rosa, Calif. Here, two guests (who may in fact be princesses) show off their copies of the book.