Event: Dahlia Adler's Release Party for Behind the Scenes

So I went to Dahlia Adler's release party on June 23rd for her debut novel, Behind the Scenes, while most of my friends were at senior prom (not our prom, as we're juniors). Well, it turns out, I probably ended up having a better time than they did. :P

I didn't write down any of the questions and answers because I was too busy having a great time, and I was really paying attention to Dahlia's answers. But anyway, here's a recap of the event!

It was hosted at Books of Wonder in NYC, and I knew I had to go. Not only do I love Dahlia, but when I mentioned I could potentially go, she got really excited and said she'd love to meet me. Well, lucky, I wanted to meet her too. In the end, things worked out, and my parents allowed me to go!

I was super excited, and I got to Books of Wonder early because of how the train schedule worked out (and because I wanted to get a good seat). When I got to BoW, the first thing I did was obviously to buy Behind the Scenes. When I walked over to the event section of the store, I saw that I was really super early, as they were still setting up the table, decorations, and food. There were only a handful of other authors and/or bloggers there, so Dahlia spotted me right away.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but I sort of was when Dahlia recognized me and said hi to me as soon as she saw me. She looked lovely, told me I did too, and she gave me a big hug. It felt so nice to be recognized by an awesome author. :D

Anyway, everyone that was there was introduced to one another, and I even met Dahlia's parents. Hahaha! They continued to set up for the event, and I kinda sat around. I talked to Dahlia a bit, but since I didn't really know anyone there, it was a bit awkward for a bit.

Then, a box of macarons arrived for Dahlia, and she invited those of us that were there to take one. I was hesitant since you know, they were for Dahlia, but she insisted. When I told her that I had never actually had one, she said, "now you definitely need to have one!" So I did, and I think she took a picture of me taking my first bite (after taking a while to actually choose one). It was pretty awesome, and we were both excited for that to have been the first time I ate a macaron. Thanks, Dahlia!

Soon, more people started arriving. I knew some of the bloggers there because they're pretty well-known in the blogosphere. I also saw Melissa Grey, who is a 2015 debut author that I actually met at a TFiOS event back in May. I knew she was going to be there, but it was nice to be able to talk to someone. She did leave to go talk to some other authors, but it was really nice to not feel so awkward since everyone seemed to know at least one or two other people, and I was just awkward. :P

Anyway, the event started soon after. Dahlia introduced her book, even though she was pretty sure everyone there knew about it because they know her. Then there was the Q&A. And then it was time to line up for the signing. I was so excited to get my book signed (obviously). As always, Dahlia was super nice and put up with my awkwardness. She also had everyone sign her copy of the book, which is pretty awesome!

Before I left, I also worked up the courage to chat with Lindsay Smith, author of Sekret. I knew through Twitter that she was going to be at the event, and I was fairly sure I spotted her. I'm really awkward and have social anxiety, but I figured it was either then or never since I couldn't make it to her (panel) event the next day. She recognized me from Twitter, which was another awesome surprise. And then she really put up with my awkwardness when I asked her if she'd sign my copy of Sekret because I couldn't make it the next day. Lindsay was super nice about the whole ordeal, even though it must have been soooo weird for her (sorry, Lindsay!).

All in all, I had a fabulous time, and I can't wait for the next time I'm able to go to a book launch because this set the bar fairly high! Thanks to Books of Wonder, Dahlia (+her family), and everyone else for making it super awesome. Definitely better than if I had been asked to prom. Though it's obvious it wasn't much competition anyway. ;)